A new handbook designed to help children deal with and understand the imprisonment of a loved one has been published by Pact. Written by Joanne Mulcahy (Head of Service Delivery and Development for Pact Cymru)

The guide came about as a result of research by Pact highlighting that children wanted their parents to be more honest with them.  They also said that they wanted to engage with adults to ‘feel part of what was going on. The result was ‘Locked Out’ a comprehensive support guide and toolkit that covers topics from ‘To tell or not to tell’ and ‘Explaining specific offences’ to ‘What is Prison like‘ and ‘Children’s rights’ The guide is written in a clear and logical style and includes a number of interactive activities designed for children to both understand and express themselves.Hard copies of the guide are available from  Pact, or an electronic version can be downloaded  here.