Faith-based Prison Programs Claim to Reduce Recidivism...

DOWNLOAD THIS REPORT IN PDF FORMAT

...but there's little evidence, says FSU Researcher

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 600,000 prisoners are released each year. Nearly 70 percent have alcohol and drug problems. Within three years, roughly two-thirds are rearrested; about 50 percent land back behind bars. 

Policymakers across the country are pushing for implementation of faith-based prisoner reentry programming to reduce recidivism levels, but so far studies by proponents and practitioners of such programs haven't produced much hard evidence that they actually work, according to an extensive review led by a Florida State University researcher and funded in part by the National Institute of Justice.