Suchergebnisse

This article reports on the role of an online knowledge hub in supporting the development of policy and practice relevant to children and families affected by parental offending. The authors use a case study of the i-HOP service, a national web-based collection of resources that supports professionals to work with children and families affected by parental offending. Delivered by the national children's charity Barnardo's, the knowledge hub provides a comprehensive collection of research and evidence, policy frameworks, practice examples, funding opportunities and training resources ( https://www.i-hop.org.uk ). The article begins by considering the rationale behind the development hub, including an increase in the number of children and families affected by parental offending, unsystematic policy response and limited resources for practitioners working with children and families. Next, the article discusses the development of the hub, including the challenges encountered and practical solutions employed. The implementation of a quality assessment system to support policy-makers and practitioners to make informed judgements about the suitability and quality of research and evidence deposited on the hub is also considered. The article concludes with practical suggestions for organisations that are contemplating the development of a knowledge hub to bridge the gap between research and evidence and practice and policy.

Prison visits are recognised as an important feature of a humane prison system, providing important benefits for prisoners and their family in maintaining ties (McCarthy and Adams, 2017). Scotland has a history of penal welfarism and a right-based agenda in relation to visits (McCarthy and Adams, 2017); however, there is a lack of research that focuses on visits in the context of Scottish prisons. Equally, there is limited research that considers the perspective of children visiting a parent in custody. This paper explores the experiences of children visiting a parent in prison in Scotland, highlighting lessons for policy and practice.

Worldwide, unprecedented numbers of people are being imprisoned and in many countries incarceration is on the increase (Walmsley, 2009); indeed 'more parents than ever are behind bars' (Murray et al., 2012) and each year, an estimated 800,000 children within the newly-expanded European Union are separated from an incarcerated parent. Despite this, the psychosocial impact on children is little known and rarely considered in sentencing even though the evidence to date suggests that children whose parents are imprisoned are exposed to triple jeopardy through break-up of the family, financial hardship, stigma and secrecy, leading to adverse social and educational repercussions. The rationale for the study of the impact of parental imprisonment is underscored by the findings of a recent meta-analysis of studies of children of prisoners (Murray et al. 2012). This systematic review synthesized empirical evidence on the associations between parental incarceration and children's later behavioural, educational and health outcomes from 40 studies involving a total of over 7,000 children of prisoners.