February 22, 2008: MENTOR is pleased to announce the launch of Mentoring Children of Prisoners: Caregiver's Choice, a nationwide voucher program providing children of incarcerated parents with expanded access to mentoring services.

Caregiver's Choice, a three-year program open to qualified mentoring agencies, programs, and children with incarcerated parent(s), is designed to connect parents or caregivers with pre-approved high quality mentoring programs, and to financially support the resulting mentoring relationships. The project, national in scope, will initially concentrate on outreach to caregivers and incarcerated parents in metropolitan Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia; and the states of Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Washington.

Programs that meet standards created by experts-in both mentoring and working with families of the incarcerated-are eligible to apply to join Caregiver's Choice, and, once approved, will be selected to take part in the voucher program. All participating programs will be trained on the opportunities and challenges specific to mentoring children with incarcerated parents. Enrollment for mentoring programs begins on March 3. Be sure to view program benefits, standards, and eligibility requirements at Caregiver's Choice online

Children between the ages of 4 and 17 who have a parent in a state or federal prison are eligible to participate in the Caregiver's Choice program. Caregivers or parents can submit an application, and if approved, will receive a list of pre-approved mentoring programs in their area and a voucher redeemable for a year of mentoring at the program of their choice. The application process for parents and caregivers opens March 17.

Executive Director Gail Manza states, "MENTOR believes that Caregiver's Choice offers a wide array of benefits, allowing more mentoring programs-large and small-to serve more children in need. We are energized by the opportunity to administer this demonstration project generously funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, and encourage mentoring programs across the country to join Caregiver's Choice."