The criminal-legal system too often treats women’s trauma as an afterthought. Today, that is starting to change, thanks to a landmark partnership between the NFL Foundation and three Appleseed Network centers in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Alabama.
Through a two-year, three-state commitment, the NFL Foundation is fully funding the collaborative initiative to advance trauma-informed justice, reunite families, and scale reform across state lines.
How the Collaboration Works
| State | Strategies | Year-One Priorities |
| Oklahoma | Implementation of the 2024 Survivor Justice Act | Represent up to 150 survivors at resentencing hearings and coordinate reentry support. |
| Missouri | Evaluation & Expansion | Survey incarcerated women, support the state’s first prison nursery (Jan 2025), participate in survivor justice act education, and train judges on the Primary Caretaker law. |
| Alabama | Ground-Floor Research & Advocacy | Conduct the state’s first survey of criminalized survivors, develop case narratives, build a legislative campaign for Survivor Justice reform, and provide direct legal services, including representation in parole and post-conviction proceedings. |
By meeting each jurisdiction where it stands — implementation, evaluation, or groundwork — the three centers will exchange playbooks instead of reinventing them. Oklahoma Appleseed’s storytelling model, Missouri Appleseed’s data-driven policy design, and Alabama Appleseed’s reentry alliance will circulate among teams to speed progress for women who have endured gender-based violence and incarceration.
Why the NFL Foundation Stepped In
The Foundation’s Social Justice mission centers on reducing barriers to opportunity. Supporting justice-involved survivors advances that in two ways: It removes the barriers that come from disproportionate sentencing, and it invests in services that keep families together and communities safer.
What Comes Next
- Freedom & Healing: Up to 150 Oklahoma women could return home with legal representation, reentry stipends, and trauma-informed counseling.
- Actionable Data: Missouri’s statewide surveys will arm lawmakers and courts with hard numbers on how trauma and family separation intersect.
- Catalyst State: Alabama’s research and provision of direct legal services, including representation in parole and post-conviction proceedings, will spotlight cases and voices capable of propelling Survivor Justice legislation in one of the nation’s toughest prison systems.
Over the next two years, Appleseed will document our efforts to reshape the criminal-legal system for women through survivor stories, new research, and advocacy for more informed and empathetic policies at all levels.
