As a key to reducing recidivism, Community Education Centers (CEC) believes that it is vital to educate and provide treatment to the families of offenders. The CEC family program addresses the multiple stressors facing families that have an incarcerated love one. By providing treatment for the entire family, the program helps all members of the family system cope with the experience of incarceration; maintain family connections; address pre-existing family problems, as well as the issues created by incarceration; and prepare for reentry into the family and society. Upon release, families are referred to community-based agencies where they continue the work they began during the period of incarceration.
CEC is committed to the participation of family members in all of its programs, as research indicates that pro-social family support is crucial to a resident’s successful reentry. The main components of the CEC family services model are: the genogram; Family Night; the psychoeducational component, i.e., the family services curriculum; ongoing individual, family, and/or couples therapy provided by trained family therapists under supervision of a licensed family therapist; and preparation for continuing care.
