Helping Children with Incarcerated Parents

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A serious issue facing this country today is the 2.7 million children currently being left behind with incredible pain while their parents are being placed behind bars (Maier 91). They are left behind with not only pain, but the struggles of living day to day life without the guidance of their parents, as well as having to find a new home. According to child development specialist and the founding director of the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, Denise Johnston, “there are over 10 million minor children in the United States who have dealt with parental incarceration over the course of time” (91). The Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) program needs to take the initiative in the process of reunification between parents who have been incarcerated, and the children which whom they leave behind. The Big Brother Big Sister program is designed to nurture children that have not had that sense of connection before, also helping them to recognize their potential, as well as helping them to build a bright future. The BBBS program serves many children in the world that deal with various challenges in life, but one program in relation is the Amachi program. “The Amachi program specifically helps children with an incarcerated parent to broaden their perspectives on what they can achieve in life and help them to overcome” (Big Brother Big Sister). Along with the responsibilities they possess, the Amachi/BBBS program should also help to reunify these children back with their parents once they are released from incarceration. Ultimately, having these BBBS mentors there to encourage these children to visit their parents is creating an easier path to complete reunification. According to R. Anna Hayward and Diane DePanfilis of the Univers... ... middle of paper ... ..." Social Work in Public Health. 27.1-2 (2012): 12-28. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. Maier, Katrin. “Children of Incarcerated Parents.” Taylor & Francis Online. 12.1 (2006): 91-105. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Merenstein, Beth, Ben Tyson, Brad Tilles, Aileen Keays, and Lyndsay Ruffiolo. "Issues Affecting the Efficacy of Programs for Children with Incarcerated Parents." Journal of Correctional Education. 62.3 (2011): 166-174. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. Osofsky, Joy D. Young Childrn and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment. New York: Guilford Press, 2004. eBook. Reed, Diane F., and Edward L. Reed. "Children of Incarcerated Parents." Social Justice. 24.3 (1997): 152-169. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. United States. U.S. Government Accountability Office. Child Welfare: More Information and Collaboration Could Promote Ties Between Foster Care Children and Their Incarcerated Paents. Washington: , 2013. Web.

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