Webinar Archive:  Reentry Series

Webinar date:  May 19, 2014

 

Description

All people reentering their communities after spending time in jail or prison face numerous challenges, but for those people who have children, they may face many additional difficulties.  And when that parent is a survivor of battering, her relationship with her children may be extremely complicated.  In this webinar, Sandra Barnhill, an attorney and prisoners' rights activist, offers practical steps and actions women in the reentry process can take to strengthen their efforts to reunite with their children.  Ms. Barnhill's 27 years of frontline practice informs her work and guides her recommendations on family reunification.

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When entering prison, survivors who have children have to make the difficult and emotional decision about who will care for their children while they are locked up.  Placement options can include family members, other adults not related to the survivor, or the foster care system.  This webinar examines these possible placements options and the ramifications of each for the children and the incarcerated mother as well as outline steps incarcerated survivors can take to plan for their reunification with their children while incarcerated and upon release.

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About the Presenter

Sandra Barnhill, an attorney, is the Founder and President of Foreverfamily, Inc., formerly Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers, Inc. (AIM), a national nonprofit that provides direct service programming for children and families affected by parental incarceration.  In its 26 years, Foreverfamily has provided services to over 15,000 children with a parent in prison.  Ms. Barnhill's pioneering work has been recognized by the Ford Foundation.  In 2004, she was selected as one of eighteen recipients of their Leadership for a Changing World award.  She also received an Annie E. Casey Foundation Fellowship.  Among her honors, Ms. Barnhill was selected in 2009 as one of Atlanta's Top 100 Black Women of Influence by the Atlanta Business League.  She is also on the Board of Visitors for the College of Arts & Sciences at her alma mater, Georgia State University, and other board memberships include Men Stopping Violence and National Network on Women in Prison.  Ms. Barnhill was a 2011 Visiting Fellow at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College where, during the Spring Term, she team-taught a class on social justice and spent concentrated time researching and writing her first book.  She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

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Click here to access recording.  A copy of the PowerPoint (and any other documents from the webinar) is available by clicking here.