“FREE” MAIL SERVICE

https://ameelio.org/#/

Ameelio has an app that you can use to send free letters or photos through the postal service.  The company says: “Whether it’s images, postcards, or games, send them for free. We’ll print and mail it for you.”

Fair Shake has received several responses from incarcerated folks saying the app works very well.  I cannot promote an app, however,  without including this:

APP REMINDER: Companies that offer “free” services through ‘apps’ capture lots of data from your phone.  “When the product is free, you are the product.” Try to keep this in mind in this age of data mining and “smart” technology.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a U.S. government program that helps many low income households pay for broadband service and internet connected devices.                  https://affordableconnectivity.gov/

Children of Incarcerated Parents– A Bill of Rights
San Francisco, CA

Parenting Beyond Prison – Resources for Incarcerated Parents & their Families – Nationwide!  2024 https://www.ceawisconsin.org/prison-parenting-programs

Directory of Programs Serving Children and Families of the Incarcerated (https://nrccfi.camden.rutgers.edu/)

Programs in States from MONTANA – WYOMING      (Maintained on the Rutgers University website.)

http://nrccfi.camden.rutgers.edu/resources/directory/states-mt-wy/

Sesame Street Addresses Incarceration

Click here to watch Sesame Street collection of videos on incarceration.

Little Children Big Challenges – Incarceration

Tips for Caregivers

Tips for Incarcerated Parents

High School club for Children with Incarcerated Parents:

POPS the Club (Pain Of the Prison System)  https://popsclubs.com/ 

Providing community and supporting teens with loved ones in prison.

Our high school-based clubs meet weekly to nourish, empower, heal and inspire through creative expression and emotional support. We provide students with the tools and confidence to educate the broader community. Our core work takes place during weekly POPS the Club meetings where participants break bread and break their silence. Following their communal meals, students benefit from the wisdom of guest speakers, from opportunities for writing and making art, from conversation and from mindfulness exercises.

START A FAMILY PROGRAM IN YOUR STATE!

New Hampshire Dept. of Corrections FAMILY CONNECTIONS CENTER has collaborated with many state and private organizations throughout the years to try to create systems of care for families affected by incarceration.

They’ve created a Family Fun Day:

A very special occasion for families!

Incarcerated parents and their children are offered one day of extended and more ‘free-form’ visiting.

Find out more about the event, and the responses to it here and through the NH-DOC website:

https://www.nh.gov/nhdoc/fcc/

CAN WE DO THIS IN EVERY PRISON?

Links for Families of Prisoners

Everything in this section available Online Only

Directory of Programs Serving Children and Families of the Incarcerated

View Programs in States Alabama-Missouri
View Programs in States Montana-Wyoming (including Washington, DC)
View Programs offering National services

Supporting Children and Families of Prisoners

From the Dept. of Health and Human Services

https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/supporting/support-services/prisoners/

Parenting Issues During Incarceration
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/prison2home02/Hairston.htm

Services to Children and Families of Prisoners
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/supporting/support-services/prisoners/

Online Support Forums

Daily Strength http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Families-of-Prisoners/support-group

Girl Scouts Beyond Bars for Girls and Moms

www.girlscoutsww.org

How to Change a Child Support Order – State by State

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/css/resource/state-by-state-how-to-change-a-child-support-order

(note: some states do not allow incarcerated parents to decrease, defer or delay child support payments

Forever Family: Surround Children with the Love of Family!

http://www.foreverfam.org/index.php

Project W.H.A.T. (We’re Here And Talking) For Teens!

http://www.communityworkswest.org/index.php/project-what

Support for Children and Families By State

Higher Ed scholarships for Children with Incarcerated Parents

1. ScholarCHIPS
2. www.scholarCHIPSfund.com. ScholarCHIPS provides college scholarships and a support network for children of incarcerated parents, inspiring them to complete their college education.

1. Ava’s Grace Scholarship Foundation www.avasgrace.org . They award scholarships to children with parents incarcerated in the federal prison system.

1. Miami-Dade Scholarship   http://www.mdc.edu/financialaid/scholarships/american-dream.aspx   The American Dream Scholarship helps the dream of higher education become a reality. This scholarship picks up where other aid and scholarships leave off, ensuring that bright, qualified students have the means to continue their education. The scholarship is made possible by the generosity of members of the Greater Miami community.

1. Children Impacted by Crime Scholarships   https://www.writeaprisoner.com/inmate-victim-scholarship/The Children of Inmates Scholarship Fund and the Children as Victims Scholarship Fund will award annual scholarships to students who are pursuing a college education.

1. College Success Foundation  https://www.collegesuccessfoundation.org/   Our college services program provides support to increase college graduation rates for low-income students. CSF Scholars have attended colleges in every state of the nation.

1. Give Back.    https://www.giveback.ngo/  Give Something Back is a mentoring and college scholarship organization that serves students who have faced economic hardship and other adversity, including the incarceration of a parent or placement in the foster care system. So far, Give Back has provided more than $35 million in scholarships to more than 1,500 scholars at partner colleges and universities across the country and is on track to triple that number.

1. Gates Millennium Scholars   https://www.gatesfoundation.org/  To reduce financial hardships faced by children of low income families. Aimed at African American, Hispanic American, Native American/Alaskan Native, and Asian Pacific Islander American, this scholarship helps students from low income families complete their undergraduate degrees. Students who complete their undergraduate degree may then ask for additional funding for graduate school if they plan to major in education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health, or science.

1. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Scholarship  https://www.jkcf.org/our-scholarships/   These scholarship programs are designed to encourage and support outstanding students who work hard, demonstrate a strong will to succeed, and have financial need. Our scholarships provide financial assistance and academic support to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.

1. Unmet Needs Scholarship   http://www.thesalliemaefund.org/smfnew/scholarship/index.html    As a part of the Sallie Mae Scholarship Funds, the Unmet Need Scholarship Program is available to low-income families with a combined income of less than $30,000. This scholarship ranges from $1,000 to $3,800 and is intended as a supplemental scholarship to fill an “unmet” financial aid need of $1,000 or more. It is available to students who are U.S. citizens, enrolled full-time as an undergraduate at an accredited college or university.

1. United Negro Scholarship Fund https://www.uncf.org/students  Our support takes many different forms. From merit scholarships to financial assistance, on-campus assistance to professional development, emergency financial aid to community support, UNCF is committed to getting more students like you to and through college.

1. Creative Corrections Education Foundation   http://ccefscholarships.org/
2. CCEF provides scholarship and financial aid opportunities to children of the incarcerated and at-risk young adults to enroll in college, trade school and certificate courses.

HELP! with navigating:

CORRLINKS

Signing Up and Managing an Account.

https://app.fairshake.net/corrlinks-sign-up/

BUREAU OF PRISONS

Reentry Housing information:

https://app.fairshake.net/bureau-of-prisons-information/

.

Children of Prisoners Library

http://nrccfi.camden.rutgers.edu/resources/library/children-of-prisoners-library/

(many more pamphlets can be found on their website)