Children of Incarcerated Parents Bill of Rights

1.I have the right to be kept safe and informed at the time of my parent’s arrest.

2.I have the right to be heard when decisions are made about me.

3.I have the right to be considered when decisions are made about my parent.

4.I have the right to be well cared for in my parent’s absence.

5.I have the right to speak with, see and touch my parent.

6.I have the right to support, as I struggle with my parent’s incarceration.

7.I have the right not to be judged, blamed or labeled because of my parent’s incarceration.

8.I have the right to a lifelong relationship with my parent.

* These rights were developed by children of incarcerated parents through the San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, see www.sfcipp.orgs.

New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents (ICIP)

Raising awareness, promoting policy and practice change, and building partnerships to uphold the rights, maintain the relationships, and meet the needs of children impacted by their parent’s criminal justice involvement.

The NY Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents was launched by The Osborne Association (NY, NY) in 2005 to raise awareness about and safeguard the well-being of children whose parents are incarcerated. By bringing together City and State agencies and community-based organizations, the Initiative works to reform policies, implement promising practices and positively impact the lives of children affected by their parent’s criminal justice involvement. The Initiative uses the framework of the Children’s Bill of Rights (developed by the San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, www.sfcipp.org) to address the continuum of criminal justice involvement from a child’s perspective, from arrest to reentry, and supports the maintenance of a lifelong relationship between parent and child.

Goals of the Initiative

Build a coalition
By partnering with other agencies and organizations we can ensure that the needs of children of incarcerated parents will be met.

Create a blueprint for reform
The Initiative aims to assist agencies in assessing their policies and practices to identify areas for reform in order to enhance the lives of children whose parents are involved with the criminal justice system. This includes developing or reforming policies, offering training and technical assistance, collecting data and building the overall fluency of professionals around this issue.

Youth empowerment and leadership
Through a variety of programs and partnerships with youth organizations, the Initiative works to include and empower young people to play a critical role in raising awareness and advocating for reform, building youth leadership capacity and supporting the promise that lies within every young person.

Raise public awareness
Through articles, handouts, reports, public speaking and hosting various events, including the voices and experiences of those most affected, the Initiative seeks to raise the visibility of issues facing children of incarcerated parents.

 



• Less than half of all parents (42%) in State prison reported having a visit with their children since admission.
  
  
• 92% of parents in prison are fathers; 8% are mothers. The number of children with an incarcerated mother has more than doubled since 1991.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report (August 2008),
"Parents in Prison and Their Minor Children."
Available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/pptmc.htm

Current Agenda
In collaboration with a growing number of city and state government agencies and community-based organizations, the New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents has been working on specific policy and practice reform goals including: implementing a child-sensitive arrest protocol; implementing Family Impact Statements at sentencing; increasing children’s access to their incarcerated parents (through visiting, phone contact, letter-writing, televisiting, and possibly email); improving the data and research collected in order to better understand the needs and experiences of children; ensuring that children and families are considered and integrated into effective reentry efforts. The Initiative also offers training and technical assistance to diverse professionals (teachers, caseworkers, attorneys, and others) to enhance their abilities to meet the needs of children of incarcerated parents.

Click here to read Liz's letter at the Philadelphia Inquirer website

Contact Information
To learn more about the NY Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents, please contact

Tanya Krupat * Program Director * (718) 637-6595 * tkrupat@osborneny.org
Will Norris * Project Associate * (718) 637-6587 * wnorris@osborneny.org

For a complete list of ICIP partners click here

Youth Advisory Board
Do you know any young people who currently have or have previously had an incarcerated parent?
The Youth Advisory Board is a 12 week youth leadership program for young people ages 14 to 21 who
have experienced parental incarceration. Please refer future leaders to the YAB!

Will Norris * Project Associate * (718) 637-6587 * wnorris@osborneny.org