Families Forward

When a parent is in prison, it impacts entire families. The goal of this program is to minimize that impact and help keep family bonds strong.

Our Team

Stylized graphic of two adult figures surrounding a smaller, child-like figure, creating a heart. Text says, Families Forward.
Headshot of a woman inside an atrium with tall plants. She's smiling slightly and looks calm.

Letisha Bemis, BA, CADC

Program Coordinator
lbemis@compassmark.org

A woman stands in an atrium with natural light and indoor trees.

Hope Gofton

Program Facilitator
hgofton@compassmark.org

Core Components

Children ages 0 to 17 who live in Lancaster County are eligible for the Families Forward Program if they have a parent in Lancaster County Prison.

Case Management

Contact Visits

Parenting Classes

A father and son hold hands and we focus on the closeup of their hands. The boy might be 5, and he looks up slightly at his father. You can only see dad's shorts and a bit of his shirt. It's a comforting image.

Case Management

Our team members connect families with resources such as food, clothing, and guardianship. We also provide support and education that encourages healthy parent-child relationships.

We visit both the child/ren and caregiver in their home, as well as the incarcerated parent at Lancaster County Prison.

Staff members record a message from the parent at Lancaster County Prison, which is placed in a Build a Bear and delivered to the child. Being able to hear a parent’s voice at any time, through the comfort of a bear they can hold and hug, is one way we try to reduce the potential trauma of separation.

Contact Visits

Families Forward team members facilitate hour-long visits between an incarcerated parent and their child(ren). This allows them to read together, play games, or just talk and connect without any barriers separating them.

We encourage parents to use the skills they learn during our Parenting Inside Out classes during these important visits.

Closeup of a small boy seated, playing with toys at a table. At least one adult is present, reaching across in front of him.

Parenting Classes

Staff facilitate the Parenting Inside Out (PIO) curriculum in small-group format at Lancaster County Prison, which strengthens family bonds and teaches parents to handle common challenges of parenting.

PIO was studied and shown to have a positive impact on post-release crimes and arrests, as well as parent-child interactions.

Parents are encouraged to use skills they learn in PIO with their children during contact visits.

Forms

REFERRALS

Referral Form

BROCHURE

Rack Card

FLYER

Community Flyer

Support Families Forward

Donate securely to our program today.

Outside on concrete steps, we see a cozy yellow blanket with bees on it, a teddy bear with a white t-shirt on that says Ambassadors for Hope, and two books- one called When Dad Was Away, and one called, Knock Knock.

Staff members record a message from the parent at Lancaster County Prison, which is placed in a Build a Bear and delivered to the child along with a book and cozy blanket.

Families Forward, a program of Compass Mark, is grateful for support from:

Program Manager

Headshot of a woman in an indoor atrium with plants, smiling.

Vanessa Welker
After-School & Community-Based Program Manager
vwelker@compassmark.org