There are an 310,000 children affected by parental imprisonment each year and hundreds more will suffer the impact of a parents' involvement in other parts of the Criminal Justice System (CJS). It is important that professionals working for Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS) have an awareness of the impact of offending on children and families, and are able to provide family-based support to offenders and their families in order to reducing reoffending and intergenerational offending. Previous research has demonstrated that offenders receiving family visits during imprisonment were 39% less likely to reoffend on release.
Find out more about how NICCO can assist CRC and NPS professionals to support these children in our CRC and NPS briefing.
The following list provides links to key research, great practice models, important policy and helpful resources which are specific to helping you support offenders and their children and families.
Resources for children & families
There are many more resources listed on NICCO that can be passed on to or used with children and families of offenders, that which offer information around the practical and emotional aspects of a loved one's arrest, trial, sentencing, prison sentence, release and resettlement. We feature a few in the list below.
National Offenders' Families helpline - Free and confidential information service providing basic advice, emotional support, and signposting to local services. Their website includes simple information sheets to print for offenders' families on all issues relating to a loved one's involvement with the criminal justice system.
Assisted Prison Visits Scheme - information and contact details for applying for funds to cover the travel cost of prison visits for families on benefits.
Preparing for release - this downloadable booklet is for families that are preparing for the release of a loved one and discusses some of the challenges they may face.
Resources for parents in prison
Below is a selection of resources held on NICCO for parents involved in the criminal justice system (CJS). Search from the home page to find more resources that cover many different aspects of the CJS.
Ormiston have a leaflet with advice on being a parent in prison.
Daddy's working away- A guide to being a good Dad in prison- Accessible and practical, this book from Pact is about maintaining father/child ties and is £6.99.
Mum’s the Word - A practical resource about being a good mum in prison, with ideas about how to stay in touch and experiences from other mothers in prison.
Resources for CRC and NPS professionals
The following resources are useful tools for developing understanding and awareness about the impact of parental offending on children and families:
Quality Statements & Toolkit - this comprehensive and easy-to-use resource enables multi-agency professionals to assess and develop their practice with children of offenders. Informed by research, it includes many good practice examples and a work plan template to set action points for your service.
Supporting children and families affected by a family member’s offending – A Practitioner’s Guide – An accessible and comprehensive Guide for multi-agency frontline practitioners including tools, resource lists and practice tips to support effective community-based interventions with offenders’ children and families.
SCIE- E-learning - these 3 interactive tools help all professionals gain an understanding of the impacts of an offenders journey through CJS on their children and family.
It’s no holiday - this film can be used for awareness raising. It uses children's voices to explore their experiences of a close family member's arrest, trial, imprisonment, visiting and release.
Supporting Prisoners' Families - What Can Probation Do? - this short leaflet helps inform Probation workers how they can support offenders' children and families.
Background information - Policy and Research
Below is one example of research and policy context regarding children and families of offenders that are particularly relevant to professionals working in CRCs or the NPS.
Risk and protective factors in the resettlement of imprisoned fathers with their families - this report considers the various aspects involved in the resettlement of an imprisoned father back in to the family home. It aims to assist probation and third sector organisations to develop effective interventions for imprisoned fathers, their (ex)partners and their children.
Practice Models
Thinking Fathers - West Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) and Barnardo’s work together in Bradford to provide parenting programmes to fathers on community orders or supervision following a custodial sentence.
Training
Hidden Sentence Training - This has been developed by Action for Prisoners’ Families for multi-agency professionals, and gives an overview of issues which prisoners’ families routinely face. See a list of all training featured on NICCO, or find training in your local area by using NICCO’s search by region function on the home page.
