Programs and Services

Approximately 10 million children have had a parent incarcerated at some point in their lives. Programs and Services like the following help children learn how to cope and adapt to changes in their family dynamic due to incarceration. These services are also vital for establishing a healthy parent-child relationship. Being incarcerated creates a strict barrier between parent and child. Programs for incarcerated parents allow for them to keep contact and communicate with their families from behind bars.

Programs For Children Of Incarcerated Parents

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1. Angel Tree

A nationwide Prison Fellowship program. This program connects parents with their children through the delivering of Christmas gifts for those that celebrate the holiday. In most cases, local church volunteers purchase and deliver gifts to children in the name of their prisoner-parent.

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2. The Sesame Workshop

Little Children, Big Challenges provides much-needed resources for families with young children (ages 3 – 8) as they encounter the difficult changes and transitions that come with a parent's incarceration. The workshop comes with a free toolkit full of multimedia sources for helping children learn more about their families situation.

“Sesame Workshop believes the incarceration of a loved one can be very overwhelming for both children and caregivers. The very act can bring about big changes and transitions. But Sesame Workshop feels there are simple everyday ways to help comfort a child and guide him or her through these tough moments.”-Sesame Street

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3. Skip, Inc

Skip (Saving Kids of Incarcerated Parents) is a program that works with young children and their families to establish a supportive and loving cirlce of positive relationships around each child. They do this by providing academic and behavioral programs for children with one or more parents incarcerated. They also offer an online community for teens to share thoughts and ideas with others who can relate.

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4. Children of Inmates

A Florida-based organization that assists families in keeping communication alive between children and their incarcerated parents. This organization also provides opportunities for families to visit and bond with one another to secure attachment and healthy relationships.

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Programs for Incarcerated Parents

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1. Child and Family Services

In select correctional facilities, online video visits are offered to families. Parents who complete a parenting prerequisite course are eligible to participate. Families can visit from home on their computers, or if not available one of several satellite offices located around the country. The program also offers parents to create an audio storybook for their children to listen to.

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2. Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota

An organization partnered with the South Dakota Department of Corrections gives fathers who are incarcerated a chance to enroll in relationship education classes to create video diaries for their children. The program provides inmates with free DVD and recording device to create the diary and later send in the mail to their families.

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3. RIDGE Project

Provides subsidized telephone calls and letter writing supplies to inmates to connect with their families.

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Sources:

7 Helpful Programs For Children of Incarcerated Parents. (2016, October 04). Retrieved December 21, 2017, from https://web.connectnetwork.com/programs-for-children-of-incarcerated-parents/

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