Family Reunification

Overview

A restorative family reunification program that prepares people and families for reentry — with shared tools, accountability, and support.

Family Reunification is an in-custody program at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQRC) designed to strengthen reintegration by preparing both the person returning home and their family — together. The program runs in paired cohorts so participants and loved ones learn the same relationship and communication tools at the same time, practice them between sessions, and build shared expectations for the transition home. This is especially valuable for family members, who often receive little to no preparation and can feel isolated in their experience. We currently offer two cohorts per year and are preparing to add Spanish-language groups.

What we offer

  • Paired cohorts where participants (weekly in-person meetings) and family members (weekly video conferencing meetings) learn the same tools in parallel
  • Structured skill-building focused on communication, conflict navigation, emotional skills, healthy intimacy, empathy, accountability, and repair
  • Reentry safety planning for participants and families — including parole conditions, relationship pressures, and practical strategies to avoid high-risk situations and prevent avoidable setbacks.
  • Practice between sessions so families can apply tools to real life and build shared expectations
  • Facilitated restorative dialogue at key moments to support truth-telling, understanding, and healthier reunification
  • Trained facilitation teams from Harm to Healing Collaborative, including former Transformative Mediation graduates, both inside and outside

Who is it for?

Family Reunification serves incarcerated participants preparing to return home and their key family members or support people who want a more stable, accountable, and connected transition.

Outcomes

  • Better preparation for the relationship realities of reentry — not just the logistics
  • Stronger communication, shared conflict resolution skills, and reduced escalation during high-stress transitions
  • Clearer expectations, healthier boundaries, and more stable family support
  • Greater ability to practice accountability and repair when harm occurs
  • Reduced isolation for family members through shared learning and support

When Restorative Approaches Work Best

Family Reunification works best when participants and families choose to engage consistently and practice skills between sessions. Facilitators support readiness and respectful participation. This program supports reintegration and family stability and does not replace clinical treatment, legal counsel, or crisis response.

How partners engage

Funders can sustain cohort delivery, trained facilitation, materials, and continuity support so families receive meaningful preparation for reentry.
Institutions and corrections leaders can learn from a replicable model that is staff-facilitated, structured, and designed to strengthen safety, dignity, and reintegration outcomes over time.

Funders: Support Family Reunification cohorts and trained facilitation Work With Us
Institutions: Explore replication and implementation support Contact Us

“It was very reassuring to be with other family members who are going through the same thing and have open conversations with a sense of acceptance and understanding that you rarely find in other settings. And we got very good advice about what our loved ones would need after they got out, which is a lot for everyone to navigate.”

— Jean,
Family participant