Establishing child ambassadors

Norway - 8th November 2011

Thanks to the joint efforts of Norwegian politicians, the ministry of Justice and The Organisation for Families and Friends of Prisoners (FFP), each Norwegian prison is likely to be assigned a child ambassador to represent the needs of this vulnerable group of children.

Children with imprisoned parents are gaining increased political attention in Norway. FFP has observed that addressing the needs of these children varies greatly amongst prisons throughout the nation and is heavily dependent on personal initiative. As a result of this, FFP is stressing the need to embed services for children with imprisoned parents within the Correctional Services.

The Norwegian Ministry of Justice is currently preparing a draft with amendments to the 2001 Execution of Sentences Act, amendments which would state the Correctional Service's responsibility to integrate the child's perspective into the routines, work, and facilities of the prison. Specific measures are suggested in order to reach this goal such as:

-The Correctional Service will be required to map all prisoners with children and attend to the needs of these children (information, support, and advice).

-Each prison must appoint a 'child ambassador' with an overreaching responsibility for implementing the perspective of children into the routines, work, and facilities of the prison.

From 2010-2011 FFP has participated in several meetings with the Norwegian Ministry of Justice regarding measures to strengthen the perspective of children within Correctional Services. The implementation of child ambassadors assigned to each prison is a result of a fruitful cooperation between FFP, Norwegian politicians and the Department of Justice.

For more information on this initiative, please do not hesitate to contact us.