One suffers silently, another misbehaves, a third struggles to get back on track. Caregivers for children of prisoners say they’ve asked schools for help, but have not received any.

Public school officials still do not know how prevalent this has become, says Annetta Wilson, executive director of Sankofa Safe Child Initiative, a child welfare agency in North Lawndale. The prison population exploded in the aftermath of get-tough drug laws in the 1980s. One researcher estimates that 2 percent of CPS students had mothers in prison during the 11 years between 1990 and 2001. Among African-American children, the estimate rises to 4 percent. And if jail time were factored in, these figures would be higher still.

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/news/index.php?item=2184&cat=23&tr=y&auid=2580684

The number of grandparents serving as primary caregivers for their grandchildren has increased enormously over the past 20 years. This presentation will focus on the Sankofa Safe Child Initiative’s model program, “Looking Back to Go Forward,” which has woven systems from the federal, state and local levels to build an innovative, intergenerational 58-unit supportive housing facility in one of Chicago’s poorest communities for grandparents raising grandchildren and youth aging out of foster care. We will highlight and share the supportive services needed and available to grandfamilies that build on their strengths and make them and their grandchildren stronger.