Delivering effective criminal justice reform requires direct support for individuals and families impacted by incarceration. Social work practice has focused on building trauma-informed, dignity-centered programs that strengthen family connections, support reentry, and empower justice-impacted youth. Work inside correctional facilities and with community-based organizations has created pathways for stability, leadership development, and reunification.
Rikers Island Family Engagement Program – Hour Children
Developed and launched a $1.8 million family engagement program inside Rikers Island, delivering parenting education, family court advocacy, mental health support, and reentry planning for incarcerated women.
Challenge
Incarcerated mothers at Rikers faced limited access to parenting resources, unstable pathways to family reunification, and barriers to successful community reintegration upon release. Extremely limited services existed for incarcerated individuals without children to maintain family ties.
Action
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Designed a trauma-informed supported visiting program for incarcerated women and their families inside the facility.
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Provided family court advocacy to support custody and visitation rights.
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Integrated mental health counseling and reentry planning services into the jail-based program.
Results
Expanded access to visiting for all incarcerated women, with a focus on supporting parent-child relationships.
Strengthened pathways for family reunification and early release opportunities.
Supported successful transitions back into the community for program participants.
Girls Empowerment Curricula Development
Created and implemented two targeted programs for justice-impacted girls ages 8–12 and 13–15, with a focus on trauma resilience, decision-making, and self-esteem.
Challenge
Girls affected by parental incarceration faced heightened risks of trauma exposure, emotional instability, and systemic disconnection, with limited access to positive developmental programming.
Action
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Developed age-specific empowerment curricula tailored to the unique needs of justice-impacted youth.
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Delivered structured leadership training, self-esteem workshops, and trauma-resilience activities.
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Collaborated with community partners to expand access to supportive youth development resources.
Results
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Provided trauma-responsive empowerment education to justice-impacted girls.
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Built positive self-identity and community connection for participants.
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Strengthened resilience and reduced risk factors associated with justice system involvement.
Alternative-to-Incarceration Program Coordination
Coordinated alternative-to-incarceration programming for justice-involved women, providing case management, parenting support, mental health referrals, and court advocacy to divert individuals from jail into community-based services.
Challenge
Women facing incarceration often lacked access to community-based alternatives that could support family reunification, mental health stability, and successful long-term reentry.
Action
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Integrated parenting education, mental health services, and individualized reentry planning into diversion programming.
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Worked directly with courts and defense attorneys to identify candidates for community-based alternatives.
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Coordinated service delivery among case managers, family service providers, and mental health professionals.
Results
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Increased diversion rates for justice-involved women with family responsibilities.
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Supported early release and alternative sentencing agreements.
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Strengthened community reintegration outcomes by providing holistic support services outside the jail setting.