Ex-Incarcerated Father Gives Back by Helping Imprisoned Parents Who Can't Be With Their Children

A father of 11 kids, who was released from prison, decided to give back by teaching incarcerated parents who cannot be with their children. 

John Blaskowski spent 22 months at the Frederick County Detention Center. While there, he thought of his kids who needed him and knew that something had to change, DC News Now reported.

He shared that it is difficult to connect with the children when a parent is incarcerated because they are not present. More so, the kids do not understand the process and the situation entirely.

Time to give back

During the time he served, Blaskowski met people from the Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (COIPP), an organization that guided and helped him rebuild his relationship with his kids.

He is now giving back to the organization by indirectly impacting the children experiencing sadness, longing, and confusion, which his kids had gone through when he was away. He visits the detention center regularly to teach one of the parenting classes of the organization - a ten-week program.

When asked what he is teaching the emotional and broken parents in jail, Blaskowski said, "You got to start small, simple questions. You can't just jump right back in the relationship because the child won't trust you yet, so you got to build that trust back up and rebuild those bridges you might have knocked down." He added he shares his experience and what he learned from COIPP.

COIPP is a non-profit organization that provides support, resources, and services for kids impacted by the incarceration of a parent/s or a loved one in the Frederick region in Maryland for over 16 years.

It welcomes donations and grants, which it used to create and start the many activities and programs that serve the kids and their families, such as fun and educational children's activities, a free book nook, and regular sharing fairs and parenting workshops at the Detention Center. They also provide respite workshops and scholarships to Frederick Community College for parents, former inmates, and their children.

Read Also: Virtual Reality Gives Kids Better Chance to Bond With Parents Behind Bars

Become a voice for kids with incarcerated parents

COIPP's founder, Shari Ostrow Scher, expressed that the service Blaskowski is doing for the organization and the recipients are very much personal to her.

Being a daughter of an incarcerated parent, she knew there was no voice for kids with incarcerated parents, which made her realize how significant this is for these young ones.

Maryland's Governor's Office for Children reported an estimated 90,000 children in the state whose parents are on parole, probation, or in jail/prison.

On a broader scale, the Prison Policy Initiative stated that 47 percent of the approximately one and one-quarter of a million people in state prisons are parents to minor children. Nineteen percent of those minor children are four years old and below.

They further reported that the number of people in state prison "almost exactly mirrors the number of impacted minor children." These children face a high risk of cognitive and health-related challenges as they grow up and become adults.

Related Article: How to Raise a Child When a Spouse is Imprisoned