With 2.3 million inmates behind bars in the US, the goal of volunteers in mentor programs for the 2.7 million children of prisoners is: No child left alone.
Since 2003, a federal faith-based initiative called Mentoring Children of Prisoners has paired more than 100,000 children of prisoners with volunteer mentors.
The strains and shame of parental incarceration compound other childhood challenges, like poverty, making these children more at risk than others of ending up in prison themselves.
Despite government cuts in funding, the programs continue.
(WATCH the video below, or READ the story in CS Monitor)