Who we are

We work together to build a better future for and with children and young people.

Our vision

We are building futures so kids can SHINE.

Our purpose

We work with children, young people and their families to strengthen connection to community and family through education, support and mentoring to help them thrive.

We are purpose driven and values led.

Our values

We stay true to our values of integrity, empowerment and being child-focused.

Building relationships and family connections

Children with a parent in custody are the invisible victims of crime and experience significant psychological trauma and impact on their emotional and social development as a result of their parent’s imprisonment. Without our support, the likelihood of these children transitioning into child protection and justice systems increases considerably.

We also help families avoid fragmentation and intergenerational offending, while also significantly reducing the rates of reoffending in young people and adults.

Supporting children from 0-18 years

We are the only national charity that provides services to support children and young people from infancy to adulthood. Our programs operate in secure, open custody, and transitional correctional facilities throughout NSW, ACT, VIC and QLD, and include:

mentoring
casework and parenting support
supported transport
onsite engagement facilitation including Child and Family Centres and supported prison visits
Aboriginal programs
education support
carer support

Demonstrated experience

We have successfully delivered programs and provided crucial support to children and young people who have contact with the criminal justice system for over 40 years.

We began in 1982 as the Children of Prisoners’ Support Group, created following the release of The Children of Imprisoned Parents Report commissioned by the Family and Children’s Service Agency. In 2004 we changed our name to SHINE for Kids and now work across four states, NSW, QLD, ACT and VIC.