Excerpt from The Hill, published July 25, 2025
by Kevin Elder and Teresa Hodge
Nearly 2.7 million children in America today — roughly the population of Mississippi — have an incarcerated parent. That staggering number is a reminder that incarceration doesn’t only affect individuals but entire families.
And behind the statistics are real people: parents apart from their children, and children navigating life without a primary caregiver.
We come to this issue from different backgrounds. Teresa is a formerly incarcerated mother who co-founded a nonprofit that supports the successful reentry of people returning from incarceration. She knows firsthand the heartache of being separated from family and the immeasurable value of every call, message or moment of connection. Kevin leads a company that offers responsible technology to incarcerated people and their families. We share a commitment to advancing policies and tools that preserve family bonds and support better outcomes.