The Family Matters Unit helps incarcerated parents maintain or establish relationships with their children. To accomplish this goal, we offer the following services:

• We educate incarcerated parents about their parental rights and responsibilities.
• We inform incarcerated parents about the process for petitioning the court for visitation with their children.
• We answer questions that incarcerated parents have about petitioning for visitation and requesting assigned counsel.
• We draft visitation petitions for incarcerated parents to file pro se in the family courts.
• We provide detailed instructions for filing the petitions that we draft.
• We protect the rights of incarcerated parents to assigned counsel in visitation proceedings that are brought in the NYS family courts.

Although a parent’s earning ability is drastically reduced when he or she or they enters prison, child support obligations are not automatically reduced or suspended. Unless their child support orders are modified, incarcerated parents can accumulate a staggering amount of child support arrears. The Family Matters Unit offers the following services to assist incarcerated parents in the reduction and capping of their child support obligations:

• We answer questions that incarcerated parents have about petitioning for
  child support modifications.
• We obtain certified copies of child support orders from the family courts.
• We review child support orders to determine if there is a legal basis for modification.
• We draft child support modification petitions requesting that the parents’ child support orders be modified and their child support arrears be capped at $500, for the parents to file pro se.
• We provide detailed instructions for filing the petitions that we draft.

• We review the administrative record of the disciplinary hearing to determine whether there is a legal basis for challenging the hearing.
• If supported by the administrative record, we submit an administrative appeal challenging the determination of guilt and/or the penalty imposed.
• If the appeal is unsuccessful we may file an Article 78 challenge to thehearing in state court.
• We also engage in administrative advocacy seeking the elimination or reduction of the penalties that affect a parent’s visitation or communication with their children based on the adverse impact that the penalty will have on the parent-child relationship.