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Incarcerated Parents Manual:
Credits
Dedication
Introduction
Arrest
Placement
Foster Care & Dependency
Family Reunification
Making a Record
Paternity
De facto Parent
Child Support
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Conclusion
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Making a Record
What can I do while I'm in jail or prison?

After you are released, you will have to prove to the judge that you can safely parent. Keep records of all of your efforts to visit your child and follow and complete rehabili-tation programs. Write down the time and date of everything you do for you and your child. This means keeping track every phone call and visit with your child, your child's caregiver, the social worker, or your lawyer.

By keeping track of these calls and visits, you can prove that you care about what happens to your child. A judge is much more likely to believe that you called your child every Sunday if you show her your written record than if you simply tell the judge that you made the calls.

Steps to make a record

Here are some steps you can follow to assure that your have documented all your efforts to stay in touch with your child.

  1. Get a notebook or special pad of paper and use it only for your child's case. Write down the date and time of:
    • Each call you make to or about your child;
    • Each visit you have with your child;
    • Each call you make to your child's caregiver, and what the call was about;
    • Each call you make to the social worker, and the subject matter;
    • Each meeting you have with the social worker, and what the meeting was about;
    • Each call you make to your lawyer; and
    • Each meeting you have with your lawyer
  2. Write letters to your child and save copies of those letters.
  3. If your child is too young to understand letters, draw pictures to send to her; save copies of the pictures or write down the date sent.
  4. Ask to see your child's report cards.
  5. Go to any available classes, meetings or programs that your detention facility offers and write down the dates and time.
  6. Keep copies of certificates, or other proof, showing that you attended classes, groups, or meetings (whether the court ordered you to attend or not).
  7. Ask the teachers and counselors of any programs you complete to write a letter about how you did.
 

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
1540 Market St., Suite 490  •  San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 255-7036  •  info@prisonerswithchildren.org