Education Public Hearing to Discuss the Assessment on Children of Incarcerated Parents Act of 2015

Last Tuesday, October 27, the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee on Education held a public hearing on:

• B21-0361, "Youth Suicide Prevention and School Climate Survey Act of 2015"
• B21-0319, "Assessment on Children of Incarcerated Parents Act of 2015

Most of the witness present were there to discuss B21-0361, so they recessed the hearing until it continues on November 12 at 2pm in Rm 123, to allow for more time to get public witnesses for a more robust conversation on the issues of the Assessment on Children of Incarcerated Parents Act of 2015.

This is where you come in! They need witnesses, either organizations, parents/guardians, or children to testify about the unique academic needs facing children of incarcerated parents and why an assessment is necessary.

The stated purposed of B21-319 is to require the Mayor to comprehensively assess the impact on children who have at least one parent that is incarcerated. The bill specifies that the assessment must:
(1) evaluate the impact of parental incarceration on the child’s academics; and
(2) recommend policies to meet the needs of children who are struggling academically while a parent in incarcerated.

Councilmember Grosso said in his opening statement, on October 27:

Often in D.C. we talk about the needs of returning citizens, but we have not fully explored the impact of incarceration on our children, nor taken specific steps to meet the needs of those children. B21-319 attempts to change that. Taken together, these measures will help save students’ lives and put them in the best position to learn, succeed, and overcome whatever adversity is thrown their way.

We appreciate the attention children of incarcerated parents are receiving, and the adverse effects those circumstances can have on their education. We look forward to seeing what policy recommendations result from the assessment, in just a little over a year. And we wanted to share information on this public hearing on November 12, for anyone who would be interested in attending, and maybe even testifying.