Mentoring interventions for children of incarcerated parents

This chapter discusses the significant challenges facing children of incarcerated parents and how mentoring might be an important prevention and growth-promoting intervention for these vulnerable youth. We review existing literature on mentoring in general, and for children of incarcerated parents, specifically, highlighting methodological limitations, gaps in knowledge, and directions for future research. We then identify potential enhancements and innovations for mentoring programs to better serve children of prisoners. We also caution researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from viewing mentoring as the panacea for the complex web of problems facing children and families of incarcerated parents, as well as society as a whole. If accompanied by tangible movements toward judicial and socioeconomic reform on a societal scale, and a focus on addressing the particular challenges facing a given family, mentoring has the potential to contribute to positive outcomes for children impacted by parental incarceration.