Some children make up lies about their parents. That's because  their parent is in prison. One girl tells the other kids that her mother works for the government and is away.

Whatever crime their parent commits, the children pay their own price: a parent absent for years, the stigma of a loved one behind bars, having to move in with grandma.

These children are the invisible victims, the collateral damage, the unintended orphans.

State officials say these children will benefit from recent reforms of the criminal justice system, but community advocates say the jury is still out.

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, among others, will no longer be considered fee-free days at U.S. National Parks. While the MLK National Historic Park in Atlanta doesn't charge admission, the new schedule will affect such metro Atlanta sites as Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez