According to a a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts (2010), more than 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent in prison or jail. I am the mom of four of those children.

However, my children are the fortunate ones; they have a tremendous support group in the form of our church and our community. They are loved and well-cared for. We are blessed tremendously.

Most children with an incarcerated parent do not have the kind of support that my children have. Many are shuffled from home to home, live in extreme poverty, and face academic and behavioral challenges.

There are a few resources available to these children—not many, but a few. I am slowly developing a page on my blog that lists these resources.  You can find the link to that page by looking at the top headings of this page and clicking on Resources for Children of Inmates.

If you are someone you know finds themselves in this sitatuion, please feel free to direct them to my blog. I will be updating it as I continue to research what’s out there. If you are aware of any resources, I would appreciate hearing about them so that I can add them to this database.

And churches, there is much we can do for this segment of the population. You may want to check out sponsoring one of the programs I have listed at your local jail or regional prison.