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In 2008 over 1.5 million Americans were incarcerated - or one in every hundred of working age adults. But as the number of adults in prison increases so do the number of children with parents behind bars – and often they are facing very lengthy sentences.

The effect of this is to deprive these children of some of the key parental contact which is integral to them growing up in a supportive environment which will help them not to tread the same path.

Aunt Mary's Storybook Project is a scheme aimed at uniting jailed parents and their kids through reading. It uses the power of words and the recorded human voice to impact positively the lives of inmates and their children. The project, which began in Chicago in 1993, now operates throughout Illinois and has inspired similar programs in more than 20 states.

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About Al Jazeera - Witness

Rageh Omaar presents Witness, a half-hour daily documentary series which features short, specially commissioned or acquired films gathered from independent filmmakers.
 
Each documentary reveals the unknown lives of ordinary people, following their lives, telling their stories and portraying the challenges that confront them. Our witnesses are people in a situation or those who have observed them first hand.
 
The films cover conflict, belief, the past and the future and as well as bringing new stories to light they showcase the talents of a new breed of multi-skilled, frontline journalist. In the studio, Rageh will further explore the issues raised in the films, with expert guests on the subject matter and the filmmakers themselves.