On any given day, more than 1.5 million children have a parent serving a sentence in a state or federal prison.  Two-thirds those incarcerated in federal prisons and over one-half of those in state prisons are parents of minor children. Evidence shows that these numbers are growing.  Yet, few Americans understand the trials and heartbreak of those who try to maintain families ties because the issue of parenting from prison is under-reported.

Shannon Heffernan will go into prisons and communities in the Chicago area and record the sorrows and aspirations of incarcerated parents. She will later produce a series of audio pieces on this neglected issue.

Heffernan is a Chicago-based audio producer and new media journalist.  She has produced radio pieces for national and local radio shows including Weekend America, WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight, and Justice Talking. She received a BA in theater from Grinnell College and has worked with various theaters around Chicago as a writer and director. She became interested in prison issues while teaching theater and writing to men at Lancing Correctional Facility with Arts in Prison, and to youth on probation in Seattle with Art Works.

Chicago, IL