Former Chattanooga police Officer John Quarles witnessed domestic abuse as a child, a pattern of family violence that he said ultimately led to his mother’s 14-year prison sentence in the shooting death of his father.

At age 9, he went to live at Bethel Bible Village, a nonprofit agency that provides a home for children and families in crisis. Children between the ages of 5 and 18 live in residences on 30 acres in Hixson. They are monitored by house parents who provide nurturing and support.

Children of incarcerated parents face a barrage of challenges, including separation issues, societal stigmas and instability, said Myron Wilkins, Bethel Bible’s executive director.

Most of the children at risk to develop criminal behavior faced dangerous environmental factors long before their parents entered jail or prison, he said.

“They’re already in a context or an environment where they’re involved in criminal things at home,” Mr. Wilkins said. “They’re in a challenging environment. They come from poor communities where there aren’t a lot of resources. They have parents who had them at a young age.”

Debbie Riley, a juvenile probation officer in Palm Bay, Fla., is all too familiar with the separation issues that arise when children are away from their parents.

She went to live at Bethel at age 12 after both parents went to prison for counterfeiting in the ’70s.

“I went through a long period of time where it was hard for me to get close to anybody or develop true attachment because everybody that you loved has abandoned you,” she said.

Now Ms. Riley said she sees children of incarcerated parents struggle emotionally and eventually resort to criminal behavior.

“There’s pain; there’s shame; there’s a lot of emotions that are involved with a situation like that,” she said. “They don’t feel connected to their own community so they commit crimes against the community, and there’s no remorse.”

Mr. Quarles said Bethel gave him the structure he sought. At Bethel, he got house parents and “siblings,” other children going through similar experiences.

“You feel like the only life you know is torn apart,” said Mr. Quarles. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. As a kid, you just start feeling like it’s all your fault.”

Before Bethel, Mr. Quarles couldn’t read or write. He glimpsed an ideal family only on television.

At Bethel, he gained enough self-esteem to denounce the life of drugs and debauchery that trapped his mother, who he said is now clean after years of struggling with men and drugs.

“I made choices early on not to do that because I saw what that did with my family,” said Mr. Quarles, now a federal agent with the U.S. Department of Energy. “I don’t want a part of it.”