Presenter Ann Adalist-Estrin, describes the essential things to know about caregivers of children of prisoners and the skills you need to develop to work more effectively with them.

To help children of prisoners, it is vital to work effectively with their caregivers. The caregiver of child of a prisoner is perhaps the single biggest factor in the child's quality of life. Caregivers often determine how much access that agencies and volunteers have to the child. They regulate contact with the incarcerated parent.

Caregivers of children of incarcerated parents need:

* Support and understanding from friends, family, clergy and the community

* Emotional support such as individual counseling or group activities can contribute greatly to the ability of caregivers to cope.

* Information about children of incarcerated parents as well as about services in the community

* Guidance about what is best for children and how to answer their questions

* Rules, boundaries and space in the home: for the children, for the family and for the caregiver

* Opportunities for respite care and relief from the duties of caregiving

* Help with managing the needs and services that are all too often fragmented, unavailable or costly

Learn how to engage with and support caregivers more effectively. Identify strategies that work and those that are likely to fail. Assess your skills and your agency's capabilities. 

FEATURED PRESENTER: Ann Adalist-Estrin, M.S. is the author of the Children of Prisoners Library and co-author of Responding to Children and Families of Prisoners: A Community Guide. She is a Child and Family Therapist and Director of BRIDGES: Parent-Child Counseling and Consultation Services in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. She is an author, speaker and consultant to a wide variety of agencies serving children and families in the United States and Canada. Her seminar topics span a wide range of interests and ages and are popular with parents and professionals alike.

Ann Adalist-Estrin was Founder and Director of the Parent Resource Center in Wyncote, Pennsylvania and Director of Incarcerated Parents and Their Children – Consulting Services. She is a trainer for the Healthy Steps For Young Children Project at Boston University School of Medicine. She is an Affiliated Consultant with Family and Corrections Network. She regularly teaches a seminar for childcare directors at Holy Family College, Philadelphia and "Those Left Behind" a graduate course for teachers addressing the needs of children of incarcerated parents at Gratz College in Philadelphia.

This one-hour audio-conference is hosted by Family and Corrections Network, publisher of the Children of Prisoners Library.

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