Utilizing a grounded theory analysis of interviews with 17 children and their 8 mothers anticipating a father's prison release within 12 months, the authors propose a theory of participants' experiences, focused on the child - father aspects of reentry. Among other expectations, all participants wanted fathers to be involved with the children after release. Participants varied in degrees of confidence regarding whether fathers would fulfill their reentry expectations; they responded with self-protecting or confidence-enhancing strategies. Fathers' prison behavior and subtle changes in interactional styles deterred family members' suspicions of "jail talk." Results suggest that clarifying and negotiating feasible family expectations is key to successful child - father reentry. (Published Abstract)