Across the United States, an estimated two million children, ages 5 to 18, have a parent who is incarcerated in a federal, state or local prison.  The majority of these children are very young; over half are less than 10 years old, and more than 20 percent are younger than age 5.  Many of them share the challenges faced by the larger population of this country’s at-risk young people: poverty, violence, limited opportunities for an adequate education, and a future that appears to hold very little promise.

But these children often face additional risks as well.  In many cases, they have suffered the unique trauma of seeing their parent arrested and taken away.  And with a parent’s incarceration, their connection to a central adult in their lives has been cut off.  While their parents are in prison, these children might live with a grandparent, aunt, their other parent, or in a foster home or other facility.  Some are separated from their siblings. Some are shifted from one care giving arrangement to another.

While research on the specific challenges faced by children of incarcerated parents is still in its early stages, studies suggest that they suffer from a particular form of grief and loss that comes from having a parent who is alive but unreachable.  These children may experience a complex mix of anger, sadness, shame, guilt, and depression.  As a result, they often act out inappropriately, have classroom behavior difficulties and low academic performance.  Not surprisingly, high percentages end up in serious trouble themselves.  In fact, according to a U.S. Senate Report children of prisoners are six times more likely than other children to become incarcerated at some point in their lives.  Without effective intervention strategies, as many as seventy percent of these children will become involved in the criminal justice system.

Having a mentor—a consistently caring and supportive adult—significantly reduces a young person’s initiation of drug and alcohol use, improves their school performance and attendance, and reduces incidences of violence.

This program is funded in-part by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services-Administration for Children and Families.


Volunteer now »

Enroll a child now »