The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) substantially cut back from in-prison rehabilitation to expand the prison system and fund officer positions. This single thing has made the revolving door to prison spin even faster. There are not many prison programs that will change a person so he does not commit future crimes. Seems TDCJ cut off its nose to spite its face.
Well, the premier program that works in TDCJ is Prison Fellowship Ministry’s InnerChange Freedom Initiative. This is an 18-month voluntary program that holistically teaches the offenders how to change themselves from within, provides an outside mentor for transitional support, and provides for the aftercare (after release) needs of the offender. This program is for offenders from the Houston and Dallas areas, but it is the best one out there. Bridges To Life is a great program that brings the offender and victims together so each may see the other’s perspective. This is very productive in that it takes away the barrier that allows each side to see the other side and come to terms with what has happened in their lives. This is very life changing. InnerChange has a similar program in Sycamore Tree. These two programs are the best ones that I know of.