This report highlights the practice learning emerging from Barnardo's pilot services based in the community that worked with children and their families affected by imprisonment.
The report is based on interviews with the children and families involved with these services, and also the project workers. Their experiences of having a family member in prison, as well as their experiences of the Barnardo's pilot services, are used to develop messages for practice. The messages include the importance of ongoing, direct work with children, the need to support parents in talking to their children about imprisonment, the need for professionals to engage with wider family members, in particular grandparents, and the importance of working closely with schools to support children. The report also discusses wider questions around practice development, such as the identification of children of prisoners and the need for a wider family-focused approach in various services. The messages for practice are relevant to other community-based services for children and families of prisoners and also in supporting mainstream children's services to effectively address the needs of this group of children.
See Working with Children with a Parent in Prison below:
