A toolkit on children’s right to direct contact with a parent in prison Child psychologists, social workers, researchers and other child welfare professionals are in consensus that the imprisonment of a parent can have long-lasting adverse consequences on the lives of children when they are not supported, and that reasonable steps should be taken to … Read More
“Mum explained that I had to prepare myself that my father would probably be imprisoned. It was sort of like waiting for something that you know will be unpleasant, but you don’t know how bad it will be…. And it was also as if every time we thought that now we were sure we would … Read More
This Implementation Guidance Document is structured as a companion to Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)5 to member States concerning children with imprisoned parents. It is by no means exhaustive. Providing examples of good practice from our member organisations, it is designed to guide and support the many stakeholders that the Recommendation addresses by presenting actionable … Read More
This media toolkit is a communications tool for NGOs working with and advocating for children who have a parent in prison, and more broadly for families affected by the imprisonment of a loved one. From the outset, this toolkit has been written with medium-sized NGOs (about 15-20 people) in mind, although many of the methods, … Read More
Now available in six languages (BG, EN, ES, FR, PL, RO).
2019 saw advances in both qualitative and qualitative data collection. With more robust data on who they are and where they are, support initiatives for children with a parent in prison are able to be stronger and more focused on individual needs. Data collection with a focus on mutual trust involves the prisoner-parent and is … Read More
After the adoption of Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States concerning children with imprisoned parents in April 2018, organisations across Europe worked with children, including their voices to make this milestone document more accessible. This set of European guidelines is designed to help encourage action, as well as being a useful … Read More
Among the many publications that COPE produces annually, these stakeholder briefings serve several functions. Intended to provide report summaries and outline research findings; introduce good practice; provide policy updates; bring awareness to special issues; or report on program and campaign launches, they are pithy documents geared towards network members, professionals in the field and researchers. … Read More
In December 2017, Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) published volume 6 of the European Journal of Parental Imprisonment ‘First port of call: The role of schools in supporting children with imprisoned parents’. The articles highlight the key role schools have in supporting children affected by imprisonment and explore the importance of Human Rights Education principles; … Read More
Roma and Travellers tend to be overrepresented in European prison populations. Roma individuals make up an estimated fifty percent of sentenced prisoners in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania; Travellers — though they make up 0.6 percent of Ireland’s general population—account for nearly twenty-five percent of the female prison population. Reasons for this over-representation include, among other … Read More
