Do the Right Thing: children's rights progress report

12 Children of prisoners

What the Committee said:

"The Committee recommends that the State party… ensure support to children with one or both parents in prison, in particular to maintain contact with the parent(s) (unless this is contrary to their best interests) and prevent their stigmatization and discrimination."

Progress

• There are now Family Strategy Groups in every prison in Scotland. They are made up of representatives from a wide range of agencies and services, all of whom are working together to improve the quality of visits for children and their families.
• In 2011-12, we provided funding totalling approximately £105,000 to Families Outside - a national charity that works solely to support the families of people involved in the criminal justice system.

Next steps

• The Scottish Prison Service will continue to support Family Strategy Groups as they work to enhance family contact within prisons and share examples of good practice.
• We will work with Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People to identify further actions in light of their review of the 2008 report 'Not Seen, Not Heard, Not Guilty'.