1982
In the beginning...
Child punishment is often the other side of the coin to parental imprisonment. This is one of those shadowy corners of the criminal
justice system seldom spotlighted. In our society, prisoners are
marginalised; their spouse and adult friends isolated and hidden;
while their children to all intents and purposes are invisible.
– Children of Imprisoned Parents Report , 1982
The Children of Imprisoned Parents Report was commissioned by the Family and
Children’s Services Agency in March 1982. Following its release, and in response
to its findings, SHINE for Kids was created as the Children of Prisoners’ Support
Group (COPSG). We operated from a room alongside what is now known as the
Community Restorative Centre (CRC), then based in Foster Street, Surry Hills. This
very old building was dark and gloomy and was also quite cramped.
 1984
Station House, Central
We moved to Station House, part of the Sydney Central railway station building,
in Eddy Avenue. This office was much brighter and overlooked busy George Street.
Parking fines for staff and volunteers were commonplace, as were evacuations due
to ‘bomb threats’.
1989
Addison Road Community Centre, Marrickville
Our first place of our own was at the end of an old army hut in front of Reverse
Garbage, a place where recycled goods could be purchased very cheaply by everyone
from craft teachers to filmmakers. The Community Centre was (and still is) a warm,
friendly place, with a diverse range of services and activities on offer. Our building
was painted up by staff and volunteers on weekends.
 1992
A big 10th birthday present
As COPSG celebrated ten years, we moved into new premises, ‘The Cottage’, at Silverwater
Correctional Centre. The
ribbon was cut by the
Hon. Wayne Merton, then
NSW Minister for Justice,
with the help of Matthew,
James and Chad Bales on
22 December 1992.
1994
Family Day ‘94
As part of the International Year of
the Family Demonstration Projects Program, funding was presented to COPSG by
The Hon. Jim Longley MP at a ceremony in Martin Place. It established a pioneering
program in which fathers and their children could spend time together outside normal visiting conditions – an opportunity previously granted only to inmate mothers.
1997
The Parliament of NSW Legislative Council Standing
Committee on social issues released a report into
children of imprisoned parents
Key conclusions:
- A sentence of imprisonment on a primary carer of children
should only be imposed where all possible alternatives have
been exhausted. The courts should always seek communitybased
alternatives, particularly in the case of offenders who have
committed non-violent offences.
- Data on the number of parents in prison and on the number of children who have parents in prison should be maintained to ensure that
effective policies and strategies are developed for these children.
- Effective pre- and post-release services that have as a focus family
support and re-unification should be properly resourced and
available throughout New South Wales.
 Construction and renovation at Silverwater
Since 1992 we’d watched
the area around Silverwater
Correctional Centre change – even losing a storage shed to the
widening of the Holker Street.
Major General Smethurst,
Commissioner of Corrective
Services was instrumental in
the construction of a new
Child & Family Centre which
began in 1996. When this was completed in 1997
SHINE for Kids temporarily moved its operations into this building while The
Cottage was renovated in sympathy with its original Federation heritage.
Ten years on, Commissioner
Ron Woodham of the
Department of Corrective
Services would also see the
difference made by having a
supportive place for children
and families to drop into, and
enabled the establishment of the Child & Family Centre at Windsor and in 2007
supported the expansion of SHINE for Kids to Wellington, Cessnock and Parklea.
1999
"It's hard for father and son to sit around a metal table with five chairs bolted to the floor for three or four hours and try and be father and son."
A survey of imprisoned parents described the conditions visiting children are forced to endure.
Read our history from 2000 on »
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