More than 2.7 million children in the United States have an incarcerated parent and more than 25,000 of those children live in North Carolina. But while conversations around mass incarceration are on the rise, the stories of these children often remain invisible.
Melissa Radcliff is working to change that; she is the executive director of Our Children’s Place, a North Carolina non-profit dedicated to identifying and supporting children with parents in prison. Radcliff comes to this work with more than a decade of experience working with victims of violence and trauma in a variety of settings, ranging from their homes to hospitals and courtrooms.
In 2001, she co-founded the Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County, the first organization in the county to focus on ending interpersonal violence and supporting victims and their families.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Radcliff about her journey from a small, conservative Massachusetts town to her present work as an advocate for the children of incarcerated parents.
Learn more about how to support the children of incarcerated parents: