Resources for families impacted by incarceration and those who work with them.

Section links for this page include:
4-H LIFE Program
Community Service Projects
Caregiver Resources
Professional Resources
Organization Resources
Sustainability Resources

4-H LIFE Program

• 4-H LIFE Presentation
  The 4-H LIFE program overview and evaluation results.

• 4-H LIFE Evaluation
  Impact evaluation of the original 4-H LIFE program.

• Agape House, Jefferson City, MO
  Affordable overnight lodging for caregivers and families.

• Agape House, Vandalia, MO
  Affordable overnight lodging for caregivers and families.

• Missouri 4-H
  Missouri's 4-H Center for Youth Development, programs, projects and events.

• Missouri Department of Corrections
  Includes locations of Adult Institutions and Offender Rehabilitation Services.

• Volunteers in Corrections (VIC) Training Schedule 2008 (PDF)
  Volunteers in Missouri prisons must attend VIC training.

 Community Service Projects

Mail Kit
Groups or individual put together simple decorated boxes with writing supplies to benefit children of incarcerated parents and family members.

Carry On Suitcase
Groups or individuals put together suitcases filled with personal care items for women, teens and children who come to battered women's shelters.

back to top

 Caregiver Resources

• A Sentence of their Own
  A fact sheet with information about prisoners’ families.

• Caregivers Guidebook (PDF 882 KB)
  Provides information on how to manage money for youth ages 5-18.

• Children of Incarcerated Parents Bill of Rights (PDF 669 KB)
  Explains the rights of children whose parents are incarcerated.

• Children of Incarcerated Parents: What is the Caregiver's Role? (PDF)
  Discusses children’s emotional state when parents are incarcerated and how the caregiver can help.

• Children of Incarcerated Parents (PDF)
  California Research Bureau, written by Charlene Wear Simmons.

• Guardianship Laws (PDF 203 KB)
  Information about national subsidized guardianship laws.

• Guide to Collecting Child Support (PDF 499 KB)
  Information to help women pursue unpaid child support through the public child support enforcement program.

• Incarcerated Fathers Reaching Outside (PDF 231 KB)
  Discusses issues about male offenders’ relationships with their families, and children's emotional, developmental, and behavioral responses to the parent being incarcerated based on age.

• Parenting from Prison:  A Resource Guide for Parents Incarcerated in Colorado (PDF)
  Guide for incarcerated parents about parenting decisions that occur during incarceration.

• Project Life
  Adolescent Mental Health, a guide for teenagers and their parents and ABCs of Children's Mental Health, a guide for children and youth, parents and professionals in PDF files.

• Suggested Reading (PDF)
  List of books and articles for caregivers, families and children of offenders.

• University of Missouri Extension Resources for Families (PDF)
  Information about University of Missouri Extension programs and contact information for local Extension centers.

• What About Me-Children with Incarcerated Parents (PDF)
  Information about Family Impact Seminars in Michigan.  The seminars are nonpartisan educational forums on family issues for state policymakers.

• Why Maintain Relationships (PDF)
  Information about maintaining children's relationships with their incarcerated parents, and the effects and benefits of doing so.

• Working with Children with Parents in Prison
  Information on various topics on how to deal and work with children whose parents are incarcerated.

 Professional Resources

Articles, curriculum, guidebooks and reports

• Activities to Promote Racial and Cultural Awareness
  Article by Barbara Biles with the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory part of PBS series called “Precious Children."

• American Poverty Tour
  Catholic Campaign for Human Development - A two-minute video tour to raise awareness about economic poverty.

• Building Strong Families
  University of Missouri Extension - A thirteen-topic curriculum which helps families build strengths, face challenges and make choices using hands-on activities.

• Children of Incarcerated Parents: Cumulative Risk & Children's Living Arrangements (PDF)
  Columbia University School of Social Work and University of Michigan, written by Elizabeth Inez Johnson & Jane Waldfogel.

• Children of Incarcerated Parents (PDF)
  California Research Bureau, written by Charlene Wear Simmons.

• Children of Incarcerated Parents (PDF)
  Report by Virginia Commission on Youth.

• Consumer & Family Economics Resource List (PDF)
  University of Missouri Extension

• E-Answers
  Online resource of information and research from Land Grant Universities across the United States.

• Earning Trust from Youths with None to Spare (PDF)
  Research about working with adolescents dealing with incarcerated parents by the Center for Community Alternatives.

• Ella Mazel's "And Don't Call Me a Racist"
  A treasury of quotes on the past, present, and future of the color line in America.

• Every Door Closed: Fact Sheet Series
  A collection of eight Agenda Action Fact Sheets on barriers facing parents with criminal records by National Institute of Corrections.

• Food and Nutrition Information Center
  Nutrition and health resources sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• Foster Care in Missouri (PDF)
  Center for Family Policy and Research.

• Foster Care: No Cure for Mental Illness
  Connect for Kids, written by Rob Capriccioso.

• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (PDF)
  North Carolina Family & Consumer Sciences report.

• Helping Inmate Moms Keep in Touch
  Florida Department of Corrections

• Incarcerated Parents and Their Children (PDF)
  Special Report of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, written by Christopher Mumola

• Literacy Behind Prison Walls
  National Adult Literacy Survey; National Center for Education Statics

• Literacy Resources
  A list of national and Missouri literacy resources

• Marriage Resources
  Utah Marriage.  Research-based ideas for dating and marriage preparation, facts about marriage and more.

• Out-of-School Time
  Resource links from Ohio State University for out-of-school programs.

• Making Ends Meet
  University of Missouri Poverty at Issue.  A PowerPoint presentation to help local leaders discover what it takes to make ends meet.

• National Mental Health Information Center
  Children's mental health information from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

• Poverty Quiz
  Test your knowledge about poverty in Missouri.

• Sample Memorandum of Agreement
  MS State University Extension

• Sustainability Planning Checklist
  Coalition for Community Schools.

• Tackling the Tough Skills^TM
  A fun, innovative and highly interactive life skills curriculum that helps hard-to-reach adults or teens prepare for success in work and life.

• U.S. Census Bureau Fact Finder
  A searchable site providing population and housing statistics on state, county and city/town levels.

  back to top

Organization Resources

Last Revised 14-Mar-08