An estimated 297,000 California children have a parent in jail or prison, and 60 percent of those parents are held more than 100 miles from their youngsters.
Thanks to a group called Get on the Bus, each year around Mothers Day and Fathers Day, hundreds of children and their caregivers board buses and travel form cities all over the State to visit incarcerated parents.
Studies show that regular visits between children and their incarcerated parents reduces recidivism for the incarcerated parent and improves family reunification following the parent’s release.
The non-profit organization offers free transportation for the participants to selected prisons, provides travel bags for the children, comfort care bags for the caregivers, a photo of each child with his or her parent, and meals for the trip (breakfast, snacks on the bus, lunch at the prison, and dinner on the way home) – all at no cost to the children’s family.
On the bus trip home, each child receives a teddy bear with a letter from their parent and post-event counseling. This faith-based organization can be found at: www.getonthebus.us.