NEW! Guide for Families Experiencing the Criminal Justice System: Guide for Arrest, Jail Time/Detention, Trial/Hearing, and Sentencing Stages (Guide 1 of 3) (PDF, 9 pages)
Families have unique needs and challenges when a parent is arrested. When this happens, family members—including the children—are affected. This guide covers the first four stages in the typical criminal justice process: arrest (entry into the system), jail time/detention (prosecution and pretrial services), hearing/trial (adjudication), and sentencing (before incarceration).

NEW! Guide for Families Experiencing the Criminal Justice System: Guide for Incarceration Stage (Guide 2 of 3) (PDF, 11 pages)
Families and children have unique needs when a parent is incarcerated. When this happens, a family gets involved with the criminal justice system in stages. The tips and tools in this guide aim to help families care for the children of incarcerated parents by maintaining and strengthening communication, managing and strengthening relationships, and managing stress and emotions and promoting self-care and care for the children during the incarceration stage.

NEW! Guide for Families Experiencing the Criminal Justice System: Guide for Reentry Stage (Guide 3 of 3) (PDF, 6 pages)
Families and children have unique needs when a parent is incarcerated. When this happens, a family gets involved with the justice system in stages. These questions and tips about reentry will promote a family’s ability to keep and strengthen communication and relationships, manage stress and emotions, and prioritize the caregiver’s self-care and care for the children.

Guide for Incarcerated Parents Who Have Children in the Child Welfare System (PDF, 34 pages)
The purpose of this guide is to help parents involved in the criminal justice system work with the child welfare system to stay in touch with their children and stay involved in decisions about their children’s well-being. The guide also includes important information on steps required by the child welfare system for reunification, or having children return home to their family after foster care. Child welfare and social work professionals may also benefit from this guide to inform work with incarcerated parents, their children, and the caregivers.

Sesame Street Resources
Sesame Workshop’s initiative — Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration — provides much-needed bilingual (English/Spanish) multimedia tools for families with young children (ages 3-8) who have an incarcerated parent. These FREE resources include a resource kit with A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, a Children’s Storybook, and a new Sesame Street video; an Incarcerated Parent Tip Sheet; and the Sesame Street: Incarceration mobile app for smart phones and tablets.