Welcome to COIPP
Helping Families in need is our passion
The organization Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership was founded a number of years ago to help a special group of children in Frederick County, Maryland. Started by one person, it quickly grew to be an organization supported by ‘mid managers’ from a variety of non-profit agencies in Frederick, Maryland. Our belief is that children of incarcerated parents are a group of children who lack a voice of their own. Our work and our mission is to give them such a voice in the community, in the schools, and in their family. We are proud to say that we have been an official non-profit organization since 2011.
Activities have included, but are not limited to, the following for the children as well as their caregivers and the parents in jail:
- Weekend children’s activities
- Resource fairs for jail visitors
- Distribution of quality children’s books
- Recordable bears for the children
- Scholarships for caregivers, parents released from jail, and children who were impacted by incarceration
- Caregiver respite meetings
- Emergency gift cards
- Parenting classes at the jail
-
Caregiver workshops
For the community, our work has included:
- Symposiums
- Presentations at churches, synagogues and community gatherings
-
Participation in community workshops
It is important to note that all of this has been accomplished through the volunteer efforts and hard work of a few committed people and the support of their many friends.
Our Team
The Best and Brightest

Sally Smith
President

Shari Ostrow Scher
Founder/Executive Director

Pat Rosensteel
Vice President
Executive Board
Chief Marketing Officer
Ally Cabrera Elspas
Treasurer
Theresa Posthuma
Recording Secretary
Gretta Benson
Corresponding Secretary
Shirley White
Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
Outreach
Cindi Diamondstone
Vanessa Thomas
Strategic Planning and Governance
Pat Rosensteel
Sally Smith
Volunteers
Shirley White
Children's Activities
Sue Guissinger
Gretta Benson
Pat Einhorn
Finance
Theresa Posthuma
Pat Rosensteel
Communications
Shirley White
Adult Activities
Cathy Anderson
Larissa Metzger