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AZ Coalition Focuses on Kids With Parents in Prison

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Monday, September 13, 2010   

PHOENIX, Ariz - More than 175,000 Arizona children are affected by having parents in jail or prison. A new alliance of social service agencies, schools, government and law enforcement, called the Arizona Statewide Amachi Coalition, is being formed to address the needs of these children.

Former Philadelphia mayor Dr. Wilson Goode is national director of the faith-based Amachi Program. He explains that it relies on Big Brothers, Big Sisters-style volunteer mentoring.

"Your relationship with the child is not one of parent to child, but one of brother to brother or sister to sister. It is meant to be a mutually beneficial experience."

This approach is successful two-thirds of the time, Goode says. A major goal is to break the cycle of incarceration, he adds, when sometimes four generations of a family can be in jail or prison at the same time. Arizona is one of 38 states with Amachi programs, which are funded by a federal Department of Justice grant.

Goode says mentoring for children is not necessary in every case of parental incarceration.

"Some of them with a parent in prison end up in a better circumstance, in a better environment, because a parent went to prison. They're with another family and the family is supportive and giving them all they need."

Federal funding for the Amachi Program runs out in two years. By then, Goode is confident that an Arizona group will be established to continue advocating for children of jailed or imprisoned parents. Any state and local funding will be money wisely spent, he says.

"If they spend money now, they can save themselves a lot of dollars down the road in terms of incarcerating these young people they fail to deal with now."

Amachi is a Nigerian word meaning "Who knows but what God has brought us through this child."

More information is available from Claire Scheuren, Pima Prevention Partnership, 520-977-7786.




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