Tag: Faith-based Prison Ministry

Hurts, Hang-Ups, and Habits: An Introduction to Celebrate Recovery

Celebrate Recovery (often called “CR”) is more than a weekly meeting—it’s a Christ-centered pathway for healing, discipleship, and restored relationships. Whether the struggle is addiction, anger, trauma, codependency, or the long aftermath of incarceration, CR offers a safe place to tell the truth and take the next right step—together.

While I was incarcerated one of the programs offered by the chaplain was an introductory course on Celebrate Recovery.  There was an AA program at the prison, and I knew a lot of guys who attended because they always had a coffee urn, but CR was different.  I had recently read Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life book and was looking for concrete information on healing. The old expression says “Time heals all wounds,” but mine weren’t.  I was in pain; my hurt wasn’t going away.  I was looking for a faith-based program that could provide me with an actionable process to systematically address my brokenness and guide me toward healing.

In this post, we’ll explain what Celebrate Recovery is, what a typical meeting looks like, and why the same CR principles that help people in church communities can also bring real hope behind bars through Celebrate Recovery Inside (CRI), the prison and jail extension of the ministry.

What is Celebrate Recovery?

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step recovery program designed to help people find freedom and healing from life’s “hurts, habits, and hang-ups.” It pairs a proven recovery framework (the 12 Steps) with Scripture and eight principles inspired by the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), emphasizing honesty, surrender, confession, growth, accountability, forgiveness, and service.

Celebrate Recovery began in 1991 at Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, California) with a vision for a recovery ministry where people could openly talk about Jesus Christ as their Higher Power; where the church could become a safe place for ongoing healing, not just a place to “have it all together.” What started as a single meeting has since grown into thousands of groups in churches and ministries across the U.S. and beyond.

Who is Celebrate Recovery for?

One of the most common misunderstandings about CR is that it’s only for alcohol or drugs. It’s for anyone who recognizes a pattern that’s hurting their relationship with God, others, and themselves. People often come to CR for things like:

  • Substance use and addiction (alcohol, drugs)
  • Compulsive behaviors (pornography, gambling, overspending, food issues)
  • Anger, control, perfectionism, people-pleasing
  • Codependency and unhealthy relationships
  • Grief, trauma, abuse, family dysfunction
  • Shame, anxiety, depression, and the isolating behaviors that often come with them

Celebrate Recovery in a prison or jail context: Celebrate Recovery Inside (CRI)

Celebrate Recovery Inside (often shortened to CRI) is the prison and jail extension of Celebrate Recovery.  It brings the same Christ-centered recovery pathway into correctional facilities. Many churches describe CRI as a natural “bridge” between the institution and the community, because when someone is released, they can often find a Celebrate Recovery meeting close to home and continue the journey with support rather than isolation.

Organizations that work in corrections note that CRI can address a wide range of life-controlling issues: alcohol and drug addiction, gambling, overeating, and more by dealing thoughtfully with the underlying hurts, hang-ups, and habits that often sit beneath the surface. Prison Fellowship, for example, partners with Celebrate Recovery to bring CR into incarcerated settings as part of larger life-transformation efforts, helping men and women grow spiritually and pursue freedom and new patterns of living.

Depending on the facility, CRI is often run as a structured series. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons’ volunteer listings describe Celebrate Recovery Inside as a 25-week Christ-centered recovery program with three core components—worship, step study, and open share groups—recommended weekly for about 90 minutes per session, using participant guides that walk-through lessons, questions, group guidelines, and the CR principles and steps.

What’s different “on the inside” (and why structure matters)

Recovery groups inside a facility operate within clear institutional boundaries and that structure can support growth. Many CRI ministries emphasize the same small-group guidelines used in community CR (sharing your own experience, no crosstalk, no fixing, confidentiality), while also honoring facility safety requirements and the reality that confidentiality has limits if someone threatens harm to self or others.

Why CRI matters: hope, accountability, and a reentry bridge

One theme that shows up repeatedly in CRI descriptions is identity: instead of being defined by an inmate number, an offense, or an addiction, participants are invited to be defined by what Christ can do in a life surrendered to Him. Prison Fellowship highlights how Celebrate Recovery Inside can help participants begin the process of making amends and strengthening relationships, including family relationships—while learning to live differently. Local church partners also emphasize that CRI can create a practical transition back into the community because CR groups exist in so many towns and cities.

For churches and ministries, CRI also creates a meaningful way to serve.  Trained volunteers partner with chaplains and facility leadership to show up consistently, model healthy boundaries, and speak hope. And because CR uses a shared language (principles, steps, sponsor/accountability, daily inventory), it can continue after release—when temptation, stress, and old environments often hit hardest.

What happens at a typical Celebrate Recovery night?

While every church is a little different, most CR ministries follow a consistent rhythm designed to be welcoming to newcomers and safe for honest sharing. Many locations offer a “general meeting night” that includes worship, teaching or testimony, and then small groups. Some also include a meal or fellowship time, childcare (when available), and a clear welcome moment that helps new attendees feel oriented without pressure.

1) Large Group

The large group hour commonly includes prayer, worship music, reading the CR principles/steps, and either a lesson or a personal testimony. Some groups also include a chip ceremony to celebrate milestones.

2) Open Share Small Groups

After large group, participants typically break into gender-specific open share groups (often also organized by issue area). This is where people share what’s really going on—without being interrupted, “fixed,” or judged. Confidentiality is a core expectation, and groups use guidelines to keep sharing safe and respectful.

3) Step Studies (deeper work during the week)

Many people eventually join a Step Study—a smaller, closed group (usually meeting on another night) that works through CR materials more deeply. Step Studies are where participants slow down, process their story, practice new tools, and build consistent accountability.

The heart of CR: 8 Principles and 12 Steps

CR is built on two complementary tracks: the 12 Steps (adapted to be explicitly Christ-centered) and eight recovery principles rooted in Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes. Together, they offer a structured path that moves from denial to honesty, from isolation to community, and from broken patterns to new life.

Celebrate Recovery describes this journey not only as recovery, but as a road that leads to salvation and discipleship—a practical, day-by-day way to learn surrender, obedience, honesty, and dependence on Jesus. In other words: it’s spiritual formation with traction, especially for people who have tried “willpower” and found it isn’t enough.

In many CR materials, each principle is paired with a Beatitude, and each step is paired with Scripture—helping participants see that recovery isn’t a side project to faith; it is part of learning to live the new life Christ offers.

  1. Realize I’m not God; I admit I’m powerless and my life has become unmanageable.
  2. Believe God exists, I matter to Him, and He has power to help me recover.
  3. Choose to commit my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
  4. Examine myself honestly and face the truth about my past and my patterns.
  5. Confess my hurts, hang-ups, and habits to God and to someone I trust.
  6. Submit to the changes God wants to make and ask Him to remove my defects of character.
  7. Make amends by forgiving others and taking responsibility for my harm when it won’t cause further injury.
  8. Give back by continuing to grow daily and sharing hope with others.

Celebrate Recovery vs. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): what’s the difference?

Celebrate Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous have a lot in common: both are peer-led, group-based recovery communities that use a 12-step framework and emphasize honesty, accountability, and helping others. The differences matter, though—especially for someone that is deciding where to start (or what to recommend to a friend or family member).

CategoryAlcoholics Anonymous (AA)Celebrate Recovery (CR)
Primary focusAlcohol addiction and sobriety support specifically.“Hurts, habits, and hang-ups” (a wider range of struggles, including addictions, compulsions, relational patterns, and trauma-related issues).
Spiritual languageRefers to “God as we understood Him” and a “Power greater than ourselves,” leaving room for different faith backgrounds.Explicitly Christ-centered and Bible-based; the steps are written to name Jesus Christ and Scripture as the foundation.
Core frameworkThe 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, as practiced in AA meetings worldwide.The 12 Steps (Christ-centered wording) plus 8 Recovery Principles rooted in Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes.
MaterialsAA literature (including the “Big Book”) is commonly used alongside meetings.CR curriculum and participant guides/step-study materials are commonly used, especially in Step Studies and CR Inside contexts.
Meeting typesVaries by group (open, closed, speaker, discussion, etc.), generally centered on sobriety and step work.Often includes worship + lesson/testimony + gender-specific open share groups; many ministries also offer closed Step Studies for deeper work.

Both AA and Celebrate Recovery have helped countless people take steps toward freedom. If you’re looking for a Christ-explicit environment with worship and a broad focus beyond alcohol, Celebrate Recovery may be a strong fit. If you’re looking for a sobriety-specific fellowship with flexible spiritual language and frequent meeting availability in many communities, AA may be a strong fit. In many cases, people benefit from participating in both while also receiving pastoral care, counseling, or clinical treatment as needed.

What to expect if you’re new

Walking into any recovery space for the first time can feel intimidating. Here are a few things that are typically true at most Celebrate Recovery meetings:

  • You can come as you are. You don’t need to have the “right words,” and you don’t have to share on your first night.
  • It’s okay to pass. In open share groups, people are usually invited—but never forced—to speak.
  • Confidentiality matters. The goal is to create a safe place where honesty is possible.
  • No one is there to “fix” you. Sharing is about telling your own story and listening with respect, not giving advice.
  • It’s peer support, not clinical counseling. Many people also benefit from pastors, licensed counselors, medical care, or treatment programs alongside CR.

An invitation: you don’t have to do this alone

At its core, Celebrate Recovery is a place where people stop pretending, start telling the truth, and learn how to walk—one day at a time in the healing power of Jesus Christ. If you’re carrying hurts you can’t outthink, a habit you can’t break, or a hang-up you can’t hide anymore, CR offers something many of us desperately need: community, clarity, and the next right step.

How you can engage with Celebrate Recovery

There are a few simple ways you can take the next step whether you’re seeking help, walking alongside someone who is, or sensing a call to serve people impacted by incarceration.

  • Visit a meeting. Consider attending a local Celebrate Recovery gathering to observe the format and see if it’s a fit for you. You can simply listen and learn.
  • Commit to the process. If you’re ready for deeper change, ask about a Step Study—consistent, guided work in a smaller group.
  • Support a returning citizen. Reentry is a vulnerable season. Encouragement, rides, accountability, and a welcoming church community can make a huge difference.
  • Serve “on the inside.” If you have a heart for jail/prison ministry, explore opportunities to volunteer in approved programs like Celebrate Recovery Inside, in partnership with chaplains and facility staff.
  • Pray and partner. Pray for healing, protection, and perseverance for participants and leaders—and consider how your church or small group could come alongside this work.

If you’re curious, consider visiting a local meeting as a quiet first step. You can simply listen, take in the format, and decide what you want to do next. If you’ve been impacted by incarceration—personally or through someone you love—remember that healing often includes both internal work (new patterns, new identity, new habits) and community support (people who will walk with you when life gets loud). Healing rarely happens in isolation—and you’re allowed to start small.

No matter your story, Jesus is not intimidated by it. Celebrate Recovery simply gives us a place to bring what’s true into the light—so grace can do what it does best: restore what’s been broken and teach us how to live free.

For more information about Celebrate Recovery or where you can find a meeting visit their website at https://celebraterecovery.com/.

If you are interested in learning more about the prison based Celebrate Recovery Inside program, I would recommend checking out the CRI Newsletter Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/CRInsideNews.

House Arrest

house arrest

Being on parole is not freedom.  Too many guys coming out of prison think that having received a parole that they have earned their freedom, that their sentence is complete.  But that is not the case.  While on parole you are still under the control of the MDOC.  Parole is prison without the razor wire.  You have a parole agent who keeps track of you, meeting regularly to monitor your compliance with the stipulations of your parole specified by the Parole Board.  They have absolute control over whether you stay out or return to prison for any parole violations.  On parole you must successfully complete some specified term living in the community, sometimes with severe limits on where you can go and what you can do.  This varies from person to person and is based on the crime committed and other factors.

A typical parole can last up to 24 months.  The stipulations of the parole generally require that the parolee maintain regular employment.  You must also pay a supervision fee and any outstanding debts incurred during incarceration in addition to any unpaid court costs, fines and restitution associated with the felony conviction.  Frequently programming such as AA or NA may be required for those with a history of alcohol or drug abuse.  Additionally, some receive their paroles with program requirements waved while they were in prison because they were classified as “low risk” to re-offend during a psychiatric examination but must now take programming from an approved vendor as a condition of parole.  Failure to successfully complete programming will result in a revocation of parole.

After the conditions of sever deprivation, loss of personal control and decision making in prison some are so focused on redressing the privations that they quickly violate the terms of their parole.  For some it is satisfying the urge to indulge in their addiction for alcohol or drugs.  For others it is about hustling to get the money together to resume their lifestyle.  However most of these hustles are illegal.  Once a person has been in prison the odds of them returning are greater that they will return to prison than the odds for a person who has never been going for the first time.

tether-e1552099483450.png

To address this problem the MDOC has tightened the conditions of parole in some instances so that it is in actuality “house arrest.”  All excursions from the residence must be approved in advance.  Many are paroled on GPS tether to prevent cheating.  At this level of control, the parolee is practically helpless and becomes reliant on family and friends to take care of many of the tasks that they would like to do for themselves, thus continuing to experience the conditions they experienced in prison.  With this level of control those without a support network are at a severe disadvantage.

Housing itself is a problem.  Transitional housing is in sort supply and in many communities is non-existent.  Those coming out of prison may only have a matter of weeks to find employment and permanent housing before being forced to leave the Parole halfway house.  Then there is the problem of finding affordable housing for those with a felony conviction, especially sex offenders.  Many apartment complexes and landlords will not rent to felons.  In some places such as Oakland Co there are a few rental companies that will but not in every community and not in sufficient numbers to address the current level of demand.

Employment is not as much of a problem as it used to be given the present economic environment.  However more needs to be done to train felons for jobs that pay a living wage.  Many are forced to take minimum wage jobs without benefits or career potential.  The MDOC has made changes to its Employment Readiness initiative over the last few years by revamping their vocational programing but much more needs to be done to ensure that people coming out of prison are employable.  Movements to “Ban the Box” have gained traction in the last few years to at least give felons an opportunity to interview for a job before they are eliminated from consideration for a position in some places like the city of Detroit.

While commendable movements like this are just the tip of the iceberg.  So many are coming out unprepared to hold steady employment due a lack of a basic education or even basic literacy skills.  As a tutor I saw it every day first hand, the lack of interest or desire to join mainstream society.  The smug satisfaction on many of my students faces knowing that they could simply wait out any requirement to earn a GED let alone make satisfactory progress toward earning one and still get a parole.  No thought toward a living a life as a productive member of society.

For many who have served long prison sentences returning to society has significant challenges.  Technology has changed everything: smart phones, the internet, shopping, the workplace, even cars.  Nothing looks familiar to someone who last saw the free world in the 1980s or 1990s.  Life is far more complex than it was, especially from the perspective of someone who has lived a very simple and highly controlled life.  The ability to learn and adopt technology can have a very steep learning curve for someone who isn’t familiar with it.  Then to make it more complicated parole stipulations may prevent the parolee from accessing technology.  Sex offenders are prohibited from having smart phones or computers with internet access.  Some convicted of financial crimes are prevented from having bank accounts.  A convicted murderer on parole has fewer restrictions than many other felonies.

One thing that is certain is that no one really wants to go back to prison but for some it is easier than reintegrating back into society.  What is needed are advocates and mentors; either family, friends or strangers willing to help parolees make the transition.  There are faith-based organizations, church and para-church ministries and other not-for-profit organizations out there that have programs to help.  The problem is that there are not enough organizations, people and resources available in all the places that they are needed.  Secondly, the information available to prisoners preparing for parole is often out of date and incomplete.  Inmates aren’t able to communicate with these organizations easily or effectively to make the necessary arrangements.  Since many don’t have someone on the outside to make arrangements for housing or employment in advance when they are paroled it becomes an immediate crisis.  The last thing a parolee needs is more stress.

Many inmates when preparing for their parole hearing make a Parole Plan in which they lay out what support is waiting for them upon release.  Unfortunately for many it is ‘pie in the sky.’  What looks good on paper in order to impress the parole board may not be worth the paper it is written on.  For example, the employment opportunity that I listed in my Parole Plan was voided by one of the stipulations of my parole.  For some, they are forced to parole back to the county in which they were convicted rather than being allowed to choose a location with more access to resources because they don’t have family there.

Something else to note about parole is that the conditions stipulated by the parole board remain in effect for the duration of the parole.  There is no easing of restrictions based on the completion of certain milestones such as completion of required programing or finding gainful employment.  Parole agents may in some cases have fewer contacts with the parolee but can at anytime show up unannounced to check on you.  For the most part parole is stick and no carrot, there is no reward for cooperation and good behavior.  No graduated easing of restrictions to allow for a true transition back into society.  In some cases, parole officers will make it even more difficult for their parolees by denying requests to approve housing, employment or other activities for reasons that seem mercurial at best.  They may also actively seek to find reasons to revoke a parole or to at least scare the parole with threats of incarceration-the scared straight approach.

While there have been changes to parole in recent years to reduce the number of parole violators being sent back to prison, still more needs to be done.  The MDOC needs to do a better job of preparing the 95% of their inmates that will return to society.  There should be more Reentry programming that focuses on linking those soon to be paroled with agencies and organizations that will be able to provide access to services, programs, resources in the area where they will be paroling.  Access to employment services including in-prison hiring interviews, pre-enrollment for Social Security, Veterans benefits, and Medicaid would go a long way to preparing parolees for success.  Parole should be a transition, not more punishment.  A way to help put the parolee on the right track rather than a revolving door back to prison.

A report published by the PEW Charitable Trust entitled “Policy Reforms Can Strengthen Community Supervision – A Framework to Improve Probation and Parole” was published on April 23, 2020. This report documents many of the issues that I identified in my article and some of the new ideas being incorporated by some agencies to address the problems that lead to re-incarceration. A PDF copy of the report is attached if you would like to learn more about this issue.

policy-reforms-can-strengthen-community-supervision-_-the-pew-charitable-trustsDownload

Penitent Man

Penitent man by Gobi
“The penitent man shall pose” by Gobi 2007

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy faces a series of challenges he must solve in order to find the Holy Grail and save his friend’s life.  The clue to overcoming one of the deadly obstacles was the “penitent man”. Looking around he saw a number of decapitated bodies and quickly surmised that he needed to humble himself in a hurry or share their fate.  The same happens to people who come to prison.

Another synonym for prison is penitentiary.  In 1787 the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons developed a prison system where they believed some criminals could be reformed through hard work and meditation.  Many members of the society were Quakers, who considered the moral/religious aspect of meditation a key to reformation.  They knew that the repentance that comes from the realization of the wrong one has done will lead to lasting change.

People who commit crimes by and large are selfish people who have placed their wants and desires above the needs of others.  Many are proud and unashamed of what they have done.  When you fill up a prison full of these people, sparks will fly.  When two proud people clash there can be only one winner.  Like the decapitated bodies in Indiana Jones, heads will roll, unless one of these proud men will humble them self.

Humility comes as the result of awareness regarding one’s selfish, prideful condition and the willingness to admit that this form of behavior is what brought the person to prison. However, some in prison will double down and try to make themselves into the biggest, baddest, toughest, meanest, orneriest, foulest, strongest, most ruthless SOB in the Big House.  They lift weights compulsively to strengthen their bodies, they harden their hearts until all empathy for others is gone, and they live only to satisfy their lusts for food, sex, and drugs.  They think the way to live is to die to what separates us from the animals, and in the process become animals.

When a person in prison learns to humble them self, they become more sensitive to those around them, which allows them to react quickly, like Indy, to duck out of the way when the violence starts.  A humble person has a quiet spirit which allows them to put others before themselves even when they know of the other’s selfish intentions, thereby avoiding the wrath of the proud.  We are talking about meekness here, which some confuse for weakness.  Meekness is the combination of the character traits of patience and humility.  Not exactly something that one would expect from inmates.

So how does one learn humility in prison? The Quakers coming from a Judeo-Christian world view would not have seen meditation as an Eastern Zen Buddhist self-contemplation practice, but rather as a Biblical contemplation practice.  They would not expect a person to change on their own, but by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, not by self-revelation, but by illumination of the moral standard revealed in God’s Holy Scriptures.  Humility is both the inward and outward manifestation of the change in a person’s world view when they acknowledge God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son for who they are.

James 4:6-10 says, “But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says; God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.  Lament and mourn and weep!  Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord; and He will lift you up.”

Prison is a place of stark contrasts and nothing exemplifies this concept better than the contrast between the proud and the humble.  The proud are arrogant and unteachable. They will not learn the lessons of correction and if they ever get out of prison will keep coming back, doing life on the installment plan.  Those who are humbled are teachable, they will learn the lessons of correction, and when they get out of prison will never come back.

While the original model of a penitentiary failed for a number of reasons, the concept of active participation by faith-based ministries remains a vital and necessary part of the correction system. Rehabilitation cannot be accomplished by a person in isolation, but rather only in the context of Christian community, both in prison and out.

Organizations such as the Salvation Army and Prison Fellowship are well known by the general public for providing social and moral training for those incarcerated.  But there are in the U.S. literally hundreds of faith-based ministries dedicated to bringing the gospel into prison.  On any given day of the week there are thousands of paid and volunteer workers in prisons and jails across the country, meeting with hundreds of thousands of men and women.  From full church services to Bible studies to social/moral education these groups work with prison/jail chaplains to provide resources, programming and counseling that makes rehabilitation possible.  No other religion provides this much capital and man power to assist the state in reforming the lives of so many that society has already written off.

Studies have shown that without programming recidivism rates can exceed 75%. With programming provided by the state such as educational, vocational, or psychological, recidivism rates drop to 50%. Faith-based programs reduce recidivism to less than 35%. When combined with additional programs and resources on the outside for when an individual is released from incarceration recidivism rates drop even further.  One study even suggested that the first 72 hours out of prison are the key to success.  If there is a person/organization there to provide mentoring and assistance and get the individual involved in a church, the recidivism rate falls to less than 10% in some studies.

Over the last two hundred years there have been numerous attempts at prison reform. In each case there was an acknowledgment that the current system was broken and that changes needed to be made. However, each one failed to live up to the expectations and did not result in accomplishment of the stated goals.

In each case the failures could be directly related to three causes: inadequate funding, over-crowding, and poor staff training.  Prisons are expensive to operate and since they generate little revenue are a continuing drag on government budgets.  Human societies for all of recorded history have failed due to the inability to pay the full cost of maintaining the society, whether it be defense, infrastructure, or social programs.  At some point the costs exceed the economic strength of that society.

In the U.S., political parties and their candidates campaign on the ideas of lower taxes and being tough on crime.  The two concepts are mutually exclusive, you can’t do both. Being tough on crime means more police, more prosecutors, and longer sentences which translates into significant cost increases.  Lowering taxes means that the revenue to pay for government programs becomes scarce, which leads to reductions in services since the elimination of programs can be political suicide.

In corrections this means that every year prisons must do more with less.  Costs for food, clothing, services, facilities, and staffing increase.  And yet as incarceration rates increase, budgets have been held constant or even reduced.  Even the best, most successful rehabilitation programs will be affected by this and will ultimately fail.  The result is that prisons and jails become nothing more than warehouses or cattle pens where humans are contained until they must be released to once again wreak havoc on society.  The worst possible outcome with the lowest return on investment.

Since the evidence of rehabilitation is incontrovertible and human lives matter, what are we as a society willing to pay to see our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, and wives returned to us in a condition where they no longer pose a threat to society or themselves?  What are we willing to spend to end the cycle of poverty, violence, and broken homes that results from locking people up?  What does it say about a society that claims to be a beacon of freedom and hope, yet incarcerates more people than any other country on earth?  When is enough, enough?

There must be more to corrections than retribution.  An eye for an eye was Old Covenant philosophy. At least some portion of the church understands that we are now under the New Covenant and that forgiveness and redemption are the philosophy to live by.  There should always be repercussions for violating the laws that hold our society together but hate the sin not the sinner. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Faith-based prison ministries get this and that is why we need more of them participating in the correction system.  These organizations raise their own money from their supporters to fund their prison ministries.  This is like free money to the fiscally strapped prisons.  In the day and age where outsourcing services is seen as cost effective, what could be more cost effective than free?  Sure, there needs to be coordination and oversight and that is where the chaplain comes in.  But why turn down programs that have a positive effect on the prison environment and can significantly reduce recidivism?

Moreover, since it is that critical time immediately upon release from prison that is the major decider on whether or not a person will go straight or fall back into a life of crime, the MDOC should be actively recruiting organizations to provide after care, housing, employment/job placement services in addition to mentoring and counseling services. The vast majority of people coming out of prison have lost everything while they’ve been away and most have nowhere to come home to.  The state needs to take more responsibility to help these people that they were so zealous to lock up in the first place.

There was a program called the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative (MPRI) whose original goal was to partner with non-profit organizations to help fund and coordinate these types of programs.  Yet after only two years the external portion of the MPRI program was cancelled and the funding redirected back into the MDOC, due to claims of misappropriation of funds and mismanagement by these outside groups.  Given the history of the MDOC there is more than a little irony in that allegation.  There should be considerations made to revisit this decision and encourage more faith-based organizations to come to the aide of these returning citizens.

Given human nature, not everyone can or even wants to be rehabilitated, but that is a minority of the people in prison.  A sad but true fact is that those serving life sentences, after a period of adjustment are the best-behaved inmates.  Those doing short determinate sentences, such as two years for a gun are almost completely unmanageable.  Which takes us right back to my original point about the Penitent Man: those who are willing to humble themselves can be rehabilitated.  It is up to the people in society to demand more from their representatives in the legislature and the legislature to demand more from the MDOC and the MDOC to demand more of its staff, contractors and inmates.