The Madison County Detention Center recently received a distinct honor getting high marks from the Department of Corrections on their Moral Reconation Therapy program, Or MRT program for short.
Moral Reconation Therapy, is a 12-step program which provides inmates an opportunity to earn 90 days off the end of their sentence. But in the long term it is designed to teach inmates why they made poor decisions in the first place, and how to make better ones in the future. It is the only program with a 20-year study proving its efficacy in reducing inmate return to incarceration by 50%. The jail says programs like this help to decrease the crushing weight of overcrowding in our corrections facilities nationwide and for inmates, it can mean a new lease on life.
According to a statement released this week, it says the program is aimed at people who were never taught how to acknowledge their own mistakes, take responsibility for the hurt they caused their loved ones, or recognize the nature of their mistakes and how to fix them. Jails become a revolving door with no way off the ride. Inmates used to have nothing to do but lay around in cells with no way to improve their lot in life. MRT changed that for a lot of people.
Since beginning the programs in April of 2022, over 70 inmates have begun their journey to rehabilitation at the Madison County Detention Center. While many went on to complete their programs at other facilities, or even after being released, at least 17 inmates have completed MRT classes while incarcerated. Of those, 10 also completed Anger Management and 1 has completed not only those 2 courses, but also the Mentor Program. Each program requires the inmates to complete exercises designed to help them identify and repair critical moral and behavioral decisions over approximately 10 weeks.
Since beginning the programs in April of 2022, over 70 inmates have begun their journey to rehabilitation at the Madison County Detention Center.
