INTRODUCING THE GOOD CITIZENSHIP MODEL

Our model attempts to raise the bar for corrections by measuring success rather than failure, and it intends to answer two crucial questions:

Is this person equipped with the needed values and character to be good citizens and flourish in life?

Is the prison culture one that fosters and reinforces the foundations of good citizenship?

To answer these questions, we identified prosocial values that tend to be associated with human flourishing and a natural reduction in criminal thinking and behavior. We believe that adoption of these six core values facilitate fundamental and sustainable changes in thinking and behaving for people in prison. We also believe that a successful prison culture will not only promote, model, and cultivate good citizenship among incarcerated people but also develop and sustain healthier and more resilient correctional workforces. The values we focus on are community, affirmation, productivity, responsibility, restoration, and integrity.

To capture these concepts, we are developing new psychometrically sound assessment instruments that can measure good citizenship and prison culture.

Good Citizenship Model® (GCM): The GCM is a values-based framework that guides the transformation of individual prisoners and entire prison cultures by focusing on the development of the Values of Good Citizenship (VGC). It emphasizes the role of corrections professionals in modeling these values, creating a supportive and rehabilitative environment that fosters positive character development and identity change. The GCM works in conjunction with Prison Fellowship’s suite of assessment tools (Prison Culture Assessment; Prison Fellowship Well-being Index; Prison Fellowship Corrections Professionals Attitude Scale; Good Citizenship Inventory) to provide a comprehensive, data-driven approach to prison culture transformation and improved outcomes for both corrections professionals and prisoners.

Prison Culture Assessment (PCA): The PCA is a scientifically rigorous tool that measures the extent to which corrections professionals are embodying the Values of Good Citizenship (VGC), providing a foundation for a restorative culture. It offers actionable insights, tracks progress over time, and can accompany complementary companion assessments of corrections professionals’ attitudes toward prisoners, and of staff and prisoner well-being levels.

Prison Fellowship Well-being Index (PF-WBI): The PF-WBI is a groundbreaking assessment tool designed specifically for measuring the psychological well-being of incarcerated individuals and corrections professionals across key dimensions such as relationships, hopefulness, stress levels, and motivation levels. It works in tandem with the Prison Culture Assessment (PCA) and Prison Fellowship Corrections Professionals Attitude Scale (PF-CPAS) to guide efforts in creating supportive and rehabilitative environments.

Prison Fellowship Corrections Professionals Attitude Scale (PF-CPAS): The PF-CPAS measures where corrections professionals fall, individually or as a workforce, on a continuum between rehabilitative and punitive perspectives on prisoners. It informs staff training needs, allows for individual and group assessment, and can enhance hiring decision processes to promote a more resilient and rehabilitation-oriented workforce and prison culture.

Good Citizenship Inventory (GCI): The GCI is a quantitative assessment tool currently under development that aims to measure the degree to which individuals in rehabilitative programming internalize and live out the Values of Good Citizenship (VGC). It will track progress, guide targeted interventions, and offer insights for optimizing individual and group progress within Prison Fellowship Academy® programs and potential other programs.