by Autherine B. Smith

Created on: July 13, 2009   Last Updated: July 28, 2009

The "American Dream" is powerful enough to overcome the high risk for academic and behavioral problems in the lives of children of incarcerated parents. That is why we need mentors who can interact with these children and help them touch, feel, and hear the Dream.

As a legal aid lawyer serving poor communities in Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it was always clear to me that these families, heavily impacted by incarceration, had the same dreams for their children as my two-parent friends living on the Main Line and in Center City: health and happiness; a good high quality education; love and laughter; a productive, meaningful life.

How can you, the one parent left behind, the grandparent making her best effort, the guardian or foster parent designated by the state, start to make the "American Dream" a reality for these children. First, do everything possible to help your child have a positive sense of self. Next, help your child build a strong character. Finally, partner with a good Mentoring Program in your community.

A strong positive sense of self will help your child understand that prison is an industry and not an inevitable destination for him. The nature of crime as an industry was made crystal clear in Pennsylvania earlier this year. You may have read that two former Luzerne County Pennsylvania judges have plead guilty to taking $2.6 million in secret payments from the former owner of two juvenile detention centers.

For the record, for every two judges like these, there are two hundred outstanding jurists in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These include, but are certainly not limited to, the new head of a newly installed Mental Health Court located in the Criminal Division of the Philadelphia County Courts, a Supreme Court Justice whose family came to this country to avoid further religious persecution, an outstanding state appellate court judge who recently closed a chapter on a forty-year old desegregation case, an exceptional member of the Third Circuit who happens to be the spouse of our Governor, and a panel of the most brilliant United States Bankruptcy Judges in the country.

Of course, life requires some basic necessities: food, shelter, and medical care. A mentor cannot generally provide your family with any of the basic necessities of life. Your family will need to look to your faith community, your extended family and friends, to available private and government assistance programs, and most significantly,

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