Our Approach
FOR SMALL JAILS (<200 BEDS)
Our primary mission is to empower small local jails to transform their culture, so the atmosphere of the jail can transform, so that people’s lives can transform. The basic method for doing so is to help the jail’s “transformation team” implement the Roadmap To Jail Transformation.
For more details on exactly how we approach this, see the sections below on our logic model, framework for jail transformation, personal transformation model, and other related models and tools.
Our Theory of Change is: If a jail will engage in a formal project to change their jail into a place of transformation (redemption, re-birth, reform, and reentry), then individuals who complete the program will go on to break the cycles of poverty, addiction, sin, and crime, and become productive members of the community.
FOR LARGE JAILS
Our primary mission is to small jails, but we are certainly available to help any jail. For larger jails, we offer several services to help begin the journey to transformation. Please visit our Consulting Services page for more details about these services.
FOR CHURCHES
For local jails to experience true, lasting transformation, it is essential for the local churches in the community to see their local jail as “The Mission Field Next Door”. Our plan is to create a “Jail-Activated Church Network” for mutual support and sharing and to host an annual conference for churches across the USA.
We prefer to partner with the local ministerial alliance, while also realizing those don’t exist in every community. So, our rule-of-thumb is to look for a collaboration of 4 to 5 local churches where each pastor is “on board” and there are at least two volunteers from each church who want to go through our training.
We also have information for denominations, bishops, and church networks to help communicate the bigger picture and the short and long-term benefits that can be realized.
FOR COMMUNITIES
The C4JT philosophy is, at the end of the day, it is neither corrections’ nor law enforcement’s responsibility to see that lawbreakers are restored to productive citizenship in the community. It is THE COMMUNITY’S responsibility! It is our sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters caught up in the devastating cycles of poverty, addiction, sin, and crime. To that end, we have found that organizing your local community to be pro-active on restoring people returning from incarceration (or struggling with probation) is simple, low-cost, and highly effective.
Click here for more details on creating a Community Transformation Coalition.
Click here for a free copy of the book Purposeful Neighboring: Creating Reentry-Ready Communities.
OUR LOGIC MODEL
The C4JT Logic Model gives you a deeper look into our assumptions, design, and outcomes. Click here for the PDF version.
OUR CORE PROGRAM
The Personal Transformation Program template is provided to small jails who need a solid starting point for developing their transformation project. Click here for the PDF version.
THE ROADMAP TO TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE
We have developed a comprehensive 15-phase model of what a complete program ideally should include. We are in the process of writing the detailed methodology that supports each of these phases. Please feel free to request a Zoom meeting with us to go over this together and discuss how it can be customized to your community. Click here for the PDF version.
A CLEARINGHOUSE OF BEST PRACTICES
We are building a database of jail transformation best practices (and emerging, promising practices) and evidence-based practices* (when they exist). Soon you will be able to search this database easily to find the solutions you need, whether you are a jail, church, or community leader.
* Our definition of a true "evidence-based practice" is: A program that has existed for at least ten years, with measurable outcomes, and has been validated by at least two experts with appropriate and sufficient academic credentials to do so. This high level of rigor causes true instances to be rare indeed. Any program claiming to be evidence-based but does not meet this standard is instead either a research-based practice (if researchers are studying it) or an emerging or promising practice.
FAQ'S
Is there a difference between a jail and a prison?
In simplest terms, most prisons are at the “state” level (run by the state’s department of corrections) or the “federal” level (run by the federal agency the Bureau of Prisons). Jails are typically the responsibility of the local government and are managed by the county sheriff’s department. (Reference link)
About how many jails in the USA are 200 beds or less?
We don’t have an exact figure, but of the 2,850 jails, we estimate that 80% or 2,300 are 200 beds or less.