Project WHAT! We're Here And Talking

Project WHAT! (PW) raises awareness about the effects of parental incarceration on children, with the long-term goal of improving services and policies that affect these children. WHAT! stands for We’re Here And Talking, which is exactly what the team is doing. Over 7 million children have a parent under supervision of the criminal justice system—on parole, probation, or incarcerated. The program employs young people who have experienced parental incarceration as the primary curriculum content developers and facilitators for trainings. The perspectives of the youth are central to this project. One participant says,

"What I remember most is just missing [mom] tremendously. On days like my first day of kindergarten or my birthday it was always sad because she couldn't be there for me. Mother’s Day was the hardest, because I remember buying her flowers, and then my dad telling me that I couldn’t give them to her. It was these little things that affected me the most. Throughout her incarceration, I was fortunate enough to visit her and stay in close touch, but it is important to understand that most people don’t have that. When a parent is taken away from you, there is nothing in the world that can replace them."

PW was launched in 2006 by Community Works. In year one, the youth researched, created, and piloted a training curriculum for teachers and social workers. The interactive training provides participants with tools to more effectively serve children who have or have had a parent incarcerated. In years two and three, the team expanded its target audiences to include additional service providers, public officials and agency leadership.

By April 2010, the PW team reached over 3,800 people through 55+ trainings and presentations. Participants included caregivers at the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and their Families Children’s Summit; foster care professionals at the Casey Family Programs Annual “It’s My Life” Conferences; physicians, hospital personnel, and community health workers at Oakland Children’s Hospital; staff and interns at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; social workers, parole officers, and community service providers at a conference sponsored by the Greater Bay Area Child Abuse Prevention Coalition; educators at the Teachers 4 Social Justice Annual Conferences; and family service providers at Alameda County First 5.

The PW team also developed the Resource Guide for Teens with a Parent in Prison or Jail. The eighty-page guide, originally released in May 2007 and updated in May 2008, answers common questions that children have when a parent is incarcerated. It has an entire section that explains complex jail and prison visiting procedures in plain language. It also includes compelling stories written by youth, along with a CD of the stories read aloud. The guide has been distributed to more than 4,000 youth and service providers through community agencies, via free download on our website, and at conferences. Youth who want a free copy should contact the Community Works office.

Project WHAT! was launched with a generous grant from the Zellerbach Family Foundation. We have also received support from the June & Julian Foss Foundation, Youth Funding Youth Ideas, San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, East Bay Community Foundation, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Youth Grants 4 Youth Action, Bank of the West, GGS Foundation, Morris Stulsaft Foundation, and generous individuals.

HIRING YOUTH

In order to work with Project WHAT!, at least one of your parents MUST have been incarcerated at some point in your life, and YOU must be willing to speak publicly about how their incarceration affected your life. These are PAID part-time positions. Pay starts at $8/hour for the summer training. If you complete the summer training, you will be paid $10/hour at the beginning of the school year, and can work your way up to $12/hour. We ask for a one-year commitment from you.

We hire new youth each spring. During the time we are accepting job applications, a job description and application will be posted on this website. We are currently interviewing candidates for the 2010/2111 program year and are no longer accepting applications. See our Project What! Recruitment Flyer for more information.

RESOURCES

Project WHAT! Resource Guide for Teens with a Parent in Prison or Jail

Project WHAT! Research Summary (PDF, published March 2007)  

One-page fact sheet about Project WHAT! (Word doc, updated April 2010)

Please visit News & Events to see Project WHAT! Media Coverage.

Please visit our Calendar to see upcoming Project WHAT! events.

For more information, please contact Mailee C. Wang, Project WHAT! Program & Policy Director, at (510) 486-2340 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Become a fan of Project WHAT! on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/CWProjectWHAT