Jay is a participant of the Baby Elmo program, which teaches parenting skills to incarcerated juvenile parents. Fourteen 
percent of incarcerated juveniles have children, according to a 2012 survey by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). By comparison, 2 percent of males ages 12-20 in the general population have children.
In the Baby Elmo program, parents learn lessons on early child development based on Sesame Street curriculum, and then implement what they learn during visits with their children. Baby Elmo is father-focused, but incarcerated moms can participate as well in facilities that house both genders.
“It’s cool,” Jay says about the program. “It will help me with the responsibilities. I have a thought of how it will be.”
The program is currently operating in juvenile facilities located in five California cities, and two cities in Ohio. There are roughly 60 participants in the program nationwide.
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