Family Connections: The Importance of Prison Reading Programs for Incarcerated Parents and Their Children

This article introduces a successful reading program, Family Connections, for incarcerated parents and their children. A comprehensive review of the literature supports the need to implement prison programs from an ecological perspective, in which the needs of inmates and their families are considered. More specifically, the benefits of directing resources toward the establishment of reading programs in prisons and jails for inmates and their children are discussed. The Family Connections program is aimed at improving inmates' parental skills and attributes. The article also includes the viewpoint of the commander of a sheriff's department detentions bureau, the perspective of the executive director of the nonprofit organization that operates the program, and the practical steps involved in implementing such a program.