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Impact

Impact

The newsmagazine articles became a catalyst for state lawmakers to pledge to hold hearings on this population, which, without intervention, is far more likely to end up in prison.

The Illinois Department of Human Services used Reporter data to apply for a $1.5 million federal grant to provide individual mentors for 1,800 children of inmates in two city neighborhoods.

Catalyst Publisher Linda Lenz and Todd Dietterle, Director, Civic Action, met with Chicago Public schools chief Arne Duncan and a top policy aide to present our Children of the Incarcerated Campaign. They immediately bought in, inviting Community Renewal to help create a pilot program in several high-needs schools beginning in January.

Civic Action staff members continue to build relationships with potential partners leading up to and beyond the hearings on Children of the Incarcerated. To date staff has met with numerous ministerial alliances, dozens of community-based organizations, top officials at the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Cook County Sheriff’s office, the Women’s Justice Division of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, 10 department heads of the Chicago Public Schools, the Illinois Department of Aging, a statewide coalition of organizations that provide mentoring to children with incarcerated parents and a statewide organization of groups providing service to grandparents who are raising grandchildren.

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