AFAI - Supporting Families Affected by Incarceration

Keiki O Ka 'Āina Preschool Inc. (KOKA) is proposing to implement a family strengthening project aimed at strengthening relationships between incarcerated Native Hawaiian (NH) parents and NH parents transitioning out of prison to their children, families, and communities titled, Supporting Parents and Families Training (SPAFT). In collaboration with adult correctional facilities in the State of Hawaii, SPAFT will implement culturally appropriate, trauma-informed care through the use of a menu of evidence-based services that can be customized to address the unique needs of each parent participant while connecting them to their culture, family, and community. Throughout the 3-year project period, KOKA will serve 100 incarcerated parent participants and 200 children. KOKA’s SPAFT Project embraces individual change within a collective context and an expansive notion of rehabilitation. The project will leverage KOKA’s extensive experience in NH family strengthening programs for incarcerated parents and embrace the notion that individual and collective work is about healing yourself, healing your relationships, and understanding yourself within a cultural framework and community; that is the path to avoid further incarceration and ultimately strengthen relationships between parents and their children. Through these efforts, KOKA will promote racial equity and remove barriers that NHs, a historically underserved marginalized community, face in the justice system.