Submission to the Inquiry into Support for Children of Imprisoned Parents in New South Wales
13 March 2020 | Download full submission
Summary of recommendations
- Imprisonment should always be the sentencing option of absolute last-resort, and only for violent offenders.
- Savings generated from reduced rates of imprisonment should be reinvested into communities following the principles of justice reinvestment.
- The government should reduce the number of people in prison on remand, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers.
- There should be no new private prisons. Existing private prisons should be closed or transferred to government control.
- The government should fund the Legal Education and Advice for Prisoners (LEAP) program for additional legal and social work positions at the Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Service, Women’s Legal Service NSW and Western Sydney Community Legal Centre.
- The government should expand mothers’ and children’s programs, by introducing them at more correctional centres and increasing the capacity of existing programs. Information about mothers’ and children’s programs should be made available to all women in prison, including on remand.
- Courts should never use the existence of mothers’ and children’s programs as a reason to imprison women they otherwise would not.
- The government should collect and regularly update comprehensive data on the number of people in prison who are parents.
- The government should collect and regularly update comprehensive data on the number and demographics of children who have experienced or are experiencing parental imprisonment.
- The government should make available specific financial support for transport and where appropriate, accommodation, to children and families of people who are imprisoned to enable prison visits to occur regularly.
- Where a person is sent to a prison far away from their home and community, the government should make available specific financial support for relocation to the person’s children and family if they choose to relocate to be close to the prison.
- Prison staff, child welfare agencies and caseworkers should be made accountable to ensure families are kept well-informed of an imprisoned person’s whereabouts and of any planned transfers.
- Child welfare agencies should be made accountable to actively facilitate ongoing contact between a child and an imprisoned parent, including one-on-one support for a child to visit a parent in prison, where this is desired by the child.
- Where the police take out an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) to protect one parent from the other, children should not be automatically placed on the order. The police should assess orders on a case-by-case basis and consult with affected parties (including children where appropriate) to reach an outcome that is safe and does not unduly harm children’s relationships with their parents.
- Corrective Services NSW policies and budgets should be amended to allow people in prison far greater telephone access to make personal and legal calls.
- The government should put in place and prioritise post-release family reunification services to support former inmates to reach out to their children and develop familial connections, where children consent to this.
- The government should develop and implement training for judicial officers, prison staff and child welfare agencies to address negative attitudes towards and stigma surrounding children visiting their parents in prison.
- The government should develop protocols to empower children to make decisions (where appropriate and within reason) about their contact with a parent in prison.
- All social welfare services, including health, education and income support, should ask all children and young people they service whether they have had a parent go to prison and should develop targeted programs for outreach to support them.
- The government should invest in comprehensive, free, independent youth law services to be administered through community legal centres and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. Services should include targeted programs for identified vulnerable cohorts, including children with imprisoned parents.