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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Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — pictured at an August rally in Peachtree City that also featured Vice President JD Vance — appears to have scored another legal victory over gubernatorial rival Attorney General Chris Carr in their battle over campaign finance issues. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025)

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