Nonprofit Seeks to Support Those Affected by Incarceration

By ANGELA ROBERTS, The Frederick News-Post

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) A loud buzzing sound hit the lobby of the Frederick County Adult Detention Center just before noon on a recent day.

The door to the visitation room swung open, and a boy not more than 3 feet tall toddled behind his mom and big siblings, bundled in a big winter jacket.

With a goofy smile stretched wide across his cheeks, he made a beeline to the front left corner of the lobby.

There, inside a little inlet cut into the wall, the cinder block is splashed with yellows, blues, reds and purples. Books are piled on almost every surface.

Shirley White, an administrative specialist with the detention center who helped create the book nook, watched the boy run over. Her face lit up.

Do you want a book? Do you want a book? she asked him eagerly.

White is a volunteer with the Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, a Frederick-based nonprofit that, for almost two decades, has supported families in Frederick County affected by the prison system.