In 2001, Catholic Community Services of Juneau, Alaska was invited to apply to the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) for grant funds that would contribute to making Alaska a better environment for the children of incarcerated parents. In the same year, Catholic Community Service’s Family Recourse Center was one of 11 projects funded to participate in NIC pilot project.

The intent of this project was threefold:

To add to the body of knowledge and experience in serving Alaskan families effected by the incarceration of a parent;

To serve as a collaborative partner in a national effort to reduce children’s trauma, stigmatization and stress of separation caused by parental incarceration; and

To enhance opportunities for positive life experiences and outcomes for children and youth whose parent have experienced incarceration.

Information about Children of Incarcerated Parents

Hard as it is to believe, the exact number of children with incarcerated parents in this country is unknown. Conservative estimates place the number at 2 million, and with the prison population growing, numbers will increase. Alaska, like the rest of the U.S., lacks the tracking mechanisms to provide solid statistics about these kids. We do know that annually in Alaska in excess of 32,000 individuals are incarcerated, and that approximately 4,600 are placed on probation. A snapshot survey done by the the Alaska Department of Corrections indicates that a phenomenal number of Alaskan children experience the trauma of parental incarceration. We estimate that on any given day, more than 6,000 Alaskan children have a parent who is incarcerated.

Alaska has a number of challenges to government and private agencies in providing services to children and families with an incarcerated parent. The vast size of our state plus the extreme cultural, social and economic diversity of our citizens makes a generic approach to service provision unreasonable. That being said, Alaska’s children affected by parental incarceration are struggling with many of the same painful problems experienced by children of incarcerated parents all over this country.

In Catholic Community Service’s 35 years experience providing services to families, we have learned that a large percentage of the high-risk families that we serve have been affected by parental incarceration. Often when families and children are referred for services to address any number of difficulties, we subsequently find those problems correlated to parental incarceration.

Corrections personnel report being acutely aware of the daily issues facing incarcerated parents as they worry about the often inadequate arrangements that have been made for the care of their children.

Educators are often the least likely to know about the family/parental status of some of their most challenging students, and the most likely to interact with the child in a setting where this “family secret” may manifest itself in anti-social behaviors by affected children. Kids experiencing this stigma are likely suffering personal trauma, resulting in a serious set-back in their educational progress and social development.

Children and families of prisoners share many common concerns and characteristics. However, there are variations in their circumstances and a continuum of risk. At one end of the continuum, there are families in grave danger. On the other are those with adequate support systems that are coping fairly well. In between are large numbers of children and families that are barely managing and are under great pressures.

Services to Children of Incarcerated Parents and Their Families Available in Juneau

In addition to all of the services available to all members of the community, we provide specialized services for children and families experiencing the incarceration of a parent or parent figure in Juneau.

Weekly, parenting or Money Smarts programs are provided at Lemon Creek Correctional Facility.

The Family Resource Center facilitates the taping and distribution of individual holiday messages annually from incarcerated parents to their children.

The Champion Kids Camp offers an amazing camp experience for an average of 30 children annually at no charge to their families.