Worship begins at 6 a.m. at the Carol S. Vance Unit, an all-male Texas correctional facility that is home to the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI).  There, inmates who choose to participate in this faith-based rehabilitation program gather together to pray before they head off to their biblical studies classes, on-site work assignments, or off-site community service projects. 

"Texas was the first one to start [a faith-based rehabilitation program for inmates]," said Don Keil, Assistant Director for Religious Programs for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).  "It's unique for the United States."

These kinds of initiatives began popping up on the national radar screen in 2001, when George W. Bush became President and created a White House office to focus specifically on faith-based programs.

"[To address] social needs in America, my administration will look first to faith-based programs and community groups, which have proven their power to save and change lives," Bush said during a White House ceremony.  "We will not fund the religious activities of any group, but when people of faith provide social services, we will not discriminate against them."

Bush supported faith-based programs even before he became the nation's leader, however.  In fact, in 1997, when he served as Governor of Texas, Bush was the voice of approval for the state to implement the IFI program at the Carol Vance Unit.

Once TDCJ obtained state approval, it partnered with Prison Fellowship Ministries, an offender outreach organization, to implement IFI.

"Our main goal, as a state, was to initiate a program that we hoped would reduce recidivism rates for our prison population," said Keil, noting a recent study by the Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (CRRUCS) that reported a recidivism rate of eight percent for program participants who have been released for two years.

"We're really excited about the program, especially about the [low] recidivism rate," Keil said.  "We're thinking that we've got a good program here that works."

The Phases of Rehabilitation

IFI is a three-phase program and inmates are eligible to begin the first step when they are 18 to 30 months away from their scheduled release from a correctional facility.

Staff at facilities throughout Texas inform inmates who are near completion of their sentences about the program and show them a video introducing them to IFI.

"[If an offender is interested in participating in the program], he can do a 30-day, self-study workbook," Keil said.  The workbook, essentially, helps inmates learn about the program by providing them with activities to complete, he added.

"Really, the main point of it is to see if a person will discipline himself enough to get through that workbook," Keil said.  "[After finishing it, inmates] have a pretty good idea that [they're] volunteering for a unique program."

After completing their preliminary workbooks, men who decide they still want to participate in IFI are transferred to the Carol Vance Unit to join nearly 200 other participants and begin the first phase of the program.

Phase One

During Phase One, which lasts for one year, inmates attend Bible study, personal faith education and other classes, like GED preparation.  Also, they work on the facility grounds.

"[Phase One is an opportunity] to bring everyone together on the same page," said Phillip Dautrich, IFI Program Manager for Texas.  When inmates enter the program, they are all at different levels, spiritually, mentally and physically, he pointed out.

While in Phase One, inmates begin to prepare for their transition back into the community and are introduced to their mentors, people from the Christian community who support them throughout the entire program.

"[We begin] getting the men ready to get back into society, to break that institutionalization mindset," Dautrich said. 

Preparing the inmates for their release then continues into Phase Two, which lasts for six months.

Phase Two

Phase Two has more of a secular focus, according to Dautrich.  While inmates still have community Bible study and personal faith education, they also begin to learn life skills, including resume-building, parenting and financial management.  At this point, too, IFI participants start working in the community for organizations like Habitat for Humanity.

"[It gets] them out into the community as a symbol of giving back to the community," Dautrich said.  "They're going out; they're giving a hard day's work."

Aside from working in the community, inmates also begin re-connecting with their family members, so they have a support network in place before they are released from the Carol Vance Unit.

"We really focus on the people who they're paroling to," Dautrich said.  "We want [the offenders] to be accountable to them."

In addition, inmates are encouraged to continue their relationships with their mentors throughout Phase Two and they are introduced to their parole officers.

"We introduce [the inmates] to their parole officers even before they leave, to begin that rapport," Dautrich said.  "The relationships start on the inside so it's a lot easier for the relationships to continue on the outside."

Once inmates have completed Phase Two and are released from the facility, they begin Phase Three, the after-care component of the program.

Phase Three

"[Phase Three] is the most important part of our ministry," Dautrich said.

In IFI's final phase, four after-care staff members who work in the community help the ex-offenders to achieve stability in their lives by offering them counseling and employment services for six to 12 months after they are released from the Carol Vance Unit.

"We open doors for the men," Dautrich said, noting that IFI has a job coordinator who provides ex-inmates with contact information for potential employers.

Although IFI helps inmates get back on the right track, it is ultimately the men's responsibility to keep themselves on that path.

"They have to prove themselves," Dautrich said.  "Nothing is going to be just handed to them on a silver platter."

The Benefits of IFI

Once inmates have completed all of IFI's phases, Dautrich hopes that they have a newfound outlook on life that is rooted in Christianity.

"[The program] teaches the value of responsibility.  It teaches the value of Jesus and the accountability he had in his life," Dautrich said.

"I think it offers [inmates] something they've never had before," Keil added. "They're offered a faith-based hope through the Bible that they will be forgiven [for their sins]."

Because of the program's uniqueness and its success, the Carol Vance Unit may soon become a strictly IFI facility, where all of the inmates are program participants.  Currently, the facility houses both IFI inmates and some who are not part of the program.

 "In Texas, we are very close to making the Vance Unit the first Christian-run [facility]," Dautrich said.

But, even now, the Carol Vance Unit differs from other correctional facilities because of the impact IFI has had there, Keil pointed out.

"The inmates smile, they talk to you, they look you in the eye," Keil said.  "It's just a different kind of place."

Resources

To learn more about IFI, go to www.ifiprison.org

To contact Don Keil, call (936) 437-5006

To contact Phillip Dautrich, call (281) 277-8707