- Who it's for
- Outside Caregiver, Whole Family
- Child / youth age
- All ages
- Geography
- National
- Action type
- Find Help
- Lesson length
- About 8 min
- Last verified
- August 2026
Written by My Fairy GodParents — reviewed August 2026.
Caregiver Check-In
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Why this matters
Everything in this module is designed to be used in ten-minute pieces, on a phone, between other responsibilities. Some caregivers reach a point where they want the whole thing in order, in one place, with room to write.
The Caregiver's Safe Harbor Toolkit Guide and its companion Workbook & Action Guide were written for that. The Guide explains the terrain — what caregivers in these families face and what tends to help. The Workbook turns it into structured exercises with space to plan, record, and revisit.
This lesson is about deciding whether either one is worth your time and money right now, and what you can get for free if it is not.
What each one is
The Toolkit Guide is a read-through book, 6 x 9 inches, covering the practical and emotional ground of caring for a child whose parent is incarcerated: the first weeks, talking with children, dealing with schools and systems, managing contact, and looking after yourself while doing all of it.
The Workbook & Action Guide is larger at 8.5 x 11 inches because it is meant to be written in. It carries reflection prompts, family communication plans, conversation scripts, and visit and call checklists — the parts of the Guide you work through rather than read.
They stand alone. Caregivers who want understanding usually start with the Guide; caregivers who already know their situation and want structure often prefer the Workbook.
How the free material relates to it
This Blueprint is free and stays free. So does the Navigating Incarceration family guide, which covers the first weeks after an arrest and can be downloaded without an account.
The books do not unlock the Blueprint and the Blueprint is not a preview of the books. They overlap in subject and differ in form: one is a course you move through online, the other is something you hold, annotate, and hand to another adult in your family.
If cost is the obstacle
MFGP is a nonprofit and the proceeds from these books fund our programs, which also means we would rather a caregiver have the material than have the money. If cost is the barrier, write to us and say so — no explanation or proof required — and we will get you a copy.
Organizations serving caregivers can also contact us about bulk arrangements for programs, classes, and kinship groups.
How caregivers tend to use them
A kinship support group in a public library worked through one Workbook section per meeting: everyone filled in the same pages, then talked about what they had written. Nobody had to explain their whole situation from scratch, because the page had already done that work.
A grandmother read the Guide over two weeks, then handed it to her daughter's partner so both households were working from the same understanding of what the children needed.
A caregiver who could not afford either wrote to MFGP, received a copy, and later used the visit checklist for the first in-person visit her grandson had had in a year.
Words you can use
Send or say these as written, or change them so they sound like you.
Asking MFGP for a copy when cost is the barrier
Send through the contact form. This is genuinely all you need to say.
I'm a caregiver for a child whose parent is incarcerated and I'd like a copy of the Safe Harbor material, but the cost isn't possible for me right now. Could you help? Thank you.
Asking about copies for a group
For kinship groups, schools, libraries, and community programs.
I run a monthly kinship caregiver group with about twelve regular members and I'm interested in using the Workbook with them. Could you tell me what options exist for getting multiple copies?
Decide what fits your situation
- Do I want to understand the landscape, or work through structured exercises?
- Would writing in a book help me, or would I use the online planner instead?
- Have I already downloaded the free Navigating Incarceration guide?
- Is there another adult in my family who should be reading the same thing?
- If cost is the barrier, have I written to MFGP to ask?
- If I run or attend a group, would shared copies be more useful than one?
Reflect and plan
Answer whichever one fits your week. You can save one straight into My Family Blueprint.
What kind of help do I actually want right now: understanding, structure, or company?
Which section of my life feels least organized and most in need of a plan?
Who else in my family should be working from the same material?
What is my next step: download the free guide, buy, ask, or keep using the Blueprint?
Your next step
Open the collection and decide whether the free guide or the full toolkit fits this week.
Finished this guide?
Marking it complete saves your progress on this device. Create a free MFGP account to keep it everywhere.
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