Program Goals
InnerChange Freedom Initiative (Minnesota) is a voluntary, faith-based prisoner reentry program that attempts to reduce recidivism by preparing inmates for reintegration from prison to the community. The program seeks to promote positive values and address the criminogenic needs of participants by educating inmates in a variety of areas, including substance abuse, victim-impact awareness, life-skills development, cognitive skill development, moral development, education, community reentry, and religion. Although the program promotes Christianity, the InnerChange program is open to both Christians and non-Christians. Additionally, the InnerChange program matches each person who has been convicted of an offense with a mentor in the community and engages the community by involving local churches in program activities, with the belief that such support and ties to the community will reduce the recidivism rate of participants.
Overall the InnerChange program hypothesizes that the program can obtain its goal of reduced recidivism through a variety of program components:
- Using Christian philosophies that promote a crime-free lifestyle and prosocial behaviors
- Addressing the criminogenic needs of program participants,
- Including high-risk persons,
- Housing program participants together, and
- Ensuring that program participants receive a “continuum of care” so that their guidance and support does not stop once they are released from prison but instead continues into the community.
Program Theory
The InnerChange program is based on research that shows interventions that target the risks, needs, and responsivity (RNR) of a person who has been convicted of an offense, as well as those that include a continuum of care, are typically effective at changing problem behavior and reducing recidivism (Lowenkamp, Latessa, and Holsinger 2006; Dowden, Antonowicz, and Andrews 2003). The RNR model (Andrews and Bonta 2003; Andrews, Bonta, and Hoge 1990) includes three core principles:
- Risk Principle: The level of services should be matched to the level of the individual. High-risk persons should receive more intensive services; low-risk individuals should receive minimal services.
- Need Principle: Target criminogenic needs with services—that is, target those factors that are associated with criminal behavior. Such factors might include substance abuse, procriminal attitudes, and criminal associates. Do not target other, noncriminogenic factors (such as emotional distress, self-esteem issues) unless they act as a barrier to changing criminogenic factors.
- Responsivity Principle: The ability and learning style of the individual should determine the style and mode of intervention. Research has shown the general effectiveness of using social learning and cognitive-behavioral style interventions.
The InnerChange program has incorporated aspects of RNR research in its program. For example, the program targets higher-risk individuals, is geared toward addressing the criminogenic needs of program participants, and ensures that program participants receive a continuum of care.
Program Components
The InnerChange program is offered to male inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF), a medium-security prison. Although the program is privately funded and largely operated by volunteers from local churches and religious organizations, the security, housing, and other general inmate expenses are the responsibility of the Minnesota Department of Corrections (MnDOC). The program typically includes 40 men at a time and begins about 18 to 24 months before participants’ release.
The program includes three phases, with Phases 1 and 2 completed in prison during which the men live in the same housing unit. Phase 3 occurs after release. Phase 1 typically lasts 12 months and serves as the foundation of the program. During this phase, the InnerChange curriculum is taught during a 3-hour instruction session in the morning, followed by an afternoon session focusing on education or work, and an additional programming session in the evening. The curriculum in Phase 1 is divided into 4 quarters: quarter 1 introduces participants to the core values of InnerChange and teaches important cognitive and moral skills; quarters 2 and 3 stress the importance of them accepting responsibility for their deviant acts, while also covering important reentry and addiction topics; quarter 4 educates participants on chemical dependency and steps to prevent relapse.
Phase 2 typically lasts at least 6 months, during which the men spend their days working within the facility and evenings attending classes. During this phase, each man is matched with a member of the community who serves as his mentor for the remainder of the program. In addition to weekly meetings with their mentors, they work with InnerChange counselors to discuss their reentry plan and establish individualized goals. Phase 2 ends when the individual is released from prison.
Phase 3, the reentry phase, occurs once the person has been released from prison and lasts 12 months. During this phase the person’s mentor, as well as other InnerChange staff, assist them with the transition process, specifically aiding in his development of positive prosocial relationships. It is believed that developing relationships with individuals who are positively involved in their communities will create a positive environment for the person and further aid in the transition process. Moreover, InnerChange attempts to counteract the struggles of housing and employment by working with various housing and employment agencies on behalf of the men in the program.
