Today is a great day to do business in Moorhead
Community members and volunteers Marie Swanson and Violet Deilke spoke at a recent “Let’s Talk Business” breakfast and announced that a steering committee is being formed to explore the opportunity to provide faith-based ministry to the Clay County Jail inmates and to identify the resources that are available to support and build that ministry.
According to Swanson and Deilke, the Clay County Jail has provided worship services and other faith-based offerings to the inmates with many successes. They noted that Sherriff Bill Bergquist and his staff are supportive of growing the jail ministry as it benefits not only the inmates, but the community as well.
They stated that when inmates return to the community, they frequently need support for suitable housing, employment, and a chance to build relationships with individuals who can mentor them. To illustrate that point, they shared the statement of Cass County Jail Chaplain Joseph Williams. Chaplain Williams with over thirty years of experiences stated, “As inmates attend faith-based programs, hearts, and lives are changed. As returning citizens with changed hearts and the power of faith, they can contribute to the community as valued employees to our businesses and residents in our neighborhoods.”
Do faith-based prisoner re-entry programs work? According to a Baylor University study published in the International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, a 2013 faith-based prisoner re-entry program in Minnesota saved an estimated $3 million by reducing recidivism. Another study found that one program produced a benefit of nearly $8,300 per participant.
Clay County Administrator Brian Berg previously explained that an important component of social services is law enforcement, which falls under the county’s $63 million budget. The Clay County Jail is the oldest jail in Minnesota and has been over crowded for at least the past six years. Because of the lack of space, twenty prisoners must be housed 60 miles away, costing the county $55 to $60 per day for each individual. Berg projected that the need will continue to increase to 188 to 200 beds requiring a new facility, which is estimated to cost $30 million.
Operating a jail and ensuring the health and safety of inmates is certainly a challenging task, particularly given budget and space constraints. However, one thing is for sure, faith-based services, like the ones Swanson and Deilke advocate, are an integral component of providing a full range of services to inmates. Services like these are at the core of rebuilding and restoring lives, which strengthens communities socially and economically.