“CLICC opened my son’s heart and improved his behavior” — CLICC mom
Dear Friend,
We’ve known for 10 years that CLICC literacy and mentoring for incarcerated parents and their children casts a wide net — with big results. This year, many others joined us in that assessment.
A four-year (2018-22) independent evaluation by IMRP, a public policy institute at the University of Connecticut, showed that children (ages 5-17) with parents in prison "experienced a reduction in emotional, behavioral, attentional, and relationship difficulties” during their year of meeting with a CLICC-trained child mentor. Examples of the difficulties included “fighting, being unhappy or depressed, problems staying still, and preferring to be alone instead of with their peers.” http://bit.ly/CLICC
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families gave CLICC its first-ever state agency contract to help parents in four prisons connect with their children and strengthen their relationships.
CLICC developed a pilot literacy program for parents of infants and toddlers at Manson Youth Institution, Connecticut’s prison for males under age 21, at Manson’s request. These young fathers are developing parenting skills and encouraging their children’s literacy by reading the classic stories they remember to their children during in-person and video visits. The dads also receive weekly coaching from their CLICC parent mentor.
Whether you donated important support early on, have given year after year, or are considering a first-time gift to CLICC, our small staff and wonderful Board of Directors, as well as the children and families we serve, thank you. CLICC literally could not have made the efforts needed to achieve these results without your interest and support.
Your gift to CLICC will help us capitalize on all we learned in this pivotal year.
The IMPR report concluded that results of the evaluation “are promising and support additional funding and evaluation of the CLICC mentoring model for (children of incarcerated parents.)" (We agree!) We need to step up development efforts and assemble a research team to plan for a larger research study of our evidence-based program for children, as well as their parents.
· Create a new position — director of mentoring — to deepen behavioral, emotional and literacy support. CLICC already meets or exceeds the highest technical standards for mentor recruitment, training, placement and oversight as set by MENTOR, the nation’s leading mentoring organization. The director of mentoring would step up family recruitment, improve mentor trainings, and provide more tools and individual support to mentors — all to better meet the unique needs of children of the incarcerated.
· Expand our pilot for parents of infants and toddlers to more prisons. CLICC has turned away dozens of incarcerated parents over the years because their children were too young to read. The pilot at Manson Youth is giving us the experience and tools we need to formalize the program and roll it out to more incarcerated parents and their families.
Research shows that children with parents in prison are at greater risk for developing emotional, behavioral and social difficulties that can impact their development and follow them into adulthood. But it also is true that family and other caring adults — like CLICC child mentors — can serve as buffers to ease these challenges and bolster a child’s physical/emotional health and self-confidence.
Robert, one of our CLICC dads, knows this first hand. He is reading and discussing books selected by his son during calls. This has helped the two of them navigate tough topics like adolescence, step-parents and family, and the choices that brought Robert to prison.
“Through reading, my son and I have opened doors that we did not know could be opened,” Robert said. “This led to discoveries that have sparked profound growth which, despite being separated by distance and time, has helped foster an amazing relationship that is built on a stronger foundation."
Through CLICC literacy and mentoring, hundreds of incarcerated parents and their children over the last 10 years have worked towards positive family connection, and better emotional and behavioral health — just like Robert and his son.
Here’s to the next 10 years — and more open doors. Please give to CLICC today by clicking on this link http://bit.ly/GIVE2CLICC or mailing a check to: CLICC Inc., 470 James St., Suite 7, New Haven, CT 06513.
Thank you!
Best wishes,
The Hon. Mary E. Sommer (ret.), chair of the CLICC Board of Directors
Joy L. Haenlein, executive director
November 2023