A serious problem facing this country today is the 2.7 million children who are currently being left behind in incredible pain as their parents are put behind bars (Maier 91). They are left behind not only with grief, but with the difficulties of living daily life without the guidance of their parents, as well as the need to find a new home. According to Denise Johnston, a child development specialist and founding director of the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, “there are over 10 million minor children in the United States who have faced parental incarceration over time” (91). The Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) program must take the lead in the process of reunifying parents who have been incarcerated and the children they leave behind. The Big Brother Big Sister program is designed to raise children who have never had that sense of connection before, while also helping them recognize their potential and helping them build bright futures. The BBBS program serves many children around the world who face various challenges in life, but a related program is the Amachi program. “The Amachi program specifically helps children with an incarcerated parent broaden their perspectives on what they can achieve in life and help them overcome” (Big Brother, Big Sister). In addition to the responsibilities they possess, the Amachi/BBBS program should also help reunite these children with their parents once they are released from prison. Ultimately, having these BBBS mentors there to encourage these children to visit their parents is creating an easier path to full reunification. According to R. Anna Hayward and Diane DePanfilis of Univers...... half of the document ......" Social Work in Public Health. 27.1-2 (2012): 12-28. Web. April 10. 2014 . Maier, Katrin. “Children of Incarcerated Parents.” Taylor & Francis Online. 12.1 (2006): 91-105 Web. 25 February 2014. Merenstein, Beth, Ben Tyson, Brad Tilles, Aileen Keays, and Lyndsay Ruffiolo. the effectiveness of programs for children with incarcerated parents" Journal of Correctional Education. 62.3 (2011): 166-174. Web. March 4, 2014. Osofsky, Joy D. Young Childrn and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment New York: Guilford Press, 2004. eBook. Reed, Diane F. and Edward L. Reed Incarcerated Parents." Social Justice. 24.3 (1997): 152-169. Web. 10 April. 2014.United States Government Accountability Office: More information and collaboration could foster connections between children in foster care and their incarcerated parents. Washington: 2013. Web.