About YouYesYou!

Since its inception, YouYesYou! has concentrated on one thing, which is helping children. Our mission is to help incarcerated fathers build and maintain relationships with their children and strengthen their ability to BE a father.


To be transparent, the fathers in our program are not in prison because they made one small mistake. Many of our fathers have made several mistakes, burned many bridges, and lost the trust and support of their children and the children’s mother. YouYesYou! is working to help rebuild that trust and support – at the child’s and mother’s pace. We could not do this crucial work without the aid of mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and sisters.


Even though not every negative effect of a parent’s incarceration is correctable, children need to have a relationship with their incarcerated parent to begin recovering from any trauma they may have experienced. According to research, positive father-child involvement enhances children’s and families’ results, and strong families lead to healthy communities.

See our YYY FAQs

YYY Frequently Asked Questions

You Yes You! is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping incarcerated fathers in Indiana stay connected to their children.

Two: Putnamville Correctional Facility and Plainfield Correctional Facility. We also have programming at Duvall Residential Center.

They can send a request to their case manager.

  • Must have a child that resides in Indiana.
  • Must be released to an Indiana county.
  • Three years or less to their release.
  • Must complete application.
  • Must be willing to sign a Release of Information form.
  • Committed to not missing any classes.
  • Less than two B-Conducts within the last 6 months of application.
  • Less than one A-Conduct within the last 12 months of application. 
  • Must be willing to sign a contract stating a commitment to completing all You Yes You! programs.

You Yes You! cohorts run annually from January to December.

  • Father-Daughter Dance

  • Back to School Celebration

  • Halloween party

We want to create an opportunity where fathers can spend quality time with their children outside of the visiting room. However, mothers are in a nearby area.

Board Members

Ericka Sanders

Founder & Executive Director

Cynthia K. Booth, Esq.

Lori Davis

Devon McDonald

The impact of imprisonment on the family unit is devastating

Source: Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/IN.html
Fact: The rate of imprisonment in Indiana’s prisons and jails has increased dramatically over the past 40 years and is one of the highest in the country at 723 per 100,000.
Source: Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/IN.html
Source: Sparks, Sarah D. “Parents’ Incarceration Takes Toll on Children, Studies Say”. Education Week; April 30, 2017.
Fact: Parental incarceration can be more traumatic to children than even a parent's death or divorce.
Source: Sparks, Sarah D. “Parents’ Incarceration Takes Toll on Children, Studies Say”. Education Week; April 30, 2017.
Source: Sparks, Sarah D. “Parents’ Incarceration Takes Toll on Children, Studies Say”. Education Week; April 30, 2017.
Fact: Parental incarceration can cause damage to a child’s education, health, and social relationships.
Source: Sparks, Sarah D. “Parents’ Incarceration Takes Toll on Children, Studies Say”. Education Week; April 30, 2017.
Source: Indiana Youth Institute
Fact: Roughly 11 percent of Hoosier children have an incarcerated parent.
Source: Indiana Youth Institute
Source: Data from the National Survey of Children’s Health
Fact: Indiana ranks second for parents who are incarcerated.
Source: Data from the National Survey of Children’s Health

Children of incarcerated parents can experience a host of issues, including:

What We Do

We collaborate with our fathers to develop a pre-release plan that can include housing, transportation, mental health, and drug abuse help.