Caleb, age 7, sits on the bus bound for Hernando Correctional Institution in Brooksville, Florida, where his mom is incarcerated.
Melody extends her arm to her mother, Tamaya, who caresses her fingers during a visit at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida.
A girl watches a line of incarcerated women walk towards their housing unit at the Hernando Correctional Institution in Brooksville, Florida.
Angel, age 5, looks at a toy as correctional officers communicate behind him during a visit with his mother, Mary, at the Hernando Correctional Facility in Brooksville, Florida.
Jennissey puts eye makeup on Tashanika as they wait for their children to arrive at the Women’s Reception Center in Ocala, Florida.
A plastic bag carrying diapers and a baby bottle sits on a table in the visitation room at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution in Okeechobee, Florida.
Jessie, age 23, holds her son, age 2, during a bonding visit at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida. Jessie is incarcerated for 4 years for bringing controlled substances to her boyfriend during a prison visit. “Sometimes you just want love. And you’re willing to do whatever you can to get it,” she shares.
Cousins horseplay during the screening process before attending a bonding visit at the Homestead Correctional Institution in Florida City, Florida.
Rogelio and Sandrika stand with their sons, Rodarion, age 9, Rohandrick, age 6, and Romarion, age 4, for a Christmas picture at the Everglades Reentry Center in Miami, Florida.
Angel, age 6, leans on his mom during a parent-child visit at the Hernando Correctional Institution, where Mary is incarcerated.
Amber, age 7, closes her eyes during an early morning bus ride to the Hernando Correctional Institution in Brooksville, Florida, where her grandmother, Rebecca, is incarcerated for burglary. “We are going to the prison, so my mom did my hair,” says Amber. “I have fun playing games and drawing when we get there.”
Arnaldo, age 28, kisses his son Joseph, age 4, during a visit at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution in Okeechobee, Florida, where Arnaldo is incarcerated. “My son asks me, ‘When are you getting out of time-out?’ I tell him the reality of where he is. The other dads tell their kids that this is a school. I tell my son where I am.”
Pies on a table for Thanksgiving visits at the Lowell Correctional Institution for Women in Ocala, Florida.
A mother braids her daughter’s hair in the recreation yard at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida.
Carlos holds his son, Damian, during a visit at the Everglades Reentry Center; Carlos hopes to become a counselor upon release and work beside his wife who is a drug detox clinician.
Caleb, age 7, whispers in his mom, Mary’s, ear during a visit at the Hernando Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida.
The Smith Family positions themselves for a picture taken by an incarcerated person who acts as a photographer during visits.
Rogelio, 46, cradles and tickles his son Rohandrick during a Christmas visit at the Everglades Reentry Center in Miami, Florida.
A woman and her son are checked in before a father-child visit at the Everglades Reentry Center in Miami, Florida.
A woman’s leg as she sits during a mother-child visit at Homestead Correctional Institution in Florida City, Florida.
A boy sits outside the entrance of Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida before visiting his mom.
Angel, age 6, and Caleb, age 8, stand with their mom, Mary, during a visit at the Hernando Correctional Institution in Brooksville, Florida.
Jakey, age 2, paces beside tables of mothers and children at the Homestead Correctional Institution in Florida City, Florida.
Annamarie stands as her daughter, Melody, age 14, embraces her during a visit at the Homestead Correctional Institution in Florida City, Florida. “It’s hard to mother from in here,” says Annamarie. Melody and her sister, Tiffany, age 22, see their mother 4 times a year through the Children of Inmates program, which buses them to and from the city. “To hear things but not be a part of it. My youngest is starting high school. I’m missing out. At least I’m leaving here,” says Anna. Anna has been incarcerated for robbery for 5 years. After not checking in for parole one time, she was given another 5-year sentence. Tiffany remarks, “I was afraid my son doesn’t even know her. My mom tells me you have to come more. He’s scared. She missed a lot for me. I didn’t have a female role model. I don’t talk about it to people. To my coworkers. They don’t know my situation. One coworker told me that I should invite my mom to my baby shower. I had to tell her that my mom lived too far to come.”
Eric cries after saying goodbye to his son and daughter at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution in Okeechobee, Florida. “They don’t know how much I miss them.”
Jessie hugs her son goodbye as her mother stands with her during the end of a visit at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida.
A boy looks out the window with his grandmother at the Homestead Correctional Institution.
Mary looks at her son Angel, age 6, as her mother, Mary, who is the children’s guardian, stands behind.
A boy cries while sitting on his father’s shoulders upon exiting the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida, where his mom is incarcerated.
A family interacts during a visit at the Okeechobee Work Camp in Okeechobee, Florida.
Thomas, age 13, exits the Hernando Correctional Institution in Brooksville, Florida, where his mom, Opal, is incarcerated; Thomas has not seen Opal since she was arrested 4 years prior.
Rodarian, age 9, sits on the bus after seeing his father at the Everglades Reentry Center in Miami, Florida.
Rohondrick, age 6, and Romarion, age 4, lean against their mother, Sandrika, outside an ice skating rink after their visit with their father at the Everglades Reentry Center in Miami, Florida. The organization that provides these visits bring the children to another location after the carceral experience in order for them to have a calming effect before returning home. Rogelio, their father, is incarcerated for 3 years for being in possession of a handgun by a felon. Rogelio was incarcerated at the age of 18 for drug possession. After release, he got sober and worked as a chef in a Cuban restaurant. At the age of 41, he was driving to work when police pulled him over and found a handgun registered to his cousin in Rogelio’s vehicle. Rogelio says that he did not know that the gun was left in his car. Sandrika, who now works as a manager at an Einstein Bagels, and is the sole provider for her family, says of Rogelio, “He was a very hands-on father. Very active. He’s a family man. He loves his family. I was spoiled. He used to iron their clothes, dress them, take them to school, to football practice. Now he can only call to wake them up every morning.” She continues, “I try to give them a normal life even though their dad is in prison.”