Residential Visits Program with children

Some prisons have a Residential Visits Program. This program allows people in person to have extended private time with a visitor from their family, including their child, without the supervision of a prison officer.

The Residential Visits Program is meant to support and maintain family relationships, including with children.

The visit will usually occur in a nearby hotel or property outside of the prison, called the residential visiting centre. Although prison staff should give you appropriate privacy during your time with a child, they can attend the residential visiting centre at any time without announcement. This is different from residential visits with adults, when there are no prison staff present.

You can apply to participate in the Residential Visits Program with your biological child, a stepchild, or any child that is in your custody.

Eligibility requirements for the Residential Visits Program

Part 3.04 of the Deputy Commissioner’s Instructions has a list of eligibility requirements for all Residential Visits Programs, whether the visitor is a child or adult. They are:

• You are in a prison that has a residential visiting program
• You are serving a minimum prison sentence of 18 months
• You are employed (if you are fit to work and there is work is available)
• You have been at your current prison for at least 2 months (except if you have already been participating in the program at another prison)
• You do not have a maximum-security rating
• There is no intervention order protecting the visitor
• You are not serving or have not served a sentence for bringing contraband into a prison
• You do not have an active Identified Drug User (IDU) status
• You are not serving a sentence for sex offences (unless Forensic Intervention Services and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing support your participation)
• At the time you apply to be in the program, you have not been found guilty of a prison offence that can be punished with more than a reprimand in the last 3 months
• You are not waiting for a disciplinary hearing from a prison offence (you will need to wait until after the hearing)
• You are not currently charged with a prison offence that has been referred to police (you will need to wait until after the police make a decision about the charge)
• You are not already participating in a Custodial Community Permit Program (CCPP) which involves contact with your family
• Your visitor has not been banned for bringing contraband into a prison
• The visitor is not on parole or a Community Correction Order
• Your adult visitor consents to visiting
• Your child visitor has consent from their legal guardian
• Your application has been approved by the General Manager of your prison

There are additional eligibility requirements for residential visits with children. They are:

• Unless you were the primary carer to the child before coming into custody, you must have already been in prison for at least 6 months when you apply and have had regular contact visits with the child during that time
• A suitable and willing adult must be with the child during a visit unless the General Manager is satisfied you have a family relationship with the child and the visit would not place the child at risk
• The child visiting cannot be in the care or custody of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) or another agency