{"id":876,"date":"2018-05-07T16:04:30","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T16:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/?page_id=876"},"modified":"2025-02-06T22:53:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T22:53:54","slug":"what-you-can-do","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/what-you-can-do\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Can Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY CHANCES OF REUNITING WITH MY CHILDREN\u00a0<\/span><\/span>AFTER I AM RELEASED FROM PRISON?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Remember that every case will have different conditions that must be met and that all decisions regarding reunification with your children will depend upon what is in the best interest of the child.<\/span><\/p>\n

With that in mind, there are ways that you can strengthen your ability to have your relationship be part of what is best for your child.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

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MAKE SURE THAT YOU STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR CHILD<\/span><\/h3>\n

It may not be easy to do, but one of the most\u00a0 important aspects of strengthening the possibility of family reunification is to stay connected with your child\/children while you are incarcerated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Encourage the kinship care provider or foster parent to bring the child to visitations.\u00a0 Sometimes this is a financial burden or impossible because of transportation.\u00a0 Ask them to find organizations that will provide transportation.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Be positive about your child’s foster care parent or kinship care provider.\u00a0 This is a stressful time for children, and your negative feelings about who is caring for them will only add to their confusion.\u00a0 The more positive you are with the providers of care, the more likely they are to go the extra mile for you in terms of helping you stay connected.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Make sure you seek out and participate in any programs offered in the prison that will help you stay connected – family days, reading together days.\u00a0 Many institutions are working with other organizations to provide these opportunities to stay connected with your children.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Call your children as often as is possible.\u00a0 Keep up on what is going on in their lives.\u00a0 Show an interest in their interests and learn as much as\u00a0 you can about their interests – even if they are not yours –\u00a0 so that you can take part in the conversation rather than just asking questions.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Write to them regularly, even if you are receiving visits.\u00a0 Everyone loves to get mail.\u00a0 Start a story or picture that you can both add to and send back and forth.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Be honest with them about your past mistakes and let them know that you are doing everything you can to be back in their lives in a positive way.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Try to be a part of any school conferences, if possible, by phone or by letter writing to the teachers.\u00a0 Show a genuine interest in their education.<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Celebrate achievements and milestones in your child’s life.\u00a0 Read about child development and understand what they are going through in their own personal growth.\u00a0 Celebrate birthdays and special events – even if you can’t be there in person.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    KNOW YOUR PLAN WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES PROFESSIONALS AND WORK THE PLAN TO THE LETTER.<\/span><\/h3>\n

    You may have a written plan with the Department of Social Services.\u00a0 Make sure you have a copy of it and are doing everything in your power to work it.\u00a0 That may require self-advocacy on your part to work with prison officials to have assistance on what you need to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Seek out and participate in any programs that will improve parenting skills<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Complete any required drug or anger management programs.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Keep records of everything.\u00a0 It’s up to you to be able to prove that you have done what is on your plan.<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Keep records of visits, phone calls, and activities that you do with your child.\u00a0 This will be proof of your continued connection to your child.<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. Be positive.\u00a0 Think about the changes that need to be made and make them a part of your daily routine.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Incarceration can be a time to stop, rethink your life, and make the personal changes to be a better parent.\u00a0 Make it your full time study.\u00a0 Begin to see yourself, and carry yourself, as the parent you want to be.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY CHANCES OF REUNITING WITH MY CHILDREN\u00a0AFTER I AM RELEASED FROM PRISON? Remember that every case will have different conditions that must be met and that all decisions regarding reunification with your children will depend upon Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1507,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/876\/revisions\/1507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigatingreentry.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}