Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents: A Synthesis of Research and Input from the Listening Session Held by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the White House Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public Engagement

• Published in: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• Main Authors: Jarjoura, G. Roger, DuBois, David L, Shlafer, Rebecca J, Haight, Konrad A
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 2013
• Subjects: Advocacy; Children; Communities of Practice; Correctional Institutions; Family Relationship; Institutionalized Persons; Interpersonal Relationship; Mentors; Parent Child Relationship; Parents; Profiles; Program Descriptions; Program Effectiveness; Recruitment; Role Models; Stakeholders

In September 2013, a Listening Session on Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents was held in Washington, DC. This session was organized by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in partnership with the White House Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public Engagement. It continues the administration's commitment to support youth with incarcerated parents and to ensure that all young people get the best possible start in life. The day-long session comprised more than 40 participants and was co-facilitated by the first two authors of this report. This report summarizes both the research and stakeholder input shared during the Listening Session and offers recommendations to further advance the availability and effectiveness of mentoring for children of incarcerated parents. The organization of the report largely follows the agenda of the Listening Session, provided in the appendix. The Listening Session began with brief overviews of research on children of incarcerated parents (Dr. Shlafer) as well as mentoring programs and relationships for youth in general (Dr. DuBois) and for children with incarcerated parents specifically (Dr. Jarjoura). Following an opportunity to discuss the presentations, participants were asked to share their views concerning the significance and most important features of mentoring relationships in the lives of children with incarcerated parents. Next, Drs. Jarjoura and DuBois facilitated an in-depth participant discussion on specific areas of program infrastructure and practice as they pertain to effectively mentoring this population. The session concluded with participants sharing their views regarding the most important next steps for making high-quality mentoring available to children of incarcerated parents. It should be noted that the recommendations included in this report, although informed by the perspectives of session participants, are solely those of the report's authors. An appendix presents the agenda for the Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents (COIP) Listening Session.