Resources for Children of Incarcerated Parents

How to Help a Child When Their Parent is in Jail

Do you have a loved one in Jail? Support for children with incarcerated parents can be found here with books on how to help, support and care for them.

What is most commonly thought about when a loved one goes to prison?

Most of the time the focus is towards the person in prison, whilst for others, coping with and the strain of having that person in jail can be immense.

Why should we support children of inmates?

Children especially need help during this time when their Dad is in jail or any close family member. They will find it hard to understand why this person they love so much has been taken away from them. Their daily routines will change and relationships with other people and friends may be affected.

This is a time that not just the parents, but the children, need all the love and support they can get. They have been put in a vulnerable state due to no fault of their own. The physiological impact can be immense and help during this stressful time is absolutely necessary to continue with a happy childhood.

Children of Incarcerated Parents Statistics

How many children in America have a parent in Prison?

The number of children with incarcerated parents is growing.

According to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts (2010), more than 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent in prison or jail.

What are some of the consequences of having a parent in jail without good structured help?

With a parent in jail they are innocent victims who often themselves end up in the same circumstances as their parents. Sometimes suffering from social behavior issues, and often turning to a life of drugs and crime.

Parental incarceration has a direct effect on young adults. During this time it is vital that they get the help, support and advise and understanding they need for a healthily balanced and mental lifestyle.

Breakaway Outreach provides summer camp adventures for children of incarcerated parents, year-round mentoring relationships, and support ministries for families affected by having a loved one behind bars.

Resources on how to help a child of incarcerated parents:

My Daddy Is in Jail: Story, Discussion Guide, and Small Group Activities for Grades K-5  “My Daddy is in Jail” is a resource for helping children cope with the incarceration of a loved one. This book includes a read-aloud story, discussion guide, caregiver advise and optional group theropy activities. With the aid of this book, along with professionals, and other caring adults, parents will find themselves better equipped to provide information and support to their children and their families.

Empowering Children of Incarcerated Parents  This book is for social workers, psychologists, counsellors and teachers who work with children ages 7-12 who have a parent who is in jail. The book is designed to help create support groups. Each chapter includes a brief review plus help and advise for additional support. Covers areas for discussion, fictional letters between a boy and his incarcerated father, activities, and worksheets.

All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated  In this “moving condemnation of the U.S. penal system and its effect on families” (Parents’ Press), award-winning journalist Nell Bernstein takes an intimate look at parents and children—over two million of them—torn apart by our current incarceration policy. Described as “meticulously reported and sensitively written” by Salon, the book is “brimming with compelling case studies … and recommendations for change” (Orlando Sentinel); Our Weekly Los Angeles calls it “a must-read for lawmakers as well as for lawbreakers.”

Loving Through Bars: Children with Parents in Prison  An estimated 2.3 million children in the United States have a parent in prison-children whose lives are filled with a unique kind of instability and uncertainty. These children are themselves victims of their parents’ crimes, members of a neglected segment of our population who are potentially damaged by stigma and shame and who are at risk of being pulled into a vicious cycle of future criminality and deviant social behavior. Such children are child prisoners-kids who must learn to understand living and loving through bars.

Children of Incarcerated Parents: A Handbook for Researchers and Practitioners  A book explaining that kids with parents in prison are more likely to experience learning difficulties, poor health, and substance abuse, and eventually have an increased chance of becoming incarcerated themselves. Addressing the issues and needs of youth with imprisoned parents from child welfare, health care, and education perspectives.