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Dedication

When staff members from Legal Services for Prisoners with Children first met Lydia Watkins, it was her birthday and she was imprisoned at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California. She had a court hearing that day to determine custody arrangements for her three-year-old daughter Geneva whom Lydia had not seen in over a year. She thought we were there to take her to court and was deeply disappointed when she found that was not true. (We were there for a totally different reason which is not relevant to this story.) Geneva was being cared for by an acquaintance of Lydia's. This acquaintance refused to relinquish custody of Geneva so that mother and daughter could be reunited at a community mother-infant facility. For the next year-and-a-half, Lydia fought for custody of her daughter. Her insistence on protecting her own rights and those of her daughter's paid off and Lydia and Geneva were eventually reunited.

We have met hundreds of women and men in prison who have been just as dedicated as Lydia, who have truly fought for the "best interests of the child." For your determination, for your perseverance, but most of all for your love of your children, we dedicate this manual to all of you.

Lydia's and Geneva's names are fictional, but their story is true.