He says the one-on-one attention he is able to give Ja'Shaun helps to resolve problems like that.

Bradley also says cases like Ja'Shaun's are more extreme because there is such limited contact with a parent who is in prison.

Missouri Department of Corrections Director George Lombardi is one of many who acknowledge that this trend of children following in the footsteps of their offender parents exists.

Lombardi says the state already provides some services to help children with offender parents, but says he thinks there's a better option. 

Volunteer groups like Big Brother Big Sister ... a youth mentoring organization which Bradley volunteers for.

The program provides one-on-one mentoring to children whose lives have been affected by drugs and crime.

Kate Dopuch is a staff member for the Big Brother Big Sister program of Eastern Missouri. 

She says she sees the actions of criminal parents and siblings causing the younger members to commit crimes as well.

In fact, Dopuch says it is normally all the children in a family that seek counseling ... not just one.

Dopuch says that with more resources the state could improve and increase the help available to children affected by crime-ridden househoulds.

But she also says she believes the state is doing its job with the resources that are available.

Shearwater provides an education to kids who have previously dropped out of high school.

She says she sees an opposite effect here ... where the students whose families are in jail are the most dedicated to getting an education.

From the state Capitol, I'm Rebecca Woolf.