What Can I Do To Help Kids Whose Parents Are In Prison?

In New York State, there are over 105,000 children with a parent serving time in prison or jail alone. These children face uncertainty and trauma from changing living arrangements or being separated from their siblings. Visitation between a child and a parent in prison is important to maintain and improve the bond during this time. New York state has more than 80,000 children with at least one parent in prison, and advocates say that sometimes the parent is housed hundreds of miles away.

A flyer provides forms to designate a person in parental relation so that their children have caregivers with the legal ability to make education. Incarcerated parents will generally lose custody of their child while they are in prison, but they may still be responsible for child support payments in jail unless a child is placed with a known adult caregiver.

To protect parental rights in the event of incarceration, it is essential to place your child with a known adult caregiver. Visitation can be an important and meaningful experience for incarcerated parents and their children, but it can also be a source of stress and anxiety when parents’ or children’s expectations do not align with what ends up.

A new bill signed into law in New York will require incarcerated parents to be housed in prisons closest to the homes of their children. In New York State, only one county jail allows full physical contact visiting between a child and a parent who is incarcerated.

Having a parent in prison can have an impact on a child’s mental health, social behavior, and educational prospects. Children with an incarcerated parent are more likely to struggle in school and suffer from depression.