The Action for Children and Families of Prisoners Network met on 9 December 2024 to discuss children’s rights, ongoing research, updates on the book by children of people in prison and more. Attendees at the event included representatives from New Directions, Barnardos, Traveller Justice Initiative, Travellers Access to Justice Project University of Limerick, Irish Council of Prisoners Overseas, Kinship Care Ireland and Navan Traveller Peer Support.
Ombudsman for Children’s Office
The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) plays a vital role in safeguarding children’s rights and welfare in Ireland. Representatives from the OCO recently met with the Network to discuss the scope of their work, which includes handling complaints, promoting children’s rights, and influencing public policy.
The OCO supports children by:
- Handling Complaints & Advocacy
The OCO provides an independent ombudsman service, accepting complaints from children, parents, and professionals. These complaints help identify policy issues, and in some cases, lead to full investigations and recommendations for change. While these recommendations are non-binding, public bodies are generally receptive and take action in the best interests of children. - Influencing Policy & Legislation
The policy team works closely with public bodies and government departments, ensuring that children’s rights are central to policy and legislation. Their work is guided by direct complaints, consultations, and research. - Engaging with Young People
The participation and rights education team ensures that children’s voices are heard:- Running a youth advisory panel, where young people from diverse backgrounds provide insight into the OCO’s work.
- Educating both children and professionals about children’s rights.
The OCO can investigate complaints::
- The OCO can reach out to public bodies informally or conduct a formal preliminary examination of issues raised.
- In some cases, they carry out full investigations, leading to findings and recommendations.
- While the OCO cannot intervene in certain areas (such as administrative actions of prisons, clinical judgment matters or immigration status), it does consider complaints involving vulnerable groups, including children in care and detention.
OCO Outreach
- The OCO actively engages with children in Oberstown Children’s Detention Centre, Tusla Special Care Units, and Direct Provision Centres, ensuring they have a platform to express concerns and file complaints.
- By listening to children, addressing complaints, and influencing policies, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office is committed to protecting and promoting children’s rights in Ireland.
Latest Updates on Our Work with Families Affected by Imprisonment
- New Research on the Financial Impact of Imprisonment on Families
Following a competitive tendering process, we have awarded the contract for our research project, Exploring the Financial Impact on Children and Families in Ireland When a Family Member is Imprisoned, to TASC – Think-Tank for Action on Social Change. We’re pleased to be working closely with Sara Singleton, Head of Public Education and Senior Researcher for Social Inclusion, on this important project.
Additionally, we have carefully selected a number of expert organisations to form an advisory group for the research. Invitations have been sent, and our first advisory meeting is set for Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
2. Children’s Book on Family Imprisonment Progressing
The Kids’ Own project, which is developing a book that captures the experience of family imprisonment through the eyes of children, continues to receive support. The book is currently in the editing phase, and we expect to receive the first draft in January 2025. A March launch is provisionally planned—stay tuned for updates!
3. Webinar on Supporting Children of People in Prison
In collaboration with Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE), we invited key decision-makers from the Irish Prison Service (IPS), the Department of Education, and the Ombudsman for Children to take part in a webinar exploring how schools and prisons can work together to support children with imprisoned parents.
4. Key Discussions at IPRT’s AGM 2024
At our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 18, 2024, we shared updates on our work, including findings from a survey on family contact in prison. The survey, completed by 31 out of 125 respondents, highlighted:
- Family contact ranked among the top three concerns for people in prison for the first time.
- Widespread dissatisfaction with six-minute phone call limits, even where in-cell phones exist.
- Frustration with short family visits—only 30 minutes per week, which is especially difficult for families with children who have disabilities.
- Poor experiences with family video calls, which are conducted on small screens.
These insights reinforce our ongoing advocacy for improved communication and family contact policies in the prison system.
5. Family Support and Prisoner Queries
Between October 31, 2023, and September 30, 2024, IPRT handled 115 recorded queries from family members, prisoners, researchers, and service providers. The main issues raised included:
- Temporary release and prisoners’ rights
- Access to visits (including conjugal visits and visits for children with disabilities)
- Communication gaps between prisons and families, particularly regarding prisoners’ health and hospital admissions
- Remission queries and IPRT membership requests
6. Engagement and Advocacy Work
- Ashling Tobin, IPRT’s Children and Families of Prisoners Project Coordinator, attended the Growing Up in Ireland Annual Research Conference 2024, where she confirmed that ESRI’s longitudinal study collected some data related to children with a parent in prison.
- She was invited to Shelton Abbey Open Prison for the Halloween Kids Camp, where she engaged with incarcerated parents and their families, reinforcing the importance of family connection in rehabilitation.
- IPRT worked with St Stephen’s Green Trust to host their Family Matters Grant Trustees Network on November 13, 2024.
Network Member Updates
Members of the Action of Children and Families of Prisoners Network gave updates on their work.
There were a number of positive initiatives happening around supporting families of people in prison. There have been new kinship care peer groups set up, family support workers for Travellers and family support programmes taking place including one with a newborn. Safe care packs were created by young people in a youth diversion programme, which were then brought into the Dóchas Centre women’s prison by the young people where they had an opportunity to speak with the women imprisoned there. For the first time for many, mothers with children in care had the opportunity to send a Christmas card and voucher to their children. Another service was involved with supporting Dads in prison to send Christmas cards to their children.
Some points of issue to note include the cost of living and cost of travel to visit people in prison coming up in a number of services. There were issues of concern in one prison where visits had been cancelled and families not informed of the cancellation after travelling long distances to the prison. There has been an increase of people looking for kinship care support due to a family member being imprisoned. Issues of overcrowding and prison conditions are coming up.
Date for next Network meeting is scheduled for Monday, 24 March 2025.
If you want to find out more about joining the Network, please email Ashling Tobin on atobin@iprt.ie.
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