Our Programs

Counseling and Inmate Developmental (CID)

Changed Choices meets regularly with female inmates awaiting trial in the county jail, to provide counseling, chaplaincy services, educational programs, spiritual development, as well as guidance and support through the trial process. Local programs in the jail include provision of basic personal supplies and spiritual publications, where allowed. For inmates sentenced to prison terms, CID continues through periodic visits, telephone calls and regular correspondence through the Changed Choices' Pen Pal program. Once released, clients continue to receive counseling and support services as they desire, until they feel ready to function with complete independence.

Changed Choices believes many women who become involved in the criminal justice system have been driven by circumstance into lives they would not have chosen had their personal, familial, socio-economic and marital situations been different. While these factors may not change, clients can make new choices when they understand the love of God and the truth of who they were created to be. It is then that they are empowered with a positive understanding of their potential. By providing regular counseling and intensive support services to those who desire to become clients, Changed Choices helps these women grow and mature, transforming their attitudes and behaviors, and in turn assisting them in becoming positive, productive and law-abiding citizens.

Most CID activities are conducted within the confines of jail or prison facilities by volunteer chaplains and staff under the guidance of the organization's Executive Director. Post-release programs will be conducted as needed in accessible locations or at the Changed Choices office. Pen Pals are home-based volunteers many of whom are affiliated with our church partners.

Transitional Support

Without substantive support, many newly-released women have little option but to return to the people and places that negatively impacted their lives in the first place. The organization offers support and tangible assistance during this rebuilding process.

Changed Choices assists newly-released women adjust to their lives outside jail or prison by:

• finding affordable housing,
• offering basic clothing and personal items,
• identifying potential employers, and
• providing job-search support.

In addition, transitional programs include ongoing counseling and life skills education (budgeting, parenting, job skills, domestic violence prevention) to help clients adapt to their post-release lives and continue on a positive, productive track. These services are conducted by staff, board members and volunteers at various locations, depending on client circumstances.

Inmate Material Support

Providing counseling and support services is Changed Choices' primary activity. This emotional and spiritual support rings rather hollow when fundamental physical needs go unmet. To begin envisioning different lives for themselves beyond prison, inmates need to feel that essential support will be there for them when they are released. By meeting basic needs, Changed Choices helps to create a psychological environment in which counseling toward a new life can take hold.

Jails and prisons are able to supply only the most basic physical needs. Changed Choices helps to provide special items (t-shirts, underwear, soap, deodorant, etc.) to the women in the local jail. The organization also provides prison inmates with essential clothing items (socks, underwear, warm clothes in winter, nightclothes), shoes of an appropriate size, toiletries, laundry detergent, school supplies, stamps and stationery. For inmates in prisons that prohibit certain gifts from the outside, Changed Choices can sometimes provide a monthly stipend. Where permitted, Changed Choices provides inmates with Christmas care packages, books, and craft supplies.

Material support is provided to incarcerated women based on the rules and regulations of different prisons. Items may be delivered by volunteers, shipped directly from vendors upon purchase by the organization, or distributed through the prison chaplain's office.

Parent and Family Support

Educating parents and family members with regards to the criminal justice system, and supporting them through the trial process and any subsequent incarceration is an important task for Changed Choices. Encouraging families in effectively communicating with and supporting their incarcerated family member makes a demonstrable difference in the future of that inmate.

For inmates with children, Changed Choices provides tangible support when it is possible. This includes school supplies, Christmas gifts, birthday remembrances, and emergency items. We also offer a limited transportation program for children to visit their incarcerated mothers.

To successfully survive incarceration and release, inmates need support from family members, many of whom are frightened and confused by the criminal justice system. Changed Choices helps family members understand what is happening to their loved one, and helps families make choices that will enable their loved one to return to the kind of positive and productive environment that encourages successful rehabilitation and transition.

Future Plans

Network Development

Changed Choices is developing a network of organizations and volunteers in communities where prisons are located in order that prisoners may receive personal visits and support on a more frequent basis. It is the personal contact with and concern for each individual that is the very heart of Changed Choices' mission. Supporting inmates as they build new and different lives for themselves is the ultimate goal of the organization.

Family Support Group

Changed Choices is in process of establishing a support group for parents and family members. Support programs will be provided by staff, board members and volunteers at various locations, depending on the particular circumstances of a clients' family.