Children of Imprisoned Parents - A Workbook for Holistic Caregiver and Child Well-Being

For too long, the adverse impacts of parental incarceration have remained in the shadows. A companion to Children of Imprisoned Parents: A Guide to Holistic Caregiver and Child Well-Being (ISBN 978-1-4766-8716-2), this workbook helps caregivers understand children's stress-response systems and recognize how anxiety and grief may manifest in a child's daily behaviors.
This comprehensive workbook provides caregivers with a safe space to practice, role-play, and tailor their responses to seemingly challenging situations typically associated with parental incarceration. Users will learn how to forge strong connections between primary caregivers and their children. The use of selected children's books as bibliotherapy equips caregivers to better comprehend children's withdrawal, stigma, sadness, anger, and even perceived acting out in the home or classroom. Caregiver-led reading activities provide a perspective through which storybook characters show children that they are not alone in their circumstances.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Note to Audience | Users

Introduction

Part I. Caregiving and Children's Holistic ­­Well-Being

Module 1. Understanding Caregiving and Children's Essential Needs

Section 1.0. Putting on the Caregiver Oxygen Mask, First

Section 1.1. Caregiving with Mindfulness

Section 1.2. Parenting Styles

Section 1.3. Caregiving and Managing Change

Module 2. Managing Loss and the Family

Section 2.0. Childhood Grief: "Does My Loss Even Matter?"

Section 2.1. Grief Work for Caregivers and Families

Section 2.2. Symbolic Attachments: Teddy's Gone

Section 2.3. Loss and Attachments

Module 3. Infants and Parental Incarceration

Section 3.0. Kangaroo Care: Infants and Reading Intervention

Section 3.1. Babies and Survival

Section 3.2. Attuned and Attached

Section 3.3. Parental Incarceration: Taking Inventory of the Impacts on Babies

Module 4. Toddlerhood: The Brain, Body, and Stress

Section 4.0. Toddlers

Section 4.1. Sympathetic | Parasympathetic: "The Doggie and Brain"

Section 4.2. Managing Internalized and Externalized Behaviors

Section 4.3. Fight or Flight: Jenny Is Nervous

Module 5. Cultivating ­­Well-Being in Children

Section 5.0. Preschoolers: Children's Stories

Section 5.1. Being Social and Confident

Section 5.2. Protecting the Critical Window of Development

Section 5.3. The Roadmap to Recovery and Resilience

Module 6. Nurturing ­­Self-Esteem in Children

Section 6.0. Middle Childhood: The Cape of Confidence

Section 6.1. Self Worth and Resilience

Section 6.2. Assimilating and Belonging

Section 6.3. ­­Self-Appraisal, Shame, and Guilt

Module 7. Communication: "Lost for Words"

Section 7.0. Life Happens: The Big Talk

Section 7.1. ­­Intra-Family Communication

Section 7.2. Communication Redo's: "Help, I Told My Child a Lie!"

Section 7.3. Boundaries and Family Privacy

Module 8. Ambiguous Roles

Section 8.0. Parents and Helpers

Section 8.1. Family Member Roles

Section 8.2. ­­Mirror-Mirror Reflections

Section 8.3. Support Inventory

Module 9. The Importance of Play

Section 9.0. A Play Funeral: "The Military Man"

Section 9.1. The Power of Make Believe

Section 9.2. Play Interventions

Section 9.3. Reflection, What We Know: Play & Resilience

Part II. Tackling the Big Topics

Module 10. Offsetting Risks and Overcoming the Odds

Section 10.0. Risks and Protective Factors

Section 10.1. Reframing and Rewriting the Story

Section 10.2. ­­Co-Parenting

Section 10.3. Let's Network: It Takes a Village!

Module 11. ACEs, Triggers, and Trauma

Section 11.0. Healing Trauma

Section 11.1. ACEs and Child ­­Well-being

Section 11.2. Toxic Stressors

Section 11.3. We Have Superpowers

Module 12. Tough Topics: Suicide and Creating Safe Spaces

Section 12.0. Sudden Loss and Trauma Revisited

Section 12.1. Suicide Risks

Section 12.2. Home Safety

Section 12.3. ­­Anti-bullying Perspectives

Module 13. Anger Management

Section 13.0. This Makes Me Angry

Section 13.1. Children Experiencing Anger

Section 13.2. Anger and Unmet Needs

Section 13.3. The Body Reacts to Anger

Module 14. No Shame

Section 14.0. Shame: The Wise Chicken

Section 14.1. Now Tell Me the Good News

Section14.2 Shaping ­­Self-Worth and ­­Self-Acceptance

Section 14.3. Crying Shame

Module 15. Silver Linings

Section 15.0. Rays of Hope

Section 15.1. Learned Hopefulness

Section 15.2. Embracing Vulnerability as a Strength

Section 15.3. Help Children to Write Their Stories

Part III. Storybooks and Bibliotherapy

Using Storybooks as Creative Interventions

Module 16. Baby Star Finds "Happy"

Section 16.0. Baby Star: Literacy, Child Development, and Comprehension

Module 17. Rocko's Guitar

Section 17.0. Rocko's Guitar: Literacy, Child Development, and Comprehension

Module 18. Truth and the Big Dinner

Section 18.0. Truth and the Big Dinner: Literacy, Child Development, and Comprehension

Module 19. Jamie's Big Visit

Section 19.0. Jamie's Big Visit: Literacy, Child Development, and Comprehension

Module 20. Putting It All Together

Section 20.0. ­­C-FRACS

Glossary

Appendix A. C-FRACS

Appendix B. Do's and Don'ts of Grief

Appendix C. Communication

Appendix D. Coloring Activity

Appendix E. Helping Children Deal with Loss

Appendix F. Caregiver Resources

Appendix G. Getting Support: What to Expect

Chapter Notes

References

Index

About the author

Avon Hart-Johnson is an adjunct professor and scholar at Walden University and has published several articles on the subject of this book. She is the President and Co-founder of DC Project Connect (DCPC) and serves on the International Coalition of Children with Incarcerated Parents as an active advocate for social change. She lives in Bowie, Maryland.Geoffrey Alan Johnson possesses a distinctive combination of experience in law enforcement, research, and non-profit leadership. He bridges the gap between the demand for practical strategies in public policy, juvenile justice reform, and the promotion of structural changes in social justice. He is the author of handbooks on family member incarceration and has created children's books to help youth better grasp the related complexities.Renata A. Hedrington-Jones is a university educator and researcher focused on the role of social workers and human services professionals in helping families with reintegration after incarceration. Her work prepares families to build resilience. She is a principal researcher serving on multiple research teams.

Product details

• Authors: Avon Hart-Johnson, Renata A. Hedrington-Jones, Geoffrey Johnson, Johnson Geoffrey
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 05.06.2025
• EAN: 9781476687179
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-8717-9
• No. of pages: 171
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 254 mm x 9 mm
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Law > Criminal law, criminal procedural law, criminology; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Parenting / General, Advice on parenting, Crime and criminology, Crime & criminology, Child welfare and youth services, Parenting, parenthood: advice, topics and issues