Letter from the CEO: Summer 2026

Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are all strong themes throughout the book of Proverbs. As we sought all three in a recent two-day strategy session, our strategic conclusion is clear: for trafficked youth, especially adolescents, a community-based model may better produce safety, engagement, and long-term stability over residential group care. The exception, if a minor has to enter care outside the family, is a family setting home.

Our experience has consistently shown a gap in outcomes between older youth who can exercise choice in adult programming and younger adolescents placed in residential settings that may feel restrictive or punitive, even when services are well-intended and trauma-informed.

Recent field guidance supports this direction. The Shared Hope International Roadmap Report positions community-based responses as the next step in anti-trafficking reform, emphasizing earlier intervention, stronger family support, and access to comprehensive services outside formal systems whenever possible.

State-level analysis also reinforces the urgency of a locally responsive model. The 2026 Alabama statewide assessment developed with Engage Together provides a county-by-county picture of risk, resource gaps, and opportunities for coordinated prevention and response across all 67 counties.

Federal policy is moving in the same direction. The First Lady’s Fostering the Future initiative and the Administration for Children and Families’ A Home for Every Child effort are advancing reforms that prioritize family-based care, improved outcomes for youth with complex needs, reduced reliance on congregate care, and stronger community and behavioral health supports. The ACF initiative emphasized the importance of the faith community for provision of foster homes for youth who cannot remain in their homes.

Taken together, these developments confirm that our new strategy is both mission-aligned and directionally consistent with emerging best practice. We are now translating that strategy into an implementation plan with the goal of launching community-based services by year-end, expanding survivor-centered options that preserve dignity, reduce the perception of punishment, and create stronger pathways to healing.

As we move into implementation, our priority is to secure the partnerships, alignment, and support necessary to stand up this model well. Thank you for your continued support and prayers as we pursue a more effective and restorative response for trafficked youth.