Children of Incarcerated
Parents (CHIP)
- CHIP Sites
- Related Sites
- Why Mentor?
- Facts About Kids
- Resources
AmeriCorps Service Sites
Hope CommUnity Center 
Village Learning Place Pine Apple Learning Center Vredenburgh Outreach
Big Brothers Big Sisters, Match Support Big Brothers Big Sisters, School Site Coordinator
Alternative Directions, Inc. Marillac Social Service Center New Orleans CHIP Coordinator
Boys Hope Girls Hope West End Emergency Center Big Brothers Big Sisters - National Capital Area Families of the Incarcerated Laboure Center
ALABAMA
Pine Apple Learning Center - Pine Apple, AL
CHIP Coordinator
Position description coming soon!
Vredenburgh Outreach Center - Vredenburgh, AL
CHIP Coordinator
Position description coming soon!
APOPKA, FL
CHIP Coordinator
Description coming soon!
BALTIMORE, MD
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Maryland
Match Support Specialist
Mentoring Match Specialist will work as a full-time to provide match support to ensure child safety, positive impacts for youth, constructive and satisfying relationships between children and volunteers, and a strong sense of affiliation with the agency on the part of volunteers. The Match Support Specialist is responsible for providing high-level customer service throughout the effective implementation of the volunteer and child enrollment and matching process in accordance with agency standards and volunteer options.
This person should have:
- Education or work experience in social services, human resources or related field
- Demonstrated work experience working with both child and adult populations and understanding of family dynamics
- Excellent oral and written communication skills reflecting solid customer service and high-level interviewing skills
- Ability to: form appropriate relationships; relate well in multicultural environments; maintain confidentiality throughout daily operations; effectively collaborate with other volunteer match staff; use time effectively; and focus on details
- Proficiency in Word, Outlook, and Excel.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends
- Must have own reliable mode of transportation and use to perform certain job requirements.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Maryland
School Site Coordinator
The School Site Coordinator will assist with programs at various schools in central Maryland. The coordinator will develop enrichment activities and materials to support mentor-mentee pairs. The coordinator will also assist with managing a new school research study.
Village Learning Place
LINK Program Assistant
More details coming soon!
Alternative Directions
After Care Transition (ACT) Coordinator, CHIP Coordinator
The AmeriCorps member at Alternative Directions has two main responsibilities:
BOSTON, MA
Laboure Center
TEAM Mentoring Program (Together Engaging Adolescents through Mentoring)
CHIP members assist with mentor recruitment. They prepare mentees and mentors for matching by interviewing, screening, checking references, and leading pre-match meetings. They provide match support by calling, utilizing conflict resolution when necessary, running ongoing trainings, setting clear expectations and guidance through stages of the relationship. NDA members assist with program evaluation and reporting. They will promote T.E.A.M. among local youth and work on community collaboration. An interest in infrastructure building, program evaluation, and youth development is important. For more information check out: www.ccab.org
CHICAGO, IL
Marillac Social Service Center
CHIP Coordinator
Marillac Social Service Center is a 90+ year old social service agency that works with a population ranging from young children to senior citizens, providing both educational and social services. The NDA member splits time between social service work at Marillac and coordinating the new CHIP program by recruiting, training, and matching mentors with children of incarcerated parents identified by the center and in the surrounding community.
CINCINATTI, OH
West End Emergency Center
CHIP Coordinator
More Information Coming Soon!
DAYTON, OH
CHIP Mentoring Coordinator at Wesley Community Center
The CHIP Mentoring Coordinator in Dayton will work out of Wesley Community Center. The Member will implement a mentoring program at Wesley Community Center, identify 12-15 children with incarcerated parents and recruit 12-15 volunteer mentors to match with these children, provide support for the children and their mentors, and organize quarterly group activities for children, mentors, and their families. The position involves a mix of administrative and hands-on duties. Candidates should have an interest in program start-up, community organizing, social services to people affected by incarceration, and great enthusiasm, communication, and organizational skill. Members will serve as part of the Dayton team, but will also be oriented with other CHIP Members by the CHIP Coordinator through the NDMVA National Office.
HARTFORD, CT
Families in Crisis
Offender Mentor
The Member serves as an Offender Mentor and is responsible for the provision and documentation of crisis intervention, individual and group mentoring services, case management and family life education for criminal justice clients and their family members in a variety of settings, i.e., correctional institutions, community programs, agency offices and client homes.
LOS ANGELES, CA
Families of the Incarcerated
CHIP Coordinator
More Information Coming Soon!
NEW ORLEANS, LA
New Orleans CHIP Coordinator
More information coming soon!
Boys Hope Girls Hope
House Parent
More Information Coming Soon!
WASHINGTON, DC
Big Brothers Big Sisters - National Capital Area
Amachi Match Support Specialist
More Information Coming Soon!
Related Sites
Check out these other placements where Notre Dame-AmeriCorps members do related work.
- Dorchester Youth Alternative Academy, Boston, MA
- I Have a Dream Foundation, Boulder, CO
(ask about working specifically with Children of Incarcerated Parents) - Watts Anti-Gang Program, Los Angeles, CA
- Project Read Jail Program, Redwood City, CA
Why Mentor?
All children need positive and supportive adults. Children with incarcerated parents are especially in need of caring adults in their lives because of the trauma they have experienced. Good mentors can help children improve social and cognitive skills by building trust and strengthening personal relationships. Mentors can be role models, confidants, and emotionally supportive advocates.
Facts about Children of the Incarcerated
Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents
- I have the right to be kept safe and informed at the time of my parent’s arrest.
- I have the right to be heard when decisions are made about me;
- I have the right to be considered when decisions are made about my parent;
- I have the right to be well-cared for in my parent’s absence;
- I have the right to speak with, see, and touch my parent;
- I have the right to support as I face my parent’s incarceration;
- I have the right to not be judged, blamed or labeled because my parent is incarcerated;
- I have the right to have a lifelong relationship with my parent.
Books
Excerpt from Nell Bernstein's book,
All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated
Bernstein, Nell. All Alone in the World Children of the Incarcerated. New York: The New Press, 2005.
Summary of Jean Rhodes's book,
Stand By Me: The Risks and Rewards of Mentoring Today's Youth
Rhodes, Jean E. Stand By Me: The Risks and Rewards of Mentoring Today’s Youth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.
Articles
“Partnership Between Corrections and Child Welfare, Part Two: Collaboration for Change,” Annie E. Casey Foundation, March 2002: 8.
“Understanding and Supporting Foster Children with Incarcerated Parents,” Jordan Institute for Families, January 2002.
http://www.practicenotes.org/vol7_no1/support_children_incarparents.htm
Other
Judith Tannenbaum's Webpage and Blog
Judith Tannenbaum is a poet living in California. She has several years' experience teaching poetry and writing at San Quentin State Prison in California.