Center for Restorative Justice Works

Center for Restorative Justice Works Center For Restorative Justice Works
Uniting children, families, and communities.

Get On The Bus brings children and their guardians/caregivers from throughout the state of California to visit their mothers and fathers in prison. An annual event, Get On The Bus offers free transportation for the children and their caregivers to the prison, provides travel bags for the children, comfort care bags for the caregivers, a photo of each child with his or her parent, and meals for the

day (breakfast, snacks on the bus, lunch at the prison, and dinner on the way home)— all at no cost to the children’s family. On the bus trip home, following a four-hour visit, each child receives a teddy bear with a letter from their parent and post-event counseling. Get On The Bus is a program of The Center for Restorative Justice Works, a non profit organization that unites children, families and communities seperated by crime and the criminal justice system.

Today we honor Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the arrival of freedom to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas on June...
06/19/2026

Today we honor Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the arrival of freedom to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

As we remember this history, we also reflect on the ways freedom, dignity, and belonging continue to be withheld from many in our world today.

May this day invite us into deeper remembrance, gratitude, and a renewed commitment to honoring the sacred worth of every person.

Anyone who has had to navigate the prison visiting process can understand how overwhelming the experience can be. And fo...
06/18/2026

Anyone who has had to navigate the prison visiting process can understand how overwhelming the experience can be. And for families visiting for the first time, it can be quite stressful. Suddenly you're navigating a challenging system: scheduling windows that are hard to work around, strict dress codes, processing times that eat into your visit, and facility policies that vary and change without much explanation.

CRJW works with prison staff as well as our families to change that experience. We help families understand the process, prepare for their visits, navigate challenges, and advocate for the rights they're entitled to. Because a family that can visit with confidence is a family that stays connected, and connection changes everything.

This is why we do what we do 💜🚍
06/15/2026

This is why we do what we do 💜🚍

When a parent is incarcerated, children rarely talk about it. They may change schools. Experience housing instability. I...
06/11/2026

When a parent is incarcerated, children rarely talk about it. They may change schools. Experience housing instability. Internalize shame and confusion. Grieve a loss that no one around them acknowledges.

Research is clear: children of incarcerated parents face greater risks of poverty, educational barriers, and long-term trauma. But that outcome is not fixed. When a child is able to maintain a supported relationship with their incarcerated parent, outcomes improve dramatically.

CRJW's Get On The Bus program exists to protect those relationships, because keeping families connected is one of the most powerful things we can do for a child's future.

Share if you believe every child deserves to feel loved.

💜crjw.org

Another amazing visit with Get On The Bus and Friends Outside! We are incredibly grateful for all who make this possible...
06/11/2026

Another amazing visit with Get On The Bus and Friends Outside! We are incredibly grateful for all who make this possible!💜

06/04/2026

Advocacy in action. 💜

On April 9th, our very own Jackelin represented CRJW at the California State Senate's Budget and Fiscal Review Hearing at the State Capitol, giving public comment in support of the RIGHT Grant and the families it makes possible to serve.

In her own words:
"We operate rehabilitative programs across 14 California state prisons. We serve 1,500 participants a year, and the RIGHT Grant is a lifeline to support our mission. It allows us to provide in-person, in-prison programming and family reunification services necessary to support children and incarcerated parents to break the cycle of incarceration. Without this funding, hundreds of incarcerated loved ones and families would lose access to these transformative services."

The RIGHT Grant has directly fueled CRJW's work, including Get On The Bus and Women of Wisdom, our in-prison program at CIW where participants earn Rehabilitative Achievement Credits (RAC) toward reduced sentences.

Thank you, Jackelin, for showing up, speaking up, and standing up for the families we serve. 🙌

Here's something that might surprise you: the biggest barrier keeping families from visiting their incarcerated loved on...
06/02/2026

Here's something that might surprise you: the biggest barrier keeping families from visiting their incarcerated loved ones is often just transportation, cost and the logistics of getting approval to go into prison.

CRJW removes that barrier entirely for our Get On The Bus families. And it's your monthly gift that makes it possible.

When you join CRJW's Monthly Giving Circle, you become a consistent, year-round part of keeping families connected:

💙 Friend — $20/month: Helps support the costs of sending a child to visit their parent
💙 Supporter — $38/month: Your gift sends 1 child to visit their parent each year
💙 Advocate — $75/month: Your gift sends 2 children to reunite with their parents
💙 Champion — $150/month: Your gift sends a family of 4 to visit their loved one

Steady, recurring gifts sustain our work all year long and help us plan further ahead for families who are counting on us.

Will you join us? Set up your monthly gift at crjw.org/monthly-giving

What does a 7-year-old carry when a parent goes to prison?An unexplained absence at school. Nightmares no kid should hav...
05/20/2026

What does a 7-year-old carry when a parent goes to prison?

An unexplained absence at school. Nightmares no kid should have. A secret they hold close. The weight of wondering, sometimes for years, whether it was their fault.

And alongside all of that, love. An unshakeable, just-want-my-mom-or-dad kind of love.

Researchers studying children of incarcerated parents have documented what families have known intuitively: these kids are at higher risk for anxiety, depression, behavioral challenges, academic difficulty, and disrupted attachment.

But research also tells us this: the children who do best are the ones who stay connected to their incarcerated parent through letters, phone calls, and, when it's possible, in-person visits.

That's why we do what we do. For the kids, for the families, for our communities because every family belongs together.

Earlier this month, Get On The Bus families were welcomed to High Desert State Prison, and we are still feeling the warm...
05/12/2026

Earlier this month, Get On The Bus families were welcomed to High Desert State Prison, and we are still feeling the warmth of the people who made it possible.

To Warden Kim Thornton, CRM Jolene Speers, and the entire HDSP team: thank you. Thank you for greeting our families at Sacred Heart Church in Susanville, as you do every single year. Thank you for the Friday night burgers and hot dogs with all the fixins. Thank you for the chicken parmigiana and pasta (made from scratch) that filled plates and hearts on Saturday.

The families are so grateful as are we. These trips are long, the emotions are big, and what your team does turns a hard journey into a moment of true hospitality, reminding everyone that they are seen, valued, and cared for.

It takes a village to reunite a family, and you are an essential part of ours. From all of us at CRJW and our Get On The Bus families, thank you.

05/10/2026

Today, we hold space for mothers who are loving their children from a distance.

Mothers inside, carrying their children in their hearts every single day.

Mothers waiting at home for a child to return.

Grandmothers and aunties stepping in with steady, fierce love.

Distance doesn’t change who you are to your child.

We see you. We're with you.

Happy Mother's Day from all of us at CRJW.

Address

2350 West Beverly Boulevard
Montebello, CA
90640

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+18189807714

Website

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