Lewis and Clark County approves camp for children with incarcerated parents

Lewis and Clark County commissioners approved Camp Bright Horizons, a summer program meant to give children with an incarcerated parent a steadier stretch of summer, more emotional support and a chance to head into the school year with something stronger than isolation.

The camp is planned for the end of July and is designed for children ages 12 to 15. County officials said it will be run with Carroll College and the Department of Criminal Justice Services, combining recreation with a support model that includes climbing, scavenger hunts, arts and crafts and other activities meant to feel like a normal camp experience.

The county’s earlier solicitation showed the idea was broader than a single week of programming. Lewis and Clark County sought proposals for a one-week day or overnight camp with monthly follow-ups for children ages 6 to 17, and said it had committed $50,000 a year in direct operating costs, subject to annual budget approval. The county also said the program should provide wraparound support for at least one year, with the possibility of continuing for up to seven years if performance and funding allowed.

That longer view matters because children with incarcerated parents often carry stress that reaches into school and home life. National Institute of Justice research says these children can face psychological strain, school suspension or expulsion, economic hardship and other risks, while the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated says parental incarceration is now recognized as an adverse childhood experience. The center says more than 2.7 million U.S. children have an incarcerated parent, and about 10 million have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives.

The county’s criminal justice system has already been framing family support as part of public safety. The Department of Criminal Justice Services says its mission is to improve community safety through a holistic and collaborative approach, and its pretrial services program says it saves the county $120 per day for each defendant in the program, or about $45,000 a day when 300 to 400 defendants are assigned at a time. The department’s Education and Transition Program was established in January 2020.

Planning for the camp had already surfaced in the county’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee process, where January minutes noted an update on a kids’ camp and said Alyssa Spies explained the program and the posted request for proposals. The county’s notice invited bids from outside partners by March 2, with a notice of intent to award due by March 20. For Lewis and Clark County, the real test will be whether the camp can do more than fill one week in July and whether it can help children feel less alone when school, home and family life get hard.