Thanks Supporters!

“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:

CAUTION! Companies that offer “free” services through ‘apps’ capture personal private data about you from your phone.  “When the product is free, you are the product.”  Keep this in mind when using apps or ‘free’ email, social media, etc. accounts.

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

Parenting Beyond Prison – Resources for Incarcerated Parents & their Families – Nationwide!  2025  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:

The PATHfinder Club

https://thepathfinderclub.org/

Providing community and supporting teens with loved ones in prison.

The PATHfinder Club (TPC) is an arts-based support club model for teens who have been impacted by incarceration, detention, and deportation. The PATH in PATHfinder stands for Paving A Trail of Hope.  Through art, expression, and community, PATHfinder Club members pave a trail from hurt and harm to hope and healing.

START A FAMILY PROGRAM IN YOUR STATE!

In 2023, New Hampshire Dept. of Corrections had a FAMILY CONNECTIONS CENTER that  collaborated with state and private organizations to create systems of care for families affected by incarceration. Today, in early 2026, it’s gone. The program has been outsourced to virtual visits through a non-profit, third-party organization.

It’s now called Family Ties Inside Out and it’s available in 4 locations across the state.  https://www.archwaysnh.org/family-ties-inside-and-out.html 

They promoted a Family Fun Day:

A very special occasion for families!   Incarcerated parents and their children were offered one day of extended and more ‘free-form’ visiting.

What could we do to bring this idea to 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. 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. 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   https://pfefscholarships.org/programs/#scholarships
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)