Mission of the Organization.

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Genesis One (G-1) is a 501(c)(3) corporation that vigorously addresses the recidivism problem in Oklahoma prisons, using Department of Corrections and other faith-based programs as tools. G-1 structures life plans for motivated inmates, incorporating godly principles and values, to help them successfully assimilate into society as productive citizens, benefiting their families, Oklahoma, and society in general.

1. Can you describe the Genesis One Program?

G-1 is a faith-based organization whose chapter membership is open to any inmate regardless of race, age, gender, or religious preference. An inmate must accept God into his or her life before continuing in the program. Chapters are established within participating prisons and utilize resources already available within the prison. For example: programs offered by the Department of Corrections, i.e., GED, vocational, anger management, drug rehabilitation, and other courses, and well as existing ministries and support groups. Each new member inmate is assisted in developing a customized Life Plan that uses existing resources that fulfill his or her needs. A leadership team is established consisting of inmates, the facility chaplain and a G-1 chapter volunteer-sponsor. This team will evaluate the progress of inmates and determine when they have completed the program and will only give approval and post-release assistance to inmates who have completed his or her program prior to release from prison.

Membership in G-1 is continuous until the time of discharge. Members may be suspended or terminated if the requirements of attendance and program completion are not met, or if a high moral character is not exhibited. Upon release, G-I mentors will assist each ex-offender in finding service providers in the following areas:

-Basic needs (food, clothing and shelter)

-Vocational needs (job training, temporary employment, employers)

-Educational needs (vocational and academic)

-Life/spiritual needs (therapeutic, support groups and churches)

2. Whom does Genesis One serve?

G-1 serves motivated inmates in both men’s and women’s prisons in Oklahoma where we currently have chapters. There are currently 16 prisons on-board and more are requesting that we set up chapters in their facilities … because G-1 works. The spouses and children of these inmates reap tremendous benefits from this program because their families are reunited and the ex-offender returns home to lead a changed and productive life.

Ultimately, G-1 serves society by:

A. returning “changed” offenders to their families, where they become solid, tax-paying citizens;

B. reducing future crime across the State of Oklahoma, especially in the larger cities like Tulsa;

C. saving individual communities the expense of putting repeat offenders through the judicial system;

D. saving the state the cost of additional incarcerations and state welfare services for families of those in prison;

^{*This program is especially beneficial to the larger cities in Oklahoma as many of those released from prisons around the state come back there to live.}

3. What needs and challenges does Genesis One address?

The rate of incarceration in Oklahoma is increasing and the rate of recidivism among discharged inmates is even greater. Statistics show that between 50% to 70% of ex-offenders return to prison within three years of their release and 80% of that number return within the first six months. The damage recidivism does to society and already wounded families is enormous.

Inmates need help in structuring a plan and setting goals for their future that will aid in effecting a seamless transfer from incarceration to a successful, healthy community life. Without help they will return to the life that put them in prison. G-1 volunteers/mentors provide the following assistance:

Pre-Release	Post-Release
Spiritual	Help ex-offenders find churches
Education	Connect them with schools
Vocation	Connect them with employment opportunities
Family	Help them find housing
Support Groups	Connection with Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous
Legal	Connection with legal services
Administrative	Connection with support services they need

4. To what extent has Genesis One worked?

Since its inception in 2001, G-1 has had 540 graduates and only 55 repeat offenders, resulting in a recidivism rate of approximately 10%, with an estimated saving to the State of Oklahoma of between $4-5 million dollars based on the cumulative annual expense for incarceration. The additional savings to the State of Oklahoma is incalculable when considering that families and children are being removed from the State welfare rolls when ex-offenders return home to become valuable, law-abiding, and tax-paying members of our communities. THIS PROGRAM WORKS!

As a result of G-1, more than 200 mothers have been reunited with their children and families and have successfully reentered society and the workplace with a new hope born of faith in God, a mentor, and a positive outlook toward their future.

The current director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections supports the program and has encouraged G-1 to install a chapter in each prison in this state. A deputy warden in one of the larger female prisons said, “There is something different about these G-1 ladies, you can just see it on their faces and in the way they conduct themselves. It’s just wonderful!” These are the women that don’t come back after release; the program is working!

5. Has Genesis One produced any unanticipated results?

Part of our mission is to contact employers to find job opportunities for our G-1 graduates. Employers who were initially reluctant to hire ex-offenders now embrace the concept that these men and women are salvageable and can be productive. G-1’s track record with the business community has been so positive that now many employers do not hesitate to take ex-offenders who are G-1 graduates and even ask if we have graduates available for employment.

We have been surprised and encouraged by the over 30 mentors and 200+ trained volunteers from churches across Oklahoma who have been willing to serve without reimbursement from us for supplies and gasoline. Mentors are individuals from our partner churches who are assigned to facilitate the transition of the G-1 graduate back into society and into the mentor’s church.

We did not anticipate the ever-increasing number of prison administrators who have heard about Genesis One and want us in their facilities. The growth has been so rapid that much of our time is now spent opening new chapters, which is placing a strain on the director, the sole paid member of the G-1 staff. Administrative assistance is needed to free him to recruit new mentors and chapter leaders throughout the state and to approach more businesses that may be willing to hire G-1 graduates upon their release.

Nor did we anticipate that some of our graduates would not only be successful in the work force, but start half-way houses for newly released inmates. In addition, our monthly Genesis One fellowship meetings in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City have become a forum for G-1 graduates to give their positive testimonies, which encourages graduates and volunteers alike.

6. Does Genesis One have potential as a model for other states?

When G-1 was launched five years ago there was no organized re-entry system in Oklahoma, nor in most other states. A successful linking of its available outside services and resources to the proven individual performance of the inmates, via our G-1 tracking system inside prison, has encouraged the Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections and a wide range of faith-based ministries to be a part of the G-1 model. This dramatic and provable decrease in the rate of recidivism rate has established this program as a high-potential model system of incarceration and re-entry.

Not only has the rate of recidivism dropped, but the attitude and behavior of inmates while still incarcerated has noticeably improved and been praised by all wardens with G-1 chapters in their facility.

The state of Wyoming has sent personnel to review the G-1 program and the Marion Ohio Correction Facility has now implemented a G-1 inspired re-entry program called ‘Exodus’.

It is very apparent that the G-1 model can and will be implemented with great success in other prison systems throughout the United States.

7. How is the Genesis One model innovative?

The Genesis One strategy is to make access to G-1 resources and support available upon release, contingent upon an inmate’s documented positive performance and behavioral changes while incarcerated. This performance-based link results in more society-ready inmates with a far greater opportunity for success, which truly impacts and breaks the destructive cycle of re-incarceration. After five years, the Genesis One Network has established, with certainty, that this novel approach to the recidivism problem does work. Since the G-1 program has been in existence, the number of transitional-living facilities, ex-con friendly employers, available mentors, and other vital resources have increased dramatically.

Unique to G-1 is the use of already existing faith-based and DOC educational programs in our program. We are not reinventing the wheel, but simply plugging already existing programs/spokes into the G-1 hub. The strength of character inmates learn through faith in God is the rim that holds it all together and makes it work. All combine to make a wheel, or foundation, of knowledge, integrity, perseverance, and self-confidence that will instill hope and pride in these inmates. If they follow their customized and very structured Life Plans faithfully, they reap the rewards upon and beyond graduation. Those rewards are a consequence of their diligence, planning and goal setting; a concept very applicable to a successful life on the outside.

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