When South Dunedin Social Sector Trial co-ordinator Lana McCarthy was a child her father was jailed in Dunedin Prison and she had nowhere to go for advice.
"There was a lot of social stigma around it. I remember feeling like you couldn't talk to anyone or tell anyone and when you are young you don't know how to cope. Being able to talk to an adult who was really experienced would have helped.''
Constable Judy Powell, the Otago Correctional Facility police liaison officer for the past eight years, said prisoners often expressed concerns for their children.
The concerns of children and parents prompted the two women to "bridge the gap'' by bringing together staff from agencies including Child, Youth and Family, the Corrections Department, Family Works and the police, as well as schoolteachers and other people who regularly came into contact with the children.
The staff completed the "Invisible Sentence'' workshops at Community Link in Dunedin for two days, ending yesterday.
The training, developed by Pillars, a Christchurch-based charity for children of prisoners, aimed to give people ways to support young people with a parent in prison.
The workshop included ways to help children stay in school, be healthy and avoid crime.
Const Powell hoped those at the workshops would continue working with the "supportive and non-judgemental'' organisation.
"If we can introduce this to our community, it can only be of benefit for everybody,'' Const Powell said.
Pillars chief executive Verna McFelin said more than 20,000 children in New Zealand had a parent in prison.
"With children of prisoners being more than nine times more likely to go to prison as adults than other Kiwi kids, it is beneficial that those in the community who have an influence over their lives receive this training which can help break the cycle.''
Pillars provided the workshops when funding was available and co-ordinated a mentoring programme for children, with volunteers giving more than 8500 hours last year.
Pillars was Government-approved as a safe programme for vulnerable children and more than 70% of the funds needed to deliver it were raised in the community.
