A new program is being set up in our area to find volunteers and mentors to help at risk children avoid the pitfalls of possible future incarceration.

Sharon Laxton is the project director for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program.

Laxton met with members of the PIECES drug prevention coalition on Feb. 5 to discuss finding sponsors for local kids who would volunteer in a program designed to mentor children who have a parent or parents who are incarcerated.

Laxton said studies consistently show that children with a parent in jail have a 70 percent risk of becoming incarcerated themselves one day.

In southern West Virginia, there are some 5,000 children who have a parent in jail, she said.

"We need to identify these kids and find mentors for them. The most successful people in our culture are people who had a role model who made a difference in their lives," Laxton said.

According to Laxton, grant money is available to promote mentoring for children ages 4-18. Mentors are volunteers who agree to spend one hour per week with a child to help them become involved with positive social activities such as school work, life skills or other improvements, she said.

Mentors help with educational tutoring; take children to social activities such as movies, church, public meetings or dinners or outdoors activities such as fishing; teach them about the importance of hobbies such as music, reading, cooking etc.; listen to kids as a friend.

A mentor is not a replacement for the child's parents or family or a part of Child Protective Services, or a counselor or social worker. They are volunteers from the community who want to help a child do well.

In 2000, it was estimated that there were some 2 million children in America who had a parent behind bars. In West Virginia there were 3,300 children with an incarcerated parent.