Children of Incarcerated Parents

—chapter four—
AMACHI IN ACTION
During its initial two years of operations—from
April 2001 through March 2003—Amachi made 556 matches
between volunteer mentors and children of incarcerated parents.This chapter
examines those matches. It discusses how the children and adults spent their
time together; how often they met; the challenges volunteers faced in building
relationships with their mentees; and how long the matches have lasted and why
some have terminated. Finally, it looks at early indications of how children may
be benefiting from the relationships.
HOW DID MENTORS AND CHILDREN SPEND
THEIR TIME TOGETHER?
Amachi is a community-based mentoring program. Each mentor-child pair
decides on the time and location of each meeting and the activities they will do
together.These activities vary widely. (See Table 3 for an overview.) Mentors go
to the movies or cultural events with their mentees, have a meal with them, and
sometimes take them to church services or youth activities at the church, such as
choir practice or birthday parties. Occasionally, the mentor helps with schoolwork.
Often, the two just “hang out” together. Many of the mentors refer to the
children as “their family” and like to take them along on family outings.
AMACHI IN ACTION 27