In Wisconsin, conservative estimates suggest that nearly 90,000 children have experienced the incarceration of a parent with whom they live. Parental incarceration is associated with increased risk of negative outcomes for children, including impacts on behavior, academic success, and health. To date, few strategies exist to support relationship maintenance among incarcerated parents and their children.
Kula Yang is the Family and Finance Educator with Dane County Extension. One of her special programs is called The Literacy Link. She teaches the class at the Dane County Jail 3–4 times a month and has reached nearly 100 incarcerated parents and over 250 children. This class is special for families involved in the justice system because parents in jail can bond with their children by video recording themselves reading a storybook, which is then shared with their children at home. The goal is to reduce the trauma of separation, strengthen family relationships, and increase children‘s exposure to books and reading.
As a result, most parents who participate enjoy creating the videos and say they feel closer to their children. Many report increased confidence in reading to their children and value having something that keeps them focused on their families during incarceration. Caregivers who receive the videos report that they help children stay connected to the parent in jail or prison, with many children showing positive emotional responses and excitement about receiving the book. About half of caregivers even report reading more often with their children after receiving the video and book. The impact of The Literacy Link program is meaningful, as it supports communication and connection between parent and child during incarceration and helps mitigate the effects of separation on families.