Evaluations of other Faith-based programmes

A growing body of literature explores the impact of faith-based programming on prisoners and their re-entry into society.

Reasons for faith-based correctional program participation: An examination of motive types. Okyun Kwon, et. al., Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. 49(6):377-397. [EN]

This study explored the different motives behind inmate participation in faith-based correctional programs.

Tempest in a Therapeutic Community: Implementation and Evaluation Issues for Faith-Based Programming. Diane L. Scott, et. al., (2010). Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. 49(1):39-51. [EN]

The therapeutic community (TC) is an increasingly utilized intervention model in corrections settings.

Objective Hope: Assessing the Effectiveness of Faith-Based Organizations: A Review of the Literature. (2002). Byron Johnson, et. al. Centre for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society.

In sum, there are two broad conclusions from this review of research on organic religion: (.) research on religious practices and health outcomes indicates that higher levels of religious involvement are associated with: reduced hypertension, longer survival, less depression, lower levels of drug and alcohol use and abuse, less promiscuous sexual behaviors, reduced likelihood of suicide, lower rates of delinquency among youth, and reduced criminal activity among adults. This review provides overwhelming evidence that higher levels of religious involvement and practices make for an important protective factor that buffers or insulates individuals from deleterious outcomes. (.) research on religious practices and various measures of well-being reveal that higher levels of religious involvement are associated with increased levels of: well-being, hope, purpose, meaning in life, and educational attainment. This review of studies on organic religion documents that religious commitment or practices make for an important factor promoting an array of prosocial behaviors and thus enhancing various beneficial outcomes. (excerpt)

Development of a Guide to Resources on Faith-Based Organizations in Criminal Justice: Final Report. (2004) Caliber and Associates and Urban Institute.

While the following Resource Guide can be viewed as a whole, the reader is encouraged to utilize the four chapters as separate resources. Our approach involves conducting: (1) a comprehensive literature review to examine the relationship between religion and faith, and delinquency and crime; (2) a broad-based environmental scan to identify promising faith-based programs supporting criminal justice initiatives; (3) a research brief to contextualize prior research findings and make recommendations for further research; and (4) systematic case studies to distinguish key elements of innovative faith-based interventions in criminal justice. (excerpt)

Evaluation of Florida’s Faith- and Character-Based Institutions.

The experiences of adult correctional inmates during their incarceration cannot be disentangled from the ways in which they face reintegration challenges upon release and their ability to successfully navigate those challenges. Indeed, criminal justice practitioners and policymakers are in close agreement that the better prepared people are for their release from prison, the less likely they will be to return to prison. But what does it mean to prepare prisoners adequately, and how should such preparation be delivered? In addition to traditional solutions such as education and vocational training, corrections officials are increasingly implementing faith-based models, as well as secular programs that emphasize moral development and character building. Florida is one of many states to follow this trend, but set itself apart from other corrections agencies when, on Christmas Eve 2003, it opened the first state-operated correctional institution dedicated exclusively to a faith- and character-based approach to rehabilitation. (excerpt)