Brief Toolkit for Developing Family-Focused Jail Programs: Children of Incarcerated Parents Project
Bryce Peterson, Lindsey Cramer, Emma Kurs, Jocelyn Fontaine
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This toolkit details the key considerations for jail administrators and community-based organizations interested in developing a family-focused jail program. Program components may include parenting classes, parent-child contact visits, and phone calls during which parents are “coached” by staff members about how to speak with their children. Family-focused jail programs aim to strengthen the bond between parent and child, ensure that parent–child interactions during jail visits are beneficial for the children, and allow parents to be involved in parenting decisions, which helps minimize the trauma that children face when their parents are removed from the home and detained in jail.
Research Areas Crime, justice, and safety Families Children and youth Child welfare
Tags Victims of crime Corrections Courts and sentencing Child care Children's health and development Child welfare Policing and community safety Family violence Parenting Kids in context Mass incarceration
Policy Centers Justice Policy Center