Funded by a grant from the NY Department of Correctional Services, the Children s Center at Bedford C.I. offers wide range of services to inmates and children. The center is designed to help women preserve and strengthen family ties and receive visits from their children. The Children s Playroom. Both Bedford C.I. and Arthur Kill C.I. have equipped recreation centers for visiting children, set up through the cooperative efforts of inmates and staff. Funds from inmate vending machines were used to purchase toys and furniture, and the prison art classes paint murals on the walls, while a floor covering class installed carpeting.
Inmates maintain all of the equipment utilized and are responsible for cleaning the center.
At Bedford, this visiting area is staffed by a teacher and eight inmate care givers, while at Arthur Kill, the institution utilizes volunteers from the Foster Grandparent program. The program is reportedly intended to foster a closer relationship between the mother and child, provide a well-staffed recreation and education program for children, and to teach inmates to become competent care givers and mothers. However, it also has the added benefit of making the adult visiting area an easier place to talk. In addition to these two institutions, the department reports that several women s institutions have outside play areas for children and no problems have been reported relating to injuries or supervision. North Carolina Children s Visiting Area.