White House Author

Carol F. Burton has been working with, and on behalf of incarcerated parents and their children for almost 24 years. As an innovative change agent she leads the Alameda County Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, serves as the Executive Director of Centerforce in Northern and Central California and is the immediate past board chair of the Family and Corrections Network. Her responsibilities at Centerforce include the operation of the nationally recognized M.O.M.S. program, a partnership with Oakland Housing Authority to provide stable housing and wraparound services for formerly incarcerated pregnant and parenting mothers and their children. She has also developed curricula and media material, served as an advisor on several initiatives including “Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration” and was the Director for the country’s first comprehensive program and longitudinal study of children of incarcerated parents in Flint, Michigan. Her ability to build strong relationships across systems and translate research into practical, feasible policy recommendations has resulted in practices and policies throughout the country that support children and their families. Carol is a native of Benton Harbor, Michigan and resides in Oakland, California.