Strengthening Family Connections
C A S E S T U D Y
A collaboration with Illinois Action for Children to understand the barriers between incarcerated parents and their children and families.
S E E K I N G
D E E P E R U N D E R S T A N D I N G
O F T H E N E E D
Research Question
What are the carceral policies and practices that disconnect parents from their children and families? How might we maintain and strengthen relationships between incarcerated parents and their children?
“I have children that don't even talk to me, but I don't fault them or get angry with them. I have to understand what they went through. They suffered, they didn't have a father to show up to school conferences.”
— Formerly incarcerated parent
Recommendations to
Strengthen Family Connections
W H A T W E C O - C R E A T E D
The co-designers developed concepts that address many of the challenges faced before, during, and after the incarceration of a parent. These concepts aim to strengthen family connections and are grounded in co-designer-determined visions and outcomes and design principles.
Play-Centered Family Support Spaces
C O - D E S I G N E R - C R E A T E D C O N C E P T
C O N C E P T
D E S C R I P T I O N
Whereas carceral facilities are not children or family-friendly environments, this programming will take place in a child-centered and family-centered green space with a diverse infrastructure (i.e. pools, basketball court, library) that prompts parents, children, and family members to engage in various activities. This space will be accessible to all family members, not just incarcerated parent(s) and their children. Facilitators and volunteers will help run the family space, creating opportunities for parents and children to bond through community support.
To sustain and build relationships between incarcerated parent(s) and their child(ren), non-profit organizations will create programming for incarcerated parent(s), children, caregivers, and extended family members to bond outside of carceral facilities. At its core, this new programming will focus on creating support groups for families in the space. This new family support programming will necessitate and strengthen cross-agency collaboration by developing partnerships between jail/prison facilities, state agencies, and a lead non-profit organization running programming working with each other to bring families together.
C O N C E P T
C O M P O N E N T S
Play-based activities. The family space will host a variety of play spaces such as a basketball court and other sports, a swimming pool, swing sets, and arts and crafts. Utilizing a space with various activities means families with children of all ages can find something to enjoy.
Educational and learning resources. In addition to play-based activities, the family space will also host indoor facilities with more activities as well as learning-bonding resources such as a small library where parents and children can read together and a digital and technological space where children and parents can bond over and learn about technology together (e.g., video games, computers, etc.).
Food and nourishment. Food will be a key leverage point to encourage bonding. The imagined family space created by lived experts envisioned food trucks adjacent to where the buses would drop parents, children, and families off. So when people arrive, food is waiting for them. Integrating picnic tables and other areas to enjoy a meal together into the space encourages conversation and bonding.
S E E K I N G
D E E P E R U N D E R S T A N D I N G
O F T H E N E E D
The Process
Project
Objectives
Convene families who have been impacted by incarceration and other stakeholders to understand the conditions, policies, practices, and experiences that disconnect children and families from incarcerated parents.
1
Collectively imagine futures where the needs of families impacted by incarceration are met.
2
Develop anti-racist infrastructures with lived experts that foster positive connections between incarcerated parents, their children, and those who care for them.
3
CBD
Methodology
Engage formerly incarcerated parents, their children, and caregivers in a co-design workshop series to understand their needs and expectations and prototyping concepts that meets these needs.
1
Deepening Understanding Workshop
Convening a diverse group of stakeholders (formerly incarcerated parents, those who’ve had incarcerated parents, caregivers, and other stakeholders) to make connections between their experiences and the policies, practices, and infrastructures that influence them.
Future Framing Workshop
Collectively imagining futures in which families impacted by incarceration have developed and maintained strong connections and are supported by one another and their communities.
Prototyping Workshop
Collectively prototyping new policies, practices, and infrastructures that address the challenges incarcerated parents and their families face. These prototypes will inform future programming for parents and children within Cook County.
P R O J E C T
D E T A I L S
Illinois Action
for Children
PARTNER
Systems
Transformation
PROJECT TYPE
6 months
PROJECT TIMELINE
3 co-design
workshops
OUR PROCESS
25
participants
R E F L E C T I O N S A N D N E X T S T E P S
Strengthening bonds between incarcerated parents and their children will require implementing multi-level interventions, practices, and policies that prioritize building and maintaining family connections.
To that end, ChiByDesign is in conversation with Illinois Action for Children, The State of Illinois, and a local children’s museum about moving this work forward, developing co-designer-developed concepts, and actualizing the co-designers’ visions.
To learn more about this project,
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