Maintaining family contact during COVID 19: Describing the experiences and needs of children with a family member in prison

Prison visiting across the globe has been significantly affected in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. By March 2020, prisons across the world began to limit or ban face-to-face visits, in an attempt to manage the health risks for a more vulnerable group, within typically overcrowded settings. In-person visits in all Australian prisons were cancelled at this time. While there has been some reintroduction of visits in some jurisdictions, at the time of writing, visits in New South Wales and Victoria, which hold one-half of the country’s prisoners, remain suspended. Formal understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on prisoners and their families, their coping during imprisonment and/or the processes of re-entry remains limited at this stage. The aim of this research is to improve understanding of the needs and experiences of children with a family member in prison, with regard to visiting during COVID-19. The study was commissioned by SHINE for Kids, with a request to focus particularly on changes to visiting as a result of COVID-19 restrictions introduced in prisons across Australia, from March 2020. Data were gathered via an anonymous survey facilitated by online platform Qualtrics. The survey was available from June 17 – August 17, 2020. Overall, this study supports the use of video visiting, complementary to in-person visits, as a way of supporting family contact. However, a range of actions are required. This includes a commitment to face-to-face visits as the main form of contact, where possible, which should not be replaced with video visiting; specific attention to prioritising families who live considerable distances from the prison; tailoring visits to the needs of the child/ren – including the specific needs of children with disabilities, and consideration of skill building for effective use of videoconferencing with children.