The COPE network has two categories of membership directly involved in the organisation:

  • Member organisations
  • Individual Members (invitation only)

All organisations who would like to join the network must be considered first as applicant members, before being eligible to become full members.

We also welcome affiliates who would like to receive regular updates about the network and our work. Anyone can be an affiliate, whether an organisation or an individual. 

Member organisations

Alternative Sociale has been working to raise awareness on issues resulting from the interaction of children with the justice system, either as victims, perpetrators or from having imprisoned parents, since 1997. Alternative Sociale contributed to the improvement of the conditions for hearing children in police stations, prosecutor’s offices and courts of law, and also in prison visiting rooms, to be friendlier for children visiting their parents.

Alternative Sociale was part of the research team for the milestone FP7 Framework EU-funded COPING project (2010-2013) and also has conducted an investigation resulting in the first estimate regarding the number of Romanian children of prisoners. Alternative Sociale works in family and child, justice, migration, education, and social economy sectors, and provides training for criminal justice participants such as police officers, prosecutors, prison guards and judges.

Website: http://www.alternativesociale.ro/

Mission Statement: To maintain the links between child and incarcerated parent. Works to facilitate the bond between children and their imprisoned parent.

  • A non-profit, non-governmental, individual organisation 
  • They rely on private funding from the Fonds Houtman, Rotary Club, Communauté Française Belgique, United Fund and Institutional funding from the Justice Ministry and the Labour Ministry.
  • They are prison-based, and their services are: Parent group discussions, child-friendly areas, support sessions, and the ‘bénévoles navatteurs’ who accompany children visiting their parents. 
  • A highlight is the tri-lieux visiting areas divided into sensi-motor, relaxation and creativity spaces.

Website : http://www.relaisenfantsparents.be

Bambinisenzasbarre is a non-governmental organisation based in Milan, Italy working to support the child-parent relationship with specific attention on the unexpected and potentially traumatic separation from the detained parent. Through partnerships with the Ministry of Justice, the Prison Administration Department and the Regional Superintendencies for the activities in Italian prisons, Bambinisenzasbarre has achieved and promotes a welcoming model for children entering prison: over 100,000 every year in Italy.

Activities include:

  • Lobbying
  • Advocacy
  • Creating special child-friendly areas in prison visiting centers (Yellow Spaces)
  • Sensitisation campaigns
  • Training for prison operators
  • Promoting a national network

Website : http://www.bambinisenzasbarre.org/

Bedford Row Family Project is a non-profit organisation in Limerick, Ireland that seeks to facilitate the families of prisoners as a group sharing common interests. They offer support to the families affected by imprisonment and help with the re-integration of ex-prisoners into their family life and into society. Activities include:

  • Educational programmes for children
  • Training programmes for counsellors who work with the families
  • Research on children with imprisoned parents
  • Hospitality service at the Limerick prison, which provides refreshments and child-centred activities in the waiting room

Website: http://www.bedfordrow.ie/

Bufff is a national children’s rights organisation that is politically and religiously independent, organising 14 local organisations across Sweden. Bufff works to emphasize and improve the conditions of children of imprisoned parents and offers support to children, adolescents and families with a parent or family member in prison, detention or on parole. Activities include:

  • Individual counselling for children and caregivers, (in person or via chat, telephone or digital meetings)
  • Support groups and group activities for children and families
  • Parental support for imprisoned parents
  • Non-prison based recreational activities with children and families
  • National helpline for children, caregivers, and imprisoned parents
  • Expertise for prison officers or other professionals who meets the children.
  • Awareness raising and advocacy work.

Website: http://bufff.nu/

Child and Space Association is a NGO in public benefit created in 2004 as a result of the work of a research laboratory within the framework of the French-Bulgarian training project “Growing Without Parents”. It was implemented from 1998 to 2004 and covers multidisciplinary teams from all facilities for medical and social care for children as well as social workers from the 15 Child Protection Departments in Bulgaria.

Website: https://childandspace.com/

Children Heard and Seen is a charity that supports children and families in their homes and communities, who have a parent in prison. Children Heard and Seen offer group work, family activities, mentoring, 1-1 support including arts and music-based therapy to children.

Website: http://childrenheardandseen.co.uk/

Confiar is a Non-Governmental Association of public utility under the Portuguese
law with more than 20 years history, working inside prisons with inmates and
supporting them in the transition into liberty, offering social and psychological
support, with the final aim of guaranteeing an autonomous life, free of recidivism.
Confiar’s mission is to prevent deviant behaviours and social inclusion and
reintegration of youngsters, adult inmates, former adult inmates and their families,
through the identification of risk factors, the determination of their respective
protection measures to be adopted in each case and the application of restorative
practices, under the lenses of Restorative Justice, as a complementary way of doing
Justice, restorative processes that might involve the participation of victims,
offenders and community members.

Website: https://confiarportugal.pt/pt/

The Czech Helsinki Committee (CHC) is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation focused on human rights. CHC operates in the Czech Republic on a national level. The scope of its activities includes reporting, monitoring, counselling, advocacy, etc. covering various human rights such as social rights, non-discrimination, women’s rights, child’s rights, rights of people with disabilities, prohibition of torture and other ill-treatments of persons in prisons and institutions, etc.

Concerning child’s rights, the CHC provides social counselling to individuals. As a member of the Czech governmental Committee on Child’s Rights, the CHC actively participates and advocates on a systemic level to improve children’s rights in the Czech Republic, and reports to the European Union and the United Nations. In 2019, the CHC submitted with the Alliance for the Rights of the Child an alternative report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC). The CHC also actively advocates for rights of children with an imprisoned parent on individual and national levels. It is the first organisation to introduce this issue in the Czech Republic, organise assisted visits of children in prisons and report about it to the UN.

Website: http://helcom.cz/en/

Prison Fellowship Czech Republic (Mezinárodní vězeňské společenství) offers a broad range of support to all those affected by crime – to victims, to prisoners, to released prisoners, to families, and especially to children with imprisoned parents.

Children with a parent in prison are supported through the following programmes:

  • Angel Tree (Christmas presents for children with imprisoned parents)
  • Angel Camps (summer camps for children with imprisoned parents)
  • Angel Clubs (weekly low-threshold meetings for children with imprisoned parents)
  • Days with my child (special visit days in prison for children, their caregivers and imprisoned parents with a programme supporting family bonds)
  • Dream Academy (monthly meetings of teenagers, their mentors and professionals from various fields of expertise allowing children to step out of their social bubbles and dream their dreams)
  • Mentoring of families of prisoners and material support
  • Meetings with caregivers of children
  • Self Help Groups of caregivers of children with imprisoned parents

Together with Masaryk University and financially supported by Technological Agency of the Czech Republic, Prison Fellowship Czech Republic is participating in Parenthood Behind Bars, a 3-year research study concerning children with imprisoned parents. By informing the general public, Czech Prison Fellowship breaks down prejudices against families, especially children with imprisoned parents. Activities are organised that lead to systemic changes in the support provided to children with imprisoned parents in the Czech Republic.

Website: www.mvs.cz

Exodus Nederland is a Dutch association aiming to support prisoners in their successful transition back into society after incarceration. Activities include:

  • Offers assisted transitional housing across the country
  • Focus on the family members and children of (ex-) detainees through the Parents, Children Detention Programme and the training programme My child and I.

Website: http://www.exodus.nl/

Families Outside is the only national charity that works solely to support the families of people affected by imprisonment in Scotland. Our purpose is to improve outcomes for children and families affected by imprisonment so they can live healthy, active lives free from stigma and disadvantage. Activities include:

  • Raise awareness and influence policy and practice regarding families affected by imprisonment, including through training and awareness-raising amongst key professionals and input to local and national policy and practice;
  • Provide and increase direct support and information to families through our national Freephone Helpline, local family support and oversight and support for prison visitor centres nationally; and
  • Ensure viability, effectiveness and impact of the organisation.

Website: http://www.familiesoutside.org.uk/

The International Federation of Relais Enfants Parents is an institution under French law founded in 1984. It brings together NGOs that support children whose parents are detained and help to maintain the link psychological link between the child and his/her parent.

Its activities include:

  • Sharing its expertise of the prison environment and of children with young professionals and volunteers who work alongside children, in particular by offering training and reflection sessions.
  • Working with its members to question practices relating to the accompaniment of children in prison: “Working group on ethics and practices”.
  • Working with federations that support children’s voice and right to be accompanied.
  • Supporting its members in their work with funders and public authorities.

FFP is an organisation working to support and advocate for families and friends of prisoners in Norway. Activities include:

  • Support, information and counselling to children, young people and families of prisoners
  • Support groups/meetings and recreational activities for children, young people and families
  • Involvement of young people in advocacy work
  • Development of informational materials (leaflets, booklets, newsletters etc.)
  • Awareness-raising through lobbying and informational work
  • Dialogue meetings with the correctional services
  • Lecturing at the Correctional Services’ Staff Academy and to other stakeholders
  • Participation in the Norwegian Forum for the Convention on the Rights of the Child – reports to the UN on the implementation of the CRC.

Website: http://www.ffp.no/

Mission Statement: To support and care for the social integration of former prisoners. Helps prisoners reintegrate into society after their sentences.

  • A non-profit organisation, which receives both institutional and private funding.
  • The activities of Hoppenbank are arranging housing for people getting out of prison and their families. The organisation provides the ex-prisoners with information and helps with their job search.

Website : http://www.hoppenbank.info/

Mission Statement: To campaign for the rights of people in prison and the progressive reform of Irish penal policy. IPRT works to ensure that the rights of those in contact with the system are respected.

  • A non-governmental, independent organisation 
  • Funded entirely by donations from charitable trusts and membership fees.
  • Advocacy and campaigning to raise awareness and influence policy concerning prisoners and their families.  

Website: http://www.iprt.ie/

Life without Crime (Rikoksettoman elämän tukisäätiö or RETS) is a national expert organisation and service provider. The purpose of our work is to ensure that ex-offenders and their loved ones receive the support they need, that their rights are fulfilled and that recidivism is reduced.

State and privately funded.

Website : https://rets.fi/

Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl is the Maltese phrase of “From Darkness to Light”. This name was chosen by the founders of our organisation to express their hope in the future.

The Organisation was founded on April 10, 1995, by a group of prisoners held at our local Corradino Correctional Facility in Paola, Malta. The original aim of the founders was to help themselves and their families undergo the prison experience with more dignity and self esteem. The organisation extends its services to prisoners, their families and ex-prisoners.

In Malta, especially in these last years, MDD has worked closely with many support agencies especially IFT Malta ( Institute of Family Therapy).

Website: https://mddmalta.com/

NIACRO is an organisation working with families and friends of prisoners in Northern Ireland to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities. Activities include:

  • Supporting people and communities affected by crime.
  • Offering advice to all those in contact with the criminal justice system
  • Offering services to people visiting prison
  • Helping those in prison resettle once released
  • Providing the families of prisoners with ongoing telephone support, home visits, information on where to find help, transport to the prisons, childcare help and meetings with prison staff via the Family Links Service

Website: http://www.niacro.co.uk/

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children Croatia is a parliamentary institution working on behalf of children in Croatia to protect, monitor and promote children’s rights and interests in an effort to make them a more significant political and social priority. Activities include:

  • Member of the European Network of Ombudsman for Children (ENOC)
  • Handles independent cases
  • Promotes research and legislation regarding children of prisoners
  • Encourages child-friendly play areas in prison visiting rooms
  • Encourages all the relevant stakeholders, including NGOs, to recognise and meet the rights of children of prisoners
  • Motivate media to deal with needs of children of prisoners protecting their privacy
  • Organisation of public discussion and produce materials targeting the issue of children of prisoners

Website: http://www.dijete.hr/

The Prison Advice and Care Trust is an organisation working with prisoners and their families in the UK to provide a fresh start as well as practical and emotional support for prisoners and their families. Activities include:

  • Train and educate prison staff on the needs of child visitors
  • Recruits and trains staff for the prison play areas
  • Develops and disseminates good practices for running child-friendly play areas in prisons

Website: http://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/

POPS is a UK-based organisation that aims to provide a variety of services to support anyone who has a link with someone in prison, prisoners and other agencies, for the purpose of enabling them to cope with the stress of arrest, sentence, imprisonment and release. Activities include:

  • Facilitates family prison visits
  • Supports the community through family support, the Farida Women’s Centre
  • Organises training workshops for families impacted by incarceration, and for professionals working with children, families and offenders.

Website: http://www.partnersofprisoners.co.uk/

Małopolskie Stowarzyszenie Probacja is a non-governmental organisation based in Poland, whose work focuses on strengthening bonds between children and imprisoned parents. Probacja functions on the assumption that stronger bonds facilitate rehabilitation. Activities include:

  • Counselling of ex-detainees in order to lessen recidivism
  • Facilitation of child-friendly prison visits and activities between children and parents, like artistic projects
  • Organisation of social re-adaptation programme for fathers in prison

Website: http://probacja.org

The Quaker UN Office represents Quakers’ concerns for global peace and justice to the international community. QUNO works for a peaceful, just and sustainable world by engaging with the wider UN community. In so doing, QUNO is committed to non-violent means. Activities include:

  • work to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights through the United Nations system
  • work with people in the UN, multilateral organisations, government delegations, and non-governmental organisations, to achieve changes in international standards and practice
  • raise awareness about children with parents in prison, the problems they face and possible solutions, for both children living in prison with a parent and children remaining in the community
  • develop awareness of the rights and well-being of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed.

Website: http://www.quno.org/

Relais Enfants-Parents is an association working with children of imprisoned parent, focusing specifically on restoring the parent-child relationship. Activities include:

  • Accompanying children on prison visits to see their imprisoned parent(s)
  • Special prison visits for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and other holidays
  • Creating special child-friendly play areas inside prisons where imprisoned parents can visit their children
  • Campaigning

Website: https://www.relaisenfantsparents.org

Relais Enfants Parents Romands (REPR) is an organisation working with families and children of prisoners in Geneva, Switzerland to give support to families of detainees, and to raise awareness about imprisonment and its effects on children and families. Activities include:

  • Welcoming families before and after their visits
  • Offering individual, couples or group counselling from the staff of psychologists
  • Accompanies children to the visiting rooms
  • Creates child-friendly visiting rooms with toys and games

Website: https://www.repr.ch/

RODA Parents in Action is a non-governmental organisation in Croatia advocating for dignified pregnancy, parenthood and childhood and working to promote reproductive rights, breastfeeding protection, responsible parenting, and legal advocacy to promote and improve the rights of children and parents. Activities include:

  • Parenting skills workshops
  • Attention to children’s rights during hospitalization and medical treatment
  • Maternal and parental benefits
  • Promoting rights of vulnerable children and parents
  • Working in schools

Website: http://www.roda.hr/

Romodrom works to support those at risk of social exclusion. The five main areas of work include employment, finances, education, culture and housing. Programming focuses on prisoners leaving prison and their families, including children and the strengthening of child-parent relationships.

Website: https://romodrom.cz/cs/

Mission Statement: To support children and families affected by imprisonment by providing them with tools as well as direct help.

  • Individual, non-governmental organisation. They work closely with the Danish Institute of Human Rights.
  • They provide counselling to children and families. The group organises weekend excursions for the children, and conferences to raise awareness on the issue.
  • Thanks to their efforts, each prison officer recruited in Denmark must receive specialized training with SAVN in order to educate the staff on the needs of children visiting prisons.

Website: http://www.savn.dk/

Service Treff-Punkt is a non-profit organisation in Luxembourg that works to support the parent-child relationship during and after imprisonment. Activities include:

  • Offering group therapy and workshops for the prisoners, accompanied prison visits, as well as individual interviews between professional staff and child or parent
  • Child-friendly visiting rooms
  • The service continues after the parent leaves prison, to ensure that the relationship continues.

The Solrosen organisation, part of Sweden’s Rescue Mission network, provides support for children, adolescents and families with a parent or family member in prison, detention or on parole. Activities include:

  • Individual counselling (including information and support) to children, young people and families of prisoners 
  • Non-prison based recreational activities with children and families
  • Support groups for children, young people and families
  • Parental support for imprisoned parents
  • Offering the possibility to write lyrics and music as a tool to process
  • Awareness-raising and advocacy work
  • Lecturing for penitentiary and other stakeholder education

Website: http://www.raddningsmissionen.se/verksamhet/solrosen

Mission Statement: Youth organization Status: M is a non- profit organization that brings together a group of youth workers from different professions, all set to improve the status of youth in the society. Status:M is raising awareness, questioning and deconstructing prevailing social norms and stereotypes.

  • Supported by Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of Croatia
  • Non-profit organisation
  • Their M-Centre cooperates with police, organisations and clubs for young men to implement prevention of violence and crime.

Website : http://www.status-m.hr/en/

Treffpunkt e.V. is an organisation funded by the German government to provide socio-pedagogical assistance for prisoners, their families and their victims in Germany, in an effort to maintain the link between a child and their parent in the best interests of the child. With the foundation of the first German help desk established for relatives of people held in custody, Treffpunkt e.V. has been building a connection between the interior and exterior of prison since 1991. Treffpunkt e.V. supports and provides assistance, responding to all aspects related to the imprisonment of a family member.

Activities include:

  • Regularly held group counselling sessions for parents or partners of a prisoner
  • One-to-one counselling, also online on demand
  • Counselling interviews for inmates to all their family topics
  • Group counselling for imprisoned mothers
  • Father-child-groups (also in pre-trial custody)
  • Accompanied visits for children to their imprisoned parent

The specifically created JUKI-products are an important element of Treffpunkt e.V.’s social education-based work with affected children. In 2023 Treffpunkt e.V. launched the Bavarian department “Kvi”, a networking specialist with a pilot function on all Bavarian support for children affected by imprisonment.

Website: http://www.treffpunkt-nbg.de/

https://www.juki-online.de/ (Child-friendly website)

(https://www.netzwerk-kvi.de/)

 

Individual members

Andres Aru is the head of the Department of Children and Youth Rights in the Office of the Chancellor of Justice. This department supports the Chancellor of Justice in fulfilling the task of protecting and promoting children’s rights (Children’s Ombudsman). Since 2011, Andres has been the representative of the Chancellor of Justice in the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC). In 2022 he was elected to the Secretary position in the Bureau of ENOC.

Director of the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated (NRCCFI) at Rutgers University, where she also teaches in the department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice. Under Ann’s leadership, NRCCFI has provided training and consultation to government and non-government agencies worldwide.

COPE President. Former QUNO representative for Human Rights and Refugees.

Associate Professor at the University of Salamanca and completing a national research project entitled “Threatened minors: needs and effects of prison on the children of prisoners in Spain”.

Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Ulster with research experience in youth justice, the imprisonment of children, the treatment of women within the criminal justice system, and the needs and rights of prisoners’ families.

Larry de Cléir is a psychotherapist, facilitator, trainer, and former Project Leader of Bedford Row Family Project, in Limerick Ireland (www.bedfordrow.ie).
He has supported families and children affected by imprisonment for over 30 years.
He passionately believes that the best way to protect children that are in distress due to the effects of imprisonment is to recognise strengths, kindness, compassion and wisdom that abounds in their families and to enable them to flower to their fullest degree.

Marylène Delhaxe is a paediatric consultant with the Office of Birth and Childhood in Liège.

Lecturer at University College Cork and child rights advocate, Fiona developed child rights training for lawyers for UNICEF and ran a major child rights project funded by the European Commission. She has taught at a number of law schools in the UK. Her research includes work on the rights of children of incarcerated parents, the law related to citizen participation in democratic states, and more generally administrative justice.

COPE Board member. Deputy Ombudsperson for Children in Croatia. Maja handles independent cases, visits prisons, edits publications about the rights of children whose parents are in prison, collaborates with relevant stakeholders encouraging them to recognise the issue and to provide children, parents and caregivers with supportive interventions, presents the issue in the media and gives presentations on the rights of children of prisoners at different expert meetings as well as to students, journalists, police, social workers, psychologists, teachers.

The former director of Action for Prisoners’ Families, Lucy is now a trustee at Clinks. In 2010 she was awarded an OBE on the New Years’ Honours list for services to disadvantaged people.

COPE Board member. Winie has been educated in the field of child protection and worked as a social worker in children’s homes and foster care. For four years she and her husband ran a residential foster home for teenagers 24/7. Over the past 14 years Winie has been dedicated herself to improving expertise on children of prisoners in the Netherlands by working on a volunteering programme, ‘Parents, children and detention’ for Exodus Nederland.

Winie is currently the operational manager of the Dutch centre of Expertise K I N D. (Kind means Child). The network organisation focuses on providing information, advice and training to and in cooperation with professionals and families of children of imprisoned parents.

Director of the Berlin Kita Institute for Quality Development, which monitors day-care centres.

Prison Governor of Heves County Remand Prison, Hungary, Attila has been part of the European Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP) since 2013. He was elected Vice-Chair of the PC-CP in 2018.

A previous staff member of Children of Prisoners Europe, Hannah is currently a full-time student at University College London (UCL), studying an MA in Social Justice and Education. Prior to this, Hannah worked as Educational Coordinator in a French Red Cross care home for unaccompanied minors in Paris, managing and supporting a network of volunteers who taught the children French as a Second Language, maths, science and history. Hannah designed the curriculum, gave support on methods and strategies to engage the children and help them learn as well as monitored their progress and participation. In parallel, she was responsible for enrolling the children in state schools, supporting them and becoming point person for their teachers. She also supported them in their professional and academic career choices by offering advice and expertise relevant to their individual administrative situation. 

A fierce advocate of non-formal and participatory educational techniques, Hannah has been a longstanding member of the Human Rights Education Commission of Amnesty International France (AIF), where she designs and facilitates workshops and trainings. As mentioned, Hannah spent several years working with Children of Prisoners Europe (2013-2018), beginning as Project Coordinator and becoming Assistant Director in 2016. She co-launched the first pan-European data collection initiative on children with imprisoned parents in 2017, was editor of the European Journal of Parental Imprisonment and managed the network’s international campaign. She was also COPE representative in the Alliance for Childhood European Network Group and the Child Rights Connect Working Group on Children of Incarcerated Parents. She is very happy to become an individual member and contribute whatever she can to boost the visibility of children with imprisoned parents.

Executive Director of the organisation Nisma per Ndryshim Shoqeror ARSIS, Ana has 12 years of extensive experience in social care and in the child protection system in Albania and nearby regions. Her knowledge and experience extends to child rights implementation in Albania, developing and piloting new services, capacity building in child protection and policy, and legislation.

Freelance Management Consultant / Experience Expert

Researching the impact of maternal imprisonment on children at the Centre for Criminology, Oxford.

Linda Moore is a Senior Lecturer at Ulster University’s School of Crim. Politics & Social Policy. Her research interests are youth justice and human rights within the penal context including the rights of prisoners’ families.

Head of Family Interventions at HMP Parc in South Wales, Corin Morgan-Armstrong has worked in the prison service for over 20 years, primarily focusing on rehabilitation and resettlement initiatives. The past decade of Corin’s career has been almost exclusively dedicated to the agenda of children and families of prisoners.

Former head of psychology at the Irish Prison Service

A member of the University College Cork Law Faculty since 2008, Aisling’s research interests lie in the areas of children’s rights and family law as well as disability and the law. Her publications include articles on international children’s rights including the rights of children with disabilities.

President of Eurochips 2004 – 2009, Kate has been working with and for children of imprisoned parents since 1986.

A former secondary school teacher and Family Support Manager at Families Outside, Sarah has worked to engage schools in supporting families and children with imprisoned parents. She established an in-prison training programme to further familiarise teachers with issues of imprisonment.

Oliver previously worked on several campaigns related to children of imprisoned parents at the Quaker United Nations Office. He now works for Penal Reform International.

Peter Scharff Smith is Professor in the Sociology of Law at the University in Oslo, Norway. He has studied history and social science, holds a PhD from the University of Copenhagen and has also done research at the University of Cambridge and at the Danish Institute of Human Rights.

Peter has undertaken several studies on the families and children of prisoners and has published books and articles within this field. He has also worked extensively with practical prison reform in this area together with, among others, Scandinavian prisoner family NGOs and the Danish prison and probation service.

Smith has published books and articles in Danish, English and German on prisons, punishment and human rights, including works on prison history, prisoner’s children and the use and effects of solitary confinement in prisons. He has also published books and articles on the history of the Waffen-SS and the Nazi war of extermination at the Eastern Front. He is the author or co-author of nine monographs and co-editor of several edited collections. Peter has for example authored When the Innocent are Punished: The Children of Imprison Parents (Palgrave, 2014). His latest books in English are Jules Lobel and Peter Scharff Smith (eds.): Solitary Confinement: Effects, Practices, and Pathways toward Reform Oxford University Press 2020, and Rachel Condry and Peter Scharff Smith (eds.): Prisons, Punishment, and the Family: Towards a New Sociology of Punishment? Oxford University Press 2018.

COPE Board Member. Former coordinator at Service Treff-Punkt.

Deputy Governor at Maghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland, Mr. Treacy is involved in the development of family services in the prison.

Margaret Tuite was the European Commission coordinator for the rights of the child from November 2011 to end August 2018, in the unit responsible for fundamental rights policy in Directorate-General Justice and Consumers. From 2008-2011, she was deputy head of the unit for criminal justice. She has worked for the European Commission for 33 years, 16 of them in the justice and home affairs domains. Margaret has sought to boost the visibility of children who have a parent in prison and policies that respect their rights, and in supporting the COPE network. She is currently on the Board of Child Rights International Network (CRIN), Defence for Children (DCI) Belgium and Defence for Children International.

Virginija is the Chief specialist of the Ministry of Justice Prison Department’s Resocialisation unit, Republic of Lithuania. The unit focuses on the implementation of risk assessment instruments and correctional interventions, particularly for juveniles in detention.

The former President of Eurochips, Dr. Wolleswinkel is now the Director of Studies at Maastricht University Faculty of Law, and national director of the European Master in Human Rights and Democratisation. Her primary research focus is on gender perspectives of family rights of prisoners and their families.

Polly has 20 years of experience in children and family sectors, notably in project management, research and development.  Chaired and participated in local and national strategy groups to develop multi-agency responses to supporting the children of prisoners, and developed and delivered training to practitioners across education, social care, policing and the prison service to develop knowledge and awareness about parental imprisonment.

Ksenia Žurakovskaja-Aru is a senior advisor to the Chancellor of Justice in the Inspection Visits Department. This department supports the Chancellor of Justice in carrying out the task of the National Preventive Mechanism, i.e. the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in places of detention. An expert in prison law and the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, she has extensive experience in conducting inspection visits to prisons and drafting the Chancellor of Justice’s reports and recommendations on the treatment of prisoners, but also their families and especially children.

Applicant Members

Care After Prison (CAP) is a criminal justice charity and national peer led service supporting people affected by imprisonment, current and former offenders, and their families. Our Family Support Service offers families a safe confidential space with 1:1 support, information and advice through our freephone helpline and/or meeting with family members. CAP also provides four other services: Peer Mentor Support and Training, the Community Support Scheme, Post Release Support and Prison in reach whereby those with lived experience of imprisonment can identify what they need to reach and sustain their goal of leading crime-free lives. We believe in the ability of everyone to change given the right circumstances and support. 

Website: http://careafterprison.ie/

The SVASTA Foundation is a Romanian NGO whose mission is to help children and
young people facing material difficulties but willing to learn. In 2014, the
Foundation launched its project “Alone to School”, a project designed to support
children with imprisoned parents who have encountered financial difficulties and are
therefore at a risk of dropping out of school. So far, over 350 children have been
granted a scholarship by the Foundation, allowing them to successfully complete
their studies. Beyond financial aid, the SVASTA Foundation works hand in hand with
schools, child protection authorities, the National Administration of Penitentiaries in
Romania, and other NGOs to monitor school results and provide children and
families of prisoners with moral support.

Website: https://svasta.org/

In Norway, about 6000 – 9000 children have one of their parents serving a
sentence at any given time. Kirkens Bymisjon – FRI barn og familie reaches out and
provides support to children and their parents. Offers of support include a follow-
service, children’s groups, family activities, chat-service, individual follow-up with
children and families, international child development program (ICDP), specialised
lectures for parents, education about children with imprisoned parents to other
agencies and a podcast.

Website: https://kirkensbymisjon.no/byer-og-steder/drammen/

Sussex Prisoners’ Families works in courts, prisons, and communities helping
families navigate the criminal justice system by offering advice, advocacy,
information, and emotional support. We offer one to one and group support to
families struggling with the impact of imprisonment. We also offer outings, trips
and activities for families and children with a loved-one in prison.

Website: www.sussexprisonersfamilies.org.uk

Affiliate Organisations

Provides professional support for minors and families to enhance and maintain family relationships when a family member is in prison.

BAG-S helps to advise institutions that support delinquent or incarcerated people (and their relatives), and further develops concepts. The non-profit organisation raises public awareness for the matters of integrating and rehabilitating delinquents. They advise and inform different media platforms, advise political parties and write statements to find sustainable social and political solutions. BAG-S also organises public events to reduce discrimination and  the exclusion of delinquent people, and contributes to social integration and prevention.

Website: https://www.bag-s.de/

Mission Statement: Barnardo’s vision is that the lives of all children and young people should be free from poverty, abuse and discrimination. They pledge to support them, stand up for them and bring out the best in each and every child. 95 pence in every £1 they spend goes directly to support vulnerable children.

Website: http://www.barnardos.org.uk

Welfare, counselling support and sponsorship work for children with imprisoned parents. Research and study on children with imprisoned parents. Campaigning and awareness-raising work.

The Croft has been supporting people visiting HMP Barlinnie since 2012. Croft staff welcome visitors and support them to have a better visit. This includes giving people information about visit procedures, how to claim travel expenses and what additional support that is available.

Website: https://www.barlinnievisitorscentre.org/

Mission Statement: The organisation focuses its activities on peer support for prisoners’ families, on establishing supportive networks for newly released juveniles, and on training correctional staff, professionals and judges in matters of prisoners’ families. Creation of handbooks, leaflets and organisation of informative events for prisoners’ families as well as for professionals.

Website : http://freedomgategreece.blogspot.fr

FusionCPL is a Community Addiction Project in Cherry Orchard, providing addiction support (drug free/stable) for all genders, aged eighteen and over, who reside in Dublin 10 & Dublin 20.  In addition our Community Prison Links Service provides support to those who are in custody.

Website : https://www.facebook.com/FusionCPL/

Mission Statement: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. The Salvation Army is active in many areas, always with the objective of alleviating human distress at a physical, moral and spiritual level. Prison chaplaincy, social support, family support.

Website: http://www.heilsarmee.ch

Mission Statement: To work in North-Eastern Brazil to formulate public policy on children’s issues.

  • Runs programmes dealing with childhood and urban violence, with a special programme on urban children of imprisoned parents.

Website : www.ifan.com.br

Morning Tears Deutschland is an organisation working for children of imprisoned parents in China and Cambodia and currently developing projects inside Germany. Activities include: research, awareness raising, facilitating contact between children and their imprisoned parents, residential care projects and training and policy preparation.

Website: http://morningtears.de/

The organisation supports individuals, families and communities in Merseyside, Wales, Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Scotland.

The PSS Family Impact service works with whole families living with the consequences of problematic drug and alcohol use, imprisonment, involvement in the criminal justice system and where young people are involved in gangs.

Website: http://www.psspeople.com/

Mission Statement: To offer support to children with imprisoned parents in an effort to reduce their risk of offending.

  • Provides home-based social work support, mentoring for the children, and family meetings.
  • Organises courses for prisoners on how to maintain their family life.

Website :  http://www.pillars.org.nz/

The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) is an independent UK charity working to create a just, humane and effective penal system. We do this by inquiring into the workings of the system; informing prisoners, staff and the wider public; and by influencing Parliament, government and officials towards reform. PRT’s main objectives are:

  1. reducing unnecessary imprisonment and promoting community solutions to crime;
  2. improving treatment and conditions for prisoners and their families; and
  3. promoting equality and human rights in the justice system.

Regional organisation working to protect the link between children and their imprisoned parents. Member of the FREP. REP Haute-Normandie works to support the child-parent relationship when the parent is in prison. They accompany children to visit their parent in prison, and provide parenting support.

Website: http://repmc.org/

Supports families affected by alcohol and drugs, including families with loved ones in prisons. Scottish Families works closely with Families Outside in several prisons to support families.

Website: http://www.sfad.org.uk/

Mission Statement: To coordinate services to strengthen the bond between children and their imprisoned parents and mitigate the trauma caused by the separation.

  • Non-profit organisation funded by the Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade
  • Accompanies children to prisons’ visits
  • Help children write letters for their parents
  • Hosts stakeholder meetings, monthly information interviews, and training sessions.

Website : http://www.childrenofinmates.org

Mission Statement: Storybook Dads helps maintain the vital bond between parent and child by enabling parents to make story CDs/DVDs and educational gifts for their children.

  • Keeping families in touch
  • Storybook Dads is a registered charity relying entirely upon charitable contributions.
  • The prison parents records a message to deliver to the child to listen to.

Website : http://www.storybookdads.org.uk/index.html

In 1990, Telefono Azzurro set up the first toll-free telephone helpline for children. It currently also takes calls from adults who want to report missing or exploited children. The commitment to listening to children has evolved over the years and consequently has become more and more specialised.

Website: http://www.azzurro.it/

Youth Re-autonomy Foundation of Turkey is the first civil society organisation working in the field of juvenile delinquency justice system defending children’s rights. The foundation works with children who are socially disadvantaged or imprisoned. The central office of the foundation is in Kadiköy/Istanbul, with branch offices in Ankara and Izmir.

Website: http://www.tcyov.org/

A non-profit that offers counseling, discussion groups, prison visits and family support for the families of prisoners.

Website: http://www.zabranou.cz/

Individual Affiliates

The Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University ÇABAÇAM (Multi-Purpose Early Childhood Education Centre) is an innovative model based on the active collaboration of multiple stakeholders, namely academic, regional and district administrative institutions and non-governmental organisations. 

Senior Lecturer in Criminology at De Montfort University for 11 years and previously a Social Worker and Probation Officer.

Educational psychologist at The Educational Psychology Service providing psychological services to schools and settings across Birmingham, UK.

Research Fellow Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Center (Monash University).

Her research explores primary career fathers in prison and the impact of imprisonment on children and families in Australia.

Consultant/Trainer and Speaker. Hands on experience of working with children and families of prisoners. Main focus on young offenders who are looked-after children and black minority ethnic offenders and their families.

Slovenian Prison Administration

Works with research in penitentiary institutions in Italy, particularly into activities with children with imprisoned parents and family connections.

Member of the board of directors of an organisation working with the families of women in court.

Cyprian Prison Administration, Member of the EuroPris expert group on children with imprisoned parents. 

Affiliated with the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, the University of Groningen, and Addiction Care Northern Netherlands. Conducting PhD research on paternal imprisonment, family relationships and child wellbeing, working closely with two prisons in the Netherlands to co-develop an in-prison family-focussed programme.

Works with association Confiar-PF Portugal which operates several projects developed in the context of its activities in prisons and support to prisoners, their families and community.

Slovenian Prison Administration

Mandy is a volunteer member of Zimbabwe Prison Fellowship with special focus on children. She is currently conducting research on children imprisoned with their mothers in Zimbabwe. In addition, Mandida works with families of prisoners by sourcing food and clothing for the babies who live with their imprisoned mothers and is currently working on a project to open a local foundation for children who are left behind by the imprisonment of parents.

Works for the Austrian government with pre-trial and short term prisons primarily counselling inmates and their families.

Yvette is associate professor of Psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Her recent work examines family stabilization as mothers re-enter society from prison and she has co-authored an edited book, Children of Incarcerated Parents: Developmental and Theoretical Issues.

The lead for research on education in prison, connecting parents to their children via education and sharing good practices as part of Novus which works with offenders to support their relationship with children and families in the UK.

Mona worked for the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Children’s Ombudsman, leading parental training programme). Since 2005 she has been supporting children of death row inmates in Uganda, helping different local NGOs to grow. She also collaborating with FIRC (Former Inmates Rehab. Center) in Ethiopia. Mona is the founder of Children of Prisoners in Stockholm (www.childrenofprisoners.se).

Evi works with the National Addictions Authority in Cyprus, supporting children with imprisoned parents by funding and promoting the implementation of prevention programmes.

A lecturer in criminology and criminal justice at the University of Cambridge where research on the experiences of prisoner’s children and initiatives to support them has been performed.

A PhD researcher at the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy at Ghent University. The research focuses on the sentencing of primary caregivers.

Collaborates with a partnership group at the Catalonian Penitentiary Centre Brians 2 through fundraising and the organisation of artistic activities for prisoners and their children. Also part of a team of experts and non-profit organisations coordinating projects in Argentina aimed at developing child-oriented arrest protocols and building a play centre in a federal prison in Buenos Aires.

Lawyer working in legal advice and representation.

Research and advocacy expertise in dealing with children of incarcerated parents. Ethnographic research about the experience of parental imprisonment from the personal perspective of the children themselves. Conducts trainings, lectures and keynotes. Created the first course at Howard University titled “Children of Incarcerated Parents”.

Lead Inspector – Children in Detention at HM Inspectorate of Prisons. Angus has responsibility for the inspection of young offenders’ institutes, adult prisons, immigration removal centres and police custody.

Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University. Bill advocates for families separated by prison, and serves on the Board of Directors for Hope House, a non-profit organisation that helps families separated by prison to remain connected through a range of activities.

Works with mothers and children in Uganda. They have started to lobby for women and children in Ugandan prisons as well as starting initiatives that provide food and soap during the festive season.

Head of Clients’ Children and Family Support Unit in the Latvian Prison Administration European Social Fund Project working to facilitate better relationships between inmates and their families.

Researcher at the Danish National Centre for Social Research in the department for vulnerable children, day care and school. Her research focuses on children and families in vulnerable positions.

Doctoral fellow at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre which undertakes research, education and training in the area of Family Support and Youth Development with an emphasis on prevention and early intervention for children and young people experiencing adversity. Sinead is conducting PhD research on the experience of incarcerated mothers and their children in Ireland.

Coordination, supervision and evaluation of different programmes from a social work perspective as part of the Catalonian penal social services.

Selected for the Break Fellowship for Women Entrepreneurs. Developing program to help foster bonds between incarcerated parents and their children through supporting parents to create bedtime stories.

A senior lecturer at the University of Huddersfield as well as the International Coalition for Children with Incarcerated Parents. 

Works supporting children and families of prisoners in Tasmania Australia, through the Onesimus Foundation to create innovative, life-changing programmes focused on maintaining and building relationships between prisoners and their families.

Conducts research on the rights and needs of children in educational settings. Works to support and advocate for the rights of children with imprisoned  parents, minority children, socially excluded children and their families. 

Researcher at Australian Catholic University working on children’s experiences of parental imprisonment.

Leading an ESRC funded research project focusing on the health & health inequalities of children with a household member in prison, & which focuses on a child-friendly & rights-based approach to visits.

Director at KENTHEA, an organisation involved in the prevention and treatment of addictions. Offers of prevention programmes consisting of social worker services, access to a psychologist and funding of alternative healthy activities.