A Model Program for Churches and Ex-Offender Reintegration

In this paper, we examine a community- and church-based demonstration program, Prison Fellowship's Transition of Prisoners (TOP) program in Detroit, that mobilizes, trains, and equips primarily African-American churches and volunteers to assist ex-offenders to successfully reintegrate into their community upon their return from prison. We describe the purpose, social context, and structure of the program. We also explore how the program assesses the needs of its participants with the Level of Service Inventory Revised, and matches its services to those needs. Finally, we show that preliminary outcome data suggests that the participation of ex-offenders in TOP significantly reduces their level of need, their risk of recidivism, and their actual recidivism.