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May 28, 2002

Faith-Based Prison Rehab Bearing Fruit
By Terry Phillips, correspondent

A huge segment of America's prison population returns to crime after release. It's called "recidivism," and the cost to taxpayers is staggering. But there's hope that the round trips can be reduced.

Staying out of prison is harder than getting out in the first place, according to Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, the prison ministry founded by Chuck Colson.

"This year alone in America, some 630-thousand inmates will be released from prison, and we know from historical statistics that 66 percent of them are going to return," Earley said.

However, rehabilitation developed by Prison Fellowship is beginning to make a difference at prisons where inmates can volunteer for faith-based programs.

"They have Bible study classes, they have small-group interaction and prayer groups, as well as seminars on life skills — how to be a good husband, a good father, how to manage finances, the dynamics of inter-personal relationships — all from a biblically based perspective," Earley added.

Richard Marshall, who heads a Colorado transition program called Breakaway, said the head start that faith-based rehab can give a prisoner, is significant.

"It is a mind blower to see the difference in them," Marshall said. "Their families see it, their friends see it, and I know it sounds so simple, but it's the truth."

The programs that are most effective in dealing with recidivism have two phases — inside preparation and outside follow-up.

"We follow the guys up to three years after they complete the in-prison portion of their program," said Jack Cowley, operations director for the Tulsa, Okla.-based InnerChange Freedom Initiative. "That, in itself, is the difference."

So far, the faith-based approach has reduced the return-to-prison parade from two out of three, to as few as one in ten.

Faith-based rehabilitation was started 20 years ago in a Brazilian prison by Prison Fellowship. Today in the United States, there are faith-based programs in Iowa, Kansas and Texas.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
To find out more about Prison Fellowship, visit their Web site. For more information about the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, see their Web site.

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