In the European Union, some 800,000 children are separated from a parent in prison. The pan-European network Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) has been working with the Fédération des Relais Enfants Parents (FREP) for 20 years to support initiatives across Europe that focus on preserving and strengthening bonds between children and their parent in prison, as well as working for a positive future for these children.
When a child is separated from their parent in prison, they are often faced with a number of risks. Through analysis of these risks it has been demonstrated that supporting and nurturing the child-parent relationship is crucial not only for the child’s education but also their health and well-being. For many legislators across the EU, the importance of supporting children with imprisoned parents has not been fully taken into account as a policy concern.
Nurturing the child-parent bond, which implies overall support for the child, for the imprisoned parent and for all actors that may impact the relationship, depends on the collaboration and engagement of prison staff, among others. Over the past few decades, the FREP has developed well-honed expertise in training prison staff with a focus on strengthening child-parent relationships.
For the 12,500 children in Bulgaria who have a father in prison, support systems are not always well-established; and the child-parent bond may suffer. The Sofia-based organisation Child and Space launched a support initiative for imprisoned mothers at Sliven Prison in 2015; few comparable initiatives are currently operating for imprisoned fathers in Bulgaria. There is a general lack of awareness among prison staff of what is at stake—how to support positive parenting and respond to children’s specific needs; how to preserve and strengthen the child-parent bond; how to promote communication and contact with families in order to facilitate reintegration.
In response, “Papa Plus” was launched in October, an initiative that connects Child and Space and the FREP, to adapt the French experience and expertise to the Bulgarian context, and thus begin working with prison staff at Sofia Prison to explore how they can become more in-tune with the importance of child-parent relationships and how to support positive parenting. This model will then be expanded to develop similar initiatives in other countries in Europe. COPE is pleased to announce that there will be an inaugural event for Papa Plus in early February in Paris.