Help for Devon’s young people facing ‘terror’ of parent in prison

Funding to support the “hidden issue” of children in Devon who have had a parent sent to prison is set to continue.

The Not My Sentence support programme was developed in Devon in 2022 with one-to-one support from trained youth workers for young people with a close family member in jail.

Topics include understanding the justice system and emotional literacy and aim to help young people who said the experience can be “terrifying”, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Nationally nearly 200,000 children had a parent in prison between October 2021 and the same period the following year, according to government data.

Julie Richards, Devon County Council’s community safety and violence prevention lead, said the authority was trying to identify children “who have been impacted by parental imprisonment”.

Ms Richards said the council’s work with its partners in the Safer Devon Partnership is the “only dedicated offer” and funding will continue in the next financial year.

She said The Not My Sentence programme by Space Education Support Services “covers the justice system and what prison is like, focusing dispelling myths as it has become clear that young people have a very unrealistic view of what life in prison is like”.

One affected young person told the council: “There is room to improve services for young people who experience a parent or close family member going to prison.

“It is terrifying and I didn’t feel like I was given any information that I could actually understand.”