Despite the challenges of families fragmented by incarceration, research demonstrates these families often have a resiliency that can be tapped as a source of strength and support. ^[1]   Even with extended periods of parent-child separation and the complex feelings that come with it, most parents naturally want to continue to support their children, and children continue to need the love and guidance of their parents. Administrators should therefore look beyond expanding parenting programs to visitation and related policies. Visitation policies and environments should support positive interactions for all family members, while considering security needs as necessary.

Where appropriate, children should have regular contact with their parents during the period of incarceration. (In some instances, such as in cases where the inmate has been convicted of child sex abuse, visitation may be completely inappropriate.) It is also important that inmates have regular contact with other close family members, including family members who have taken on the responsibility of child-rearing during incarceration. Given the distance between many incarcerated individuals and their home communities, corrections officials must think creatively about how to provide contact opportunities to relatives who live far away, especially those who may not have the means to travel. Contact can take many forms, such as written or videotaped correspondence, email, telephone calls, and personal visits.

Corrections administrators and other policymakers should be aware that the elevated costs of collect calls (typically the only kind prisoners are allowed to make) must generally be absorbed by families, which may lack the resources to pay for them with the frequency needed to maintaining family relationships. Such hidden costs should be considered even when revenues of telephone contracts are reinvested in prison programming, and policymakers should consider seeking alternatives that place less of a cost burden on families. Legislation was passed in the state of Washington, for example, amending language in the«…corrections code that limits inmate calling options to collect calls and charging the secretary of corrections with finding other secure calling options. ^[2]   The amount and type of contact will need to be determined based on each individual inmate's circumstances and the wishes of his or her family.

Example: Father to Child Program, Hope House (DC)

Nearly 10,000 inmates from Washington, DC are serving their sentences in federal prisons across the United States. The Father to Child Program allows fathers who are incarcerated in a North Carolina prison to regularly communicate with their children in Washington. Every two weeks, the children visit Hope House to see and talk with their fathers using internet technology.

Example: Grandma's House, Gracious Promise Foundation (KS)

Gracious Promise is using federal funds to build "Grandma's House" for infants born to incarcerated women. Staff will care for the babies while the mothers complete their sentences and study parenting skills. Staff members facilitate six weeks of breast-feeding visits to the mother in the facility, and then weekly visits thereafter.

A designated family area allows incarcerated parents to play and interact more informally with their visiting children of different ages. Women's institutions are more likely to have special visitation space for inmates and their children, but programs should also be developed for fathers to meet with their children. ^[3]   Programs should also be examined to ensure that visiting areas support the engagement of older as well as young children. Visitation areas should be accessible to elderly family members and others who are caring for children in the inmate's absence. Visitation assistance, now available from corrections or other service agencies in at least five percent of corrections agencies in the United States, can provide support for transportation, lodging, or other needs of family members. Where visitation assistance is not yet available, corrections administrators should seek to implement it to mitigate challenges posed by the distance between correctional facilities and prisoners' home communities. ^[4]  

Example: Living Interactive Family Education Program, Missouri Department of Corrections and the University of Missouri Outreach and Extension (MO)

The Living Interactive Family Education (L.I.F.E.) program is an enhanced visitation program at a maximum security prison in Mineral Point, Missouri. Jointly developed by incarcerated fathers and local 4-H staff, in partnership with the University of Missouri Outreach and Extension and the Missouri Department of Corrections, the program has two components: 4-H activities (arts and crafts, as well as curricula-based activities such as conflict resolution, substance abuse resistance, and character development) and parenting skills training (including communication, positive discipline, anger management and teamwork). The program promotes interaction beyond the traditional visitation rules, which require that fathers limit physical contact with their children and that fathers remain seated with their hands visible.