News Summary

BUTLER COUNTY — A statewide initiative to mentor the children of incarcerated parents will take place locally. Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Butler County will receive a portion of a $750,000 federal grant for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program. The local agency will be among 25 Big Brothers/Big Sisters to participate throughout the state.

Agency CEO Carolyn Winslow looks forward to the program but needs volunteer mentors to make it a success.

"It's easy to get involved and only takes a few hours a month to make a difference in a child's life," she said. "Volunteers are critical to the success of this program. We especially need more men to step forward as mentors."

An estimated 50,000 children of incarcerated parents live in Ohio. Experts say they are six times more likely also to be jailed at some point in their lives than those whose parents weren't incarcerated.

The Administration of Children and Families through the U.S. Health and Human Services Department awarded the grant. Big Brothers/Big Sisters will collaborate with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to link children with mentors.

"A coordinated, efficient and standardized system of providing children of prisoners with mentors will be essential to elevate the services to the youth in Ohio and help break the cycle of incarceration," said ODRC Director Terry Collins.

For more information about Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Butler County's Mentoring Children of Prisoners program, contact Shana Rollins at (513) 867-1227 in Hamilton or (513) 424-3397 in Middletown.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2180 or ch

ubbard

@coxohio.com.