A unique new information and advice service for professionals working with children and families of offenders was officially launched this week.
i-HOP gives professionals working with children of offenders access to support and advice, allowing them to share best practice. This is the first time such a resource has been created on the topic of children affected by parental imprisonment.
i-HOP is free to join and members are able to access a growing directory of resources and partner organisations. The site enables professionals to search for services, training programmes, research and policy by locality or topic.
The service has only been live for six weeks and already has nearly 200 members; i-HOP aims to have 500 by the end of the year.
Barnardo’s is working in partnership with POPS (Partners of Prisoners and Families Support Group) to deliver i-HOP, which is funded by the Department for Education.
Sam Monaghan, Barnardo’s Director of Children’s Services, said:
“Every year 200,000 children experience the trauma of having a parent in prison, but they are all too often a hidden group of vulnerable young people.
“All services for children and young people should know about the issues faced by children of prisoners but there is currently little information sharing between agencies.
“i-HOP will tackle this by providing a single hub where all professionals working with children who have been affected by having a parent in prison can share knowledge and best practice, find out about training opportunities, and get in touch with other organisations and consortia.”
Anyone interested in joining i-HOP can do so for free at www.i-hop.org.uk or follow us on twitter @barnardos_ihop.
