Recognizing the importance of providing services to children of incarcerated parents.

recognizes the unique challenges facing children who are growing up with one or both parents in prison;

recognizes the need for more research and guidance on the impact of children interacting with the criminal justice system;

recognizes that more resources and services, such as schools, after school programs, mentors, health care providers, and the juvenile justice system need to target the specific needs of children of incarcerated parents in order to reduce the cycle of families in the criminal justice system;

recognizes the needs for capacity-building training for service providers to address the needs of this population;

supports research and the building of community partnerships to provide a comprehensive plan to meet the needs of individual children struggling to balance the difficulties of academic, social, and economic stability while a parent is incarcerated;

supports law enforcement training programs that will factor in the emotional and physical well-being of children when their parents are arrested;

recognizes the needs to provide parents with constructive skill building programs so that, when appropriate, they can maintain a healthy relationship with their children while in prison and after release;

supports strengthening the access parents have to health care, education, housing, and job training services so that they can be productive role models for their children post-release from a correctional institution; and

supports research into the use of technology to explore alternative means for communication with the goal of maintaining bonds between incarcerated parents and their children when appropriate.