From 3-8 April 2017 the Jagiellonian University organised their third Social Labor Seminar in Cracow as part of the framework of the Polish Social Work Week PSSPS, targeting students and professionals. The theme on day four concerned the penitentiary system in Poland, addressing questions such as: “Is there a place in the Polish penitentiary system … Read More
children of prisoners europe
8th annual campaign “Not my crime, still my sentence” focuses on schools
COPE is pleased to announce that the recent schools-based fundraising initiative through GlobalGiving has been quite successful, thanks to the generous donations from supporters. Over $6,700 of the $7,500 goal has been raised, allowing preparations to get underway for the 2017 edition of COPE’s awareness-raising campaign “Not my crime, still my sentence”. The campaign, to … Read More
New publications from Families Outside
Families Outside (Scotland) published a number of new resources for families in 2016. Picking up the Pieces is a handbook for families of people convicted of a sexual offence, written with input from families themselves. This has since been translated for use in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The Families Left Behind is a handbook for families, … Read More
Quality of Childhood European Parliament session
How to support children to cope with their parent’s imprisonment and enhance their potential to lead safe, included, happy, achieving lives? On 10 January, MEP Julie Ward and the Brussels-based Alliance for Childhood European Network Group invited COPE to co-organise a two-hour Quality of Childhood (QoC) session at the European Parliament devoted to the issue … Read More
Solrosen partners with Swedish Correctional Services to renew prison visits rooms
In the second half of 2016, Solrosen was involved in a study organised by a Masters student studying “Child Culture Design”, a new Master specialisation focusing on play. Her focus was on children’s perceptions of the visits rooms in prisons. Children at Solrosen took part in the study and created their own models of how … Read More
First Portuguese conference on children of prisoners
On 31 January, COPE’s Secretary General Nancy Loucks OBE of Families Outside represented COPE at a Parliamentary expert meeting and a national-level conference on children with imprisoned parents in Lisbon, Portugal. Nancy spoke on behalf of COPE about the network, recent European developments for children of prisoners and the Italian model Memorandum of Understanding. Among … Read More
Exodus collaborates with Ombudswoman for Children to grant wishes of children of prisoners
Every six months, Exodus organises an expert meeting on the rights and wishes of children of prisoners. The goal is to realise ten wishes of children of prisoners, following a step-by-step process. A variety of organisations work together (prison system, police, schools, lawyers, youth care, probation service). One of the topics that has come up … Read More
Prison Inspectorate 2015/2016 Report in England and Wales
The Inspectorate of Prisons (England and Wales) report published in August 2016 acknowledged that maintaining family contact, where appropriate, is a “key source of support for prisoners during their time in custody and on their release”. The Inspectorate also recognised that: “maintaining contact with the imprisoned parents supports the children’s development: mentally, emotionally and in … Read More
Close of 7th edition of “Not my crime, still my sentence” campaign
Over the years, COPE’s campaign “Not my crime, still my sentence” has become a landmark annual event for all organisations working for the rights of children with imprisoned parents. Launched in 2010 and taken up by many supporters, the campaign is now celebrated annually in 15 countries with the aim of raising awareness about the … Read More
Data collection and children with imprisoned parents
This week, COPE’s annual campaign “Not my crime, still my sentence” will be focusing on the importance of collecting data relating to children of prisoners. Included in Article 6 of the Italian Memorandum of Understanding and expressly stated as the subject of a Council of Europe Parliamentary resolution, data collection is an issue of key … Read More