Findings of the COPING Project presented to Askham Grange prison
The COPING project: Children of Prisoners, Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen Mental Health
Tue, 04 Mar 2014 11:34:00 GMT
Senior Lecturer within the Department of Social Work, Ben Raikes and Martin Manby, Director of the Nationwide Children's Research Centre, were both key note speakers at a conference entitled ‘Children and Families Coping with Custody’. The event was held on 26 February 2014 at Askham Grange women’s prison.
Raikes and Manby presented findings from the COPING project (Children of Prisoners, Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen Mental Health), a three year European Commission funded study, which examined the mental health, wellbeing and resilience among children of imprisoned parents.
The presentation also involved three imprisoned mothers who shared their experiences, providing the audiences with a rare insight into the issues faced.
Joanne Fletcher, final year Social Work BSc(Hons) student commented, "When listening to the experiences of the women that are residents at Askham Grange prison I did get quite emotional. Throughout the day I found myself questioning myself on ways in which I would work alongside families in the same situation".
The audience comprised of prison staff, Police officers, Social Workers and student Social Workers, members of the judiciary and school based staff.
Conference delegates came away from the presentation inspired to work with other agencies in order to keep the needs of children of prisoners, who have been referred to as ‘invisible children’, at the forefront of their practice.
Donna Travis, second year Social Work BSc(Hons) student added, "I found the conference truly inspiring. It reminded me of why I wanted to go into social work in the first place; to actually make a difference. I am a mother and I cannot imagine being separated from my children. This conference concentrated on people as parents not prisoners - if people remember this, then maybe children would not also be punished for their parents crimes".
