Resources from the former CWLA Federal Resource Center for Children of Prisoners:

Videos, Books, and Materials for Children, Families, and Programs

(To obtain these resources, use a Google Search or popular on-line retailers to find vender information. For additional resources from FCN, click here)

Videos
 

Champagne and The Talking Eggs, Michael Sporn, Director. The true story of a young teenage girl whose mother is jailed for murder. Living in a Catholic children's home run by nuns, Champange provides poignant commentary about her mother, her own situation, and her outlook for the future.
 

Children of Prisoners/Children of Promise. National Institute of Corrections.
 

Home Boys: My Daddy's in Jail. Active Parenting Publishers.  Filmed eight years after Homeboys: Life and Death in the Hood, features the same young men--all but one now in jail. It gives equal time to the prisoners and their children. 26 minutes.
 

Prison Lullabies, Brown Hats Production. An extraordinary tale of four women making life-altering choices and seizing the glimmer of possibility the prison nursery program is holding out for them and for the future of their children.
 

A Sentence of Their Own, Edgar Barens, Director. Chronicles one family's annual pilgrimage to a New Hampshire state prison, revealing the damaging effect incarceration has on families.
 

Visiting Day (VHS/DVD) 39.95 Reading Rainbow Episode 146. A young girl and her grandmother make the long bus trip every month to visit the girl's father in prison. Some children don't get to live with their parents. In this episode LeVar Burton introduces a family separated by a prison sentence. Viewers join the family for visiting day and find out what life is like for kids when a parent is incarcerated, and what it's like for a parent who can't be at home with his family.
 

When the Bough Breaks. Explores the emotional impact on children whose mothers are imprisoned for nonviolent crimes, particularly drug-related prostitution and theft.
 

White Oleander. Astrid is a 15-year-old child of an incarcerated mother. She is learning to cope with a succession of foster homes, a series of traumas, and her mother's jealousy. Her skill as an artist is her refuge. (Warner Brothers, 2003, Rated PG13).

 

• Books
   

  All Kinds of Families, Norma Simon, October 1987, Albert Whitman & Co., ages 4-8
   

  Breaking Out, Barthe Declements, August 1993, Demco Media: seventh grader must adjust to his father's imprisonment, for older children
   

  Coping When a Parent Is in Jail, John J. La Valle, June 1995, Rosen Publishing Group
   

  Let's Talk About When Your Parent Is in Jail, Maureen Wittbold, August 1998, Powerkids Press
   

  Queenie Peavy, Robert Burch, Viking Press
   

  A Visit to the Big House, Oliver Butterworth
   

  Into the Great Forest: A Story for Children Away from Parents for the First Time, Irene Wineman Marcus and Paul Marcus, PhD, 1992, New York: Magination Press, 800/374-2721
   

  Zachary's New Home: A Story for Foster and Adopted Children, Geraldine M. Blomquist, MSW, Paul B. Blomquist, 1990, New York: Magination Press, 800/374-2721, available through www.maginationpress.com, ages 3-8
  
   

• Workbooks
   

  All About Change, Kathy Kagy-Taylor and Donna Dansker, 1991, The Aring Institute of Beech Acres, 6881 Beechmont Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45230, 513/231-6630, for children in grades K-4.
   

  Because ... Somebody Loves Me, Child Welfare League of America (1996), a workbook for children coping with painful transitions, helps them express feelings and come to terms with reality in a positive comforting way, to order, call 800/407-6273, available through CWLA
   

  Help for Kids! Understanding Your Feelings About Having a Parent in Prison or Jail (for Kids Ages 6 and Older), Carole Gesme, MA, CCDP, with consultation from Michele Kopfmann. To purchase: Carole Gesme, 4036 Kerry Court, Minnetonka, MN 55345, 612/938-9163 (phone), 612/935-2038 (fax).
   

  If You Have a Parent in Jail then this Book is for You, Craig, Kevin, Josselyn, Alan, Brittney, with Bonnie Ayer and Amy Bigelow, School counselors at Flynn School, 1996, Burlington, VT, 05401.
   

  Two in Every 100: A Special Workbook for Children with a Parent in Prison, published by Reconciliation Ministries, Inc., PO Box 90827, Nashville, TN 37209, 615/292-6371
   

   

• Materials for Incarcerated Parents
   

  The Foster Care Handbook for Incarcerated Parents: A Manual of Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities, by the Inmate Foster Care Committee, The Children's Center, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Bedford Hills, NY 10547, 914/241-3100
   

  I Love You This Much, Pennsylvania Department of Education and Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, (1995), is a workbook designed to facilitate communication between incarcerated parents and their children. Prepared by women inmates in the State Correctional Institution at Muncy, PA, this 164-page workbook includes games, activities, sample letters, and suggestions to help incarcerated men and women nurture their children from a distance and actively participate in parenting. To inquire about this workbook, contact Melinda Yowell, Parenting Director, State Correctional Institution at Muncy, PO Box 180, Muncy, PA 17756, 717/546-3171.
   

  Parenting from a Distance: Your Rights and Responsibilities, by Jan Walker, MA, The Interstate Printers & Publishers, Inc., Danville, IL (1987). Although not specific to incarcerated parents, this book includes incarcerated parents as one example of parenting from a distance. Includes information about rights and responsibilities, telling children, daily routine, touching from a distance, visiting, holidays, the systems (including child welfare), shared parenting, and reunion. Also includes forms and sample letters (including letter to foster care caseworker from incarcerated parent) to help parents acquire and maintain information about their children.
   

  Parenting from Inside/Out: The Voices of Mothers in Prison, edited by Kathy Boudin and Rozann Greco, The Children's Center, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Bedford Hills, NY 10547, 914/241-3100.
   

  A Vision Beyond Survival: A Resource Guide for Incarcerated Women, 1995, National Women's Law Center, 11 Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036, 202/588-5180. Written specifically for women in the DC/MD/VA area this book contains general information that is helpful to all incarcerated women, and includes a section on child custody concerns.
   

  Questions for Dad, by Dwight Twilley, 1994, Boston: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc. The author describes in detail a creative method for parents and children living apart to communicate and enhance their long-distance relationships.

   

• Materials for Caregivers of Children with Incarcerated Parents
   

  Manual for Grandparents-Relative Caregivers and their Advocates, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, 100 McAllister, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415/255-7036.
   

  Grandparent Caregivers: A National Guide, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, 100 McAllister, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415/255-7036.
   

   

• Materials for Service Providers, Volunteers, and Other Advocates
   

  Working with Children and Families
  
  How Can I Help? A Three-Volume Series on Serving Special Children, Vol. I: Working with Children of Incarcerated Parents, Vol. II: Sustaining & Enhancing Family Ties, Vol. III: Resources for Supporting the Children of Incarcerated Parents, developed by the Osborne Association, 135 E. 15th Street, New York, NY 10003, 212/673-6633
  
  Parenting from the Inside: Maintaining the Bond, by Maud MacArthur, BA, and Theresa LaBarre, PsyD, 1996, is the curriculum for the FCI and FPC Danbury Parenting Program. Includes a teacher's guide, a parent's manual, and sections on family literacy, parenting skills, and long-distance parenting. Contact FCI Danbury, Route 37, Danbury, CT 06811-3099, 203/743-6471.
  
  Homemade Books to Help Kids Cope: An Easy-to-Learn Technique for Parents and Professionals, by Robert G. Ziegler, MD, 1992, New York: Magination Press, 800/374-2721.
  
  Training Manual on Working with Women in the Criminal Justice System, developed by the Women's Justice Alliance, 1997, c/o Women's Prison Association, 110 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003, 212/674-1163.
  
  Questions for Dad, by Dwight Twilley, 1994, Boston: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc. The author describes in detail a creative method for parents and children living apart to communicate and enhance their long-distance relationships.