The Problem
Mass incarceration rips apart families, disproportionately hurts the poor, and costs taxpayers $260 billion annually. Since 1980, the U.S. incarcerated population has increased by 500%, while the crime rate has remained flat. America represents less than 5% of the global population but accounts for 25% of the world's prisoners.
Half the U.S. prison population are parents to minors under 18. Parental incarceration is more common than childhood asthma (5.3 million vs. 5.1 million), and children in poverty are three times more likely to lose their parents to arrest. These statistics led the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to identify parental incarceration as an "adverse childhood experience" with long-term consequences to health and well-being.
I know from personal experience how devastating losing a parent to prison can be. I was only nine when my father went away for many years. Our family lost everything except each other. As I searched for solutions to help our family, I read guidance from experts who suggest children can transform serious adversity into positive outcomes with supportive relationships and active skill-building. But most impacted minors won't get help because they feel shame and stigma from telling others. Our community requires programs and resources to build us up so that past family misfortunes don't become future legacies.
Your Solution
KidsMates is the first national initiative led by directly-impacted youth to better outcomes for children of incarcerated parents.
KidsMates Visits promotes in-person bonding for incarcerated parents and their children through reading and play. When local libraries were downsizing, I enlisted a group of more than 20 young advocates to help me collect books, call and write letters to prison officials, and prepare donations for delivery. This operation was more complicated than traditional donation programs because many people refused to support prisons and many prison officials viewed donations as a contraband risk. Although we faced many hurdles, we successfully placed books, games, and movies in 23 of 36 states with federal prison visiting rooms.
When the pandemic hit, visiting rooms shut down and we focused on digital advocacy. We have over 1600 users on social media. I also developed the KidsMates Chronicle with 6 dedicated volunteer youths who helped me write, edit, design, proofread, and market blogs featuring supportive resources and programs for children of incarcerated parents. KidsMates also developed the C.A.R.E.S approach for caregivers to foster resilience in children of incarcerated parents. This approach is featured in publications by the American Academy of Pediatrics, childwelfare.gov, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and many criminal justice platforms.
Founding Story
When my father went to prison, our family structure collapsed. At age nine, I didn't think our family would survive the emotional and financial tsunami. I finally realized I was not alone. 1 in 14 American children has an incarcerated parent. We are a hidden community with no distinguishing features.
My "Aha!" moment came from weekly treks to my dad's prison. The only traces of the outside were prehistoric children's books on a dusty bookcase. I started KidsMates with the idea that refreshing those books might repair family moments. Success with books motivated me to pursue other changes.
Your Impact
KidsMates Inc. is a national resource on parental incarceration. Childwelfare.gov cites KidsMates as a top resource in this space.
Existing Campaigns: KidsMates promotes a month-long "See Us, Support Us" awareness campaign with partners. We assist organizations creating video calling technology and lobby for free prison phone calls in fifty states. KidsMates has inspired some prisons to engage in their own programs, such as family painting events, holiday photos, and parenting classes. The AAP uses KidsMates content in continuing education for pediatric caregivers.
Future Plans: We are developing a free, online recidivism risk calculator with comparable accuracy to proprietary models used by prisons and judges. We conduct caregiver studies in centers to generate data about best practices related to family disclosure and care about parental incarceration.
The Team: I co-founded KidsMates with my sister and brother, three directly-impacted individuals. We started a board which takes input from other youth advocates and members of KidsMates-partner organizations. We also have a "Mates" program in which affected youth are invited to help expand outreach in both prisons and donation collections. These programs activate impacted youth to become changemakers across America.
Video
