Abstract
Approximately 856,000 children in California have a parent who is incarcerated. This number is rapidly rising in that the female population is becoming more representative of the federal and state penal inmate population as their male counterpart. Most of these females are mothers: Whether it is the mother or father who is incarcerated does not lessen the amount of emotional or physical trauma these children suffer. While it is unknown what percentage of these children live within Sacramento County we know these children are impacted psychologically and physically. The goal of this study was to discover if there is a need for a program which offers therapeutic peer-counseling to children whose parents are incarcerated. This researcher interviewed five individuals who have or currently are working with children whose parents are incarcerated. These individuals represent the fields of education, law enforcement, child advocacy, and community leadership. As a result of these interviews, it was concluded that Sacramento County needs to develop therapeutic peer-counseling programs for children who have parents who are incarcerated. It was also concluded that there is a need to solicit grants to fund such programs.