Children and Families

We are all part of families. If we experience arrest, prosecution, or incarceration, the harm radiates out through our families, to our parents, partners, and children. In the US, more than half of incarcerated people are the parents of minor children, leaving more than 2.7 million children with a mother or father currently behind bars, and Black and Latinx children disproportionately harmed.

Incarcerated fathers and mothers have the right, capacity, and responsibility to parent their children. Children want, need, and have a right to contact with their incarcerated parents. And when barriers are removed, parenting responsibilities and family love can be powerful motives for individual transformation.

Inspired by these truths, Osborne offers in-prison parenting education, support for in-person and video visits to prisons and jails, community resources for affected children and caregivers, groups for directly-affected young people, civic engagement opportunities, and reentry services to help formerly incarcerated parents build secure, stable lives.