Children-of-Incarcerated-Parents-Bill-of-Rights

RIGHTS TO REALITIES■ Support children by supporting their caretakers.In many cases, relative caretakers receive less financial support than donon-related foster care providers—or no support at all. When a caretaker is animpoverished grandmother—as is often the case—it can prove particularly difficultfor her to meet her family's needs alone. Equalizing payments for relativecaregivers would be an important first step towards supporting the childrenfor whom they care. Additional help for grandparents—including respite careand support groups—could also help sustain struggling families.4.I have the rightTO BE WELL CARED FOR IN MYPARENT’S ABSENCE.When a child loses a single parent to incarceration, he also loses a home.In the most extreme cases, children may wind up fending for themselvesin a parent’s absence. Some will spend time in the foster care system,where 97 percent of administrators say they have no specific policy inplace to address those children’s needs. The majority stay with relatives,often elderly and impoverished grandmothers who may be strained personallyand financially by the challenge of caring for a second generation.■ Offer subsidized guardianship.Children deserve an opportunity for stability without being asked to severpermanently their bond with their parent. Guardianship—in which a caretakergains most of the legal rights of a parent, but biological parents do notpermanently lose their rights—is one way of providing this. If guardians wereroutinely offered the same level of support as are foster parents, more friendsand family members might feel able to step into this role. When reunificationis unlikely—as when a parent is serving a very long sentence—an openadoption can also provide both a permanent home and an ongoing connectionto an incarcerated parent.■ Consider differential response when a parent is arrested.Differential response laws—now on the books in more than ten states—allow child welfare agencies to respond to families in crisis by offering support,often through referrals to community-based agencies, without opening aformal investigation. Differential response offers a promising model for howagencies might support families struggling with the incarceration of a parent.Workers could interview caregivers, incarcerated parents, and older childrento determine their needs, and offer referrals to services, without the risk ofsanction and long-term separation a formal investigation can trigger.