Bureau of Prisons gives nod to Christian ministry

The Federal Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday designated Prison Fellowship Academy as an “evidence-based recidivism reduction program”under the First Step Act. The First Step Act requires the U.S. Attorney General to identify programs that make prisoners less likely to commit crimes after their release. Prison Fellowship, a Christian ministry that works with prisoners across the United States, is the first nonprofit to have a program that has received that designation from the bureau, the organization said in a statement.

What is Prison Fellowship Academy? The program aims to share the Gospel with prisoners by connecting church volunteers and inmates, according to Prison Fellowship. The group claims that inmates who went through a Prison Fellowship Academy program in Texas were 53.8% less likely to commit crimes again after their release than other inmates. Similarly, a study from Baylor University in 2013 found that inmates who worked with Prison Fellowship's InnerChange Freedom Initiative, now rebranded as Prison Fellowship Academy, were 26% less likely to commit crimes after release.

What does this designation mean? Programs that receive the “evidence-based recidivism reduction program” designation from the bureau have been identified as those that help inmates improve their mental health, financial literacy, parenting skills, or ability to find employment after their release. Programs can also qualify for the designation if they work to help improve inmates’ physical health and reduce their substance abuse habits.

Dig deeper: Listen to Myrna Brown’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about a grandmother documenting her journey through applied theology with the aim to create a resource for younger generations.