Extended Family was honored to host Congressman Mike Rogers and his staff to update him on our programs for families dealing with incarceration. After hearing details about our “whole family” strategy in offering help to children and adult family members, individuals who are currently incarcerated, and for those recently returned from prison, Congressman Rogers released this statement, “I was excited to visit the offices of Extended Family recently,” said Representative Rogers. “When a person is incarcerated, their family faces a long, uphill battle to adjust to a new way of life. Extended Family is helping these families face this experience head-on from the date of incarceration to eventual release and after by offering a strong support system and children-focused resources. I am grateful to this organization for their efforts to break the cycle of prison in the lives of Alabama families.”

Congressman Rogers provided us with valuable information to help reach people who need our programs on the local, state, and national levels. Members of every community experience involvement with the justice system, and incarceration affects families of every demographic. Extended Family provides a framework of support to keep children from entering the juvenile justice system by working in schools leading Extended Family for Kids (EFK) and Extended Family Leadership Academy (EFLA) groups and teaching character education. We work to help reduce the rate of recidivism for adult and juvenile offenders by offering EFK and EFLA programs in juvenile diversion centers, Extended Family for Life in prisons (a program to help incarcerated mothers strengthen their relationships with their children), and through our reentry program, Extended Success for Life.

We are committed to building connections and establishing partnerships with local, state, and federal contacts who can help us reach every individual who needs extra support in successfully dealing with incarceration. By doing this, we are working to fulfill our mission, “To offer help and inspire hope,” for every family who needs us.