The Project WHAT! Resource Guide for Teens with a Parent in Prison or Jail, updated May 2008
To download the guide, visit the Community Works website
< http://www.community-works-ca.org/programs/projectwhat.html > and scroll down to the Resources section.
The PDF file is very large – 11.4 MB, so please be patient as it downloads.
< http://www.community-works-ca.org/programs/projectWHAT2008.pdf >

The 80-page guide answers common questions that children have when a parent is incarcerated. It has an entire section that explains complex jail and prison visiting procedures in plain language. It also includes compelling stories written by the Project WHAT! youth, who themselves have dealt with a parent's incarceration, along with a CD of the stories read aloud. To download the guide, visit the Community Works website.  If you are a youth and want a free hard copy of the guide, contact Community Works at 510-486-2340 or email us at projectwhat@gmail.com.

The Family to Family website has a new page focused on resources for Children of Incarcerated Parents:
< http://www.f2f.ca.gov/Children.htm >

The California Research Bureau has  published six reports related to children of incarcerated parents since 2000, all of which are on their website at www.library.ca.gov <http://www.library.ca.gov>  under "California Research Bureau reports" and listed below.

California Law and the Children of Prisoners

Charlene Wear Simmons, Ph.D. (CRB-03-003, February, 2003)
This report examines California law as it touches on the lives of prisoners and their children. Most prisoners are parents (79 percent of women and two-thirds of men in California prisons), making the state's criminal justice system an unwitting but important participant in the lives of their families. Law enforcement practices, criminal court procedures and sentencing laws, and correctional practices designed to catch, convict and punish prisoners have a major, but not generally well understood, impact on children. Yet state law provides very limited direction on how those authorities should interact with the families and children of prisoners. As a result, few agencies have clear policies.

PDF version <http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/03/03/03-003.pdf>  (718KB) is available online.

Children of Incarcerated Parents

Charlene Wear Simmons, Ph.D. (CRB-v7-n02, March, 2000)
Assemblymember Kerry Mazzoni requested that the California Research Bureau (CRB) conduct a broad research review to summarize what is known about the children of incarcerated parents. This CRB note estimates the number of children in California who have parents in the state's criminal justice system (jail, prison, parole and probation) and summarizes key findings from the research literature. Children whose parents have been arrested and incarcerated face unique difficulties. Many have experienced the trauma of sudden separation from their sole caregiver, and most are vulnerable to feelings of fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, depression and guilt. They may be moved from caretaker to caretaker. The behavioral consequences can be severe, absent positive intervention—emotional withdrawal, failure in school, delinquency and risk of intergenerational incarceration.

PDF version <http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/00/notes/v7n2.pdf>  (281KB) is available online.

Keeping Children Safe When Their Parents are Arrested: Local Approaches That Work

Ginny Puddefoot, MPH, MPP, and Lisa K. Foster, MSW, MPA (CRB-07-006, July, 2007)
Children are often overlooked when their parents are arrested, but they are traumatized by the impact of this arrest on both their immediate circumstances and long-term care. Recent legislation by Assemblymember Pedro Nava encourages a coordinated local response by law enforcement and child welfare services, and requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to develop guidelines and training for use by state and local law enforcement officers encountering children at an arrest scene. This report explores how these coordinated responses can best ensure children's safety and well-being and can also have benefits for both law enforcement and child welfare services. It highlights the successful joint protocols developed by several California jurisdictions and identifies key strategies for developing these approaches responses elsewhere in the state.
PDF version <http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/07/07-006.pdf>  (2MB) is available online.

In Danger of Falling Through the Cracks: Children of Arrested Parents

Marcus Nieto (CRB-02-009, April, 2002)
In the fall of 2001, the California Legislative Women's Caucus requested that the California Research Bureau gather information about local law enforcement and child protective services policies and procedures relative to the children of arrested parents. We surveyed California local police and county sheriff's departments and county child protective services agencies. Our findings suggest that the children of arrested and incarcerated parents (mothers and fathers) in California are in danger of being left in unsafe situations. The results can be tragic, as with the recent murder of Megan Mendez, left at age three with abusive neighbors when her single parent mother was arrested in Modesto on drug charges.
How can the children of arrested and incarcerated parents "fall through the cracks?" In general, it is because key questions about the children are not regularly asked when a parent is arrested or incarcerated-a de facto "don't ask and don't tell" policy. Neither law enforcement nor CPS have the information they need to make a clear assessment of the numbers or appropriate placement of the children of arrested parents.

PDF version <http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/02/09/02-009.pdf>  (954KB) is available online.

California State Prisoners With Children: Findings From the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities

M. Anne Powell, M.S.W. and Clare Nolan, M.P.P. (CRB-03-014, November, 2003)
This report presents information on the characteristics of parents incarcerated in California state prisons and their children, based on previously unexamined data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities. The analysis investigates differences between incarcerated mothers and fathers, between incarcerated parents and other inmates, and PDF version <http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/03/14/03-014.pdf>  (432KB) is available online.

Children of Arrested Parents: Strategies to Improve Their Safety and Well-Being

Clare M. Nolan (CRB-03-011, July, 2003)
This report examines, from a practice and policy perspective, issues pertinent to the safety and well-being of children affected by the arrest of a custodial parents. As many as 13 percent of all adult felony arrests in California involve a custodial parent caring for minor-age children. Arresting officers are not mandated to report children at risk of being left without care or supervision to Child Protective Services (CPS). In some extreme cases, children may be left completely alone to care for themselves or may be placed with inappropriate and harmful caretakers. The report reviews promising practices and presents a framework for developing future policies and programs.

PDF version <http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/03/11/03-011.pdf>  (765KB) is available online

more