Forgotten Kids

Project owner: Mezinárodní vězeňské společenství, z.s.

Responsible person: Mgr. Žaneta Dvořáčková

2021

2,000 Euro Prize

CS

Civil Society / Social Economy

Challenge

The children of prisoners are secondary and vulnerable victims with no access to targeted care. There are 40,000 children with a parent in prison in the Czech Republic. The children are emotionally deprived and suffer from family separation. They live in poverty and are stigmatised. This situation jeopardises their development as healthy young adults.

Idea

Forgotten Kids (“Zapomenuté děti”) helps children and their incarcerated parent strengthen family ties and solve problems. We work with children as their advocates and raise awareness to support their needs.

Actors

Forgotten Kids works with children of all ages who have a parent in prison. However, our target group is the entire family. We support maintaining the family’s relationship and the child’s welfare in and out of prison. We also provide public outreach to provide adequate resources and care for the children’s needs within prisons and further follow-up care.

Impact

The programme opens up a very difficult taboo. In addition to helping those in need, we raise awareness to the public on the needs of children of prisoners from the programme’s media coverage. This can contribute to systemic changes in the Czech Republic and improve the lives of these children.

Transfer

Forgotten Kids can serve as a model for other organizations and the state. We also plan research, workshops, and publish guidebooks for professionals who work with the children of prisoners. We also share our experiences with organizations in the Czech Republic and around the world at international conferences.

Appreciation of the Jury

The children of prisoners, who are often forgotten by society, are the focus of this programme. Their relationship with their family should continue despite their parent’s prison sentence. Forgotten Kids works with a socially innovative approach with families and their children living in and out of prison. As a result, the children can continue to feel a part of their family. The number of children and families in the programme is increasing, and so is public interest.