ICYMI: Lankford Celebrates Launch of Prison Fellowship Academy at FCI El Reno, Marking Years of Work to Expand Faith-Based Rehabilitation in Federal Prisons

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) recently celebrated the launch of the first federal Prison Fellowship Academy at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in El Reno, Oklahoma, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony held earlier this month. Prison Fellowship is the first nonprofit to have a program designated as an evidence-based recidivism reduction program under the First Step Act by the US Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The designation marks a milestone in a decades-long effort by Lankford to ensure faith-based organizations have a seat at the table in federal rehabilitation efforts. “This ribbon-cutting ceremony represents a breakthrough for religious liberty behind bars and a victory for all who affirm the principles of human dignity, accountability and fairness, both inside prison and upon reentry,” said Lankford. “This partnership with the BOP not only represents major progress in bringing transformational programming to more people in federal prisons, but it also highlights the belief that no person is beyond redemption,” said Heather Rice-Minus, Prison Fellowship president and CEO. “The Prison Fellowship Academy is designed to help participants prepare for a successful future, both inside and outside prison walls. We are honored to work with the BOP to expand its impact nationwide.” You can view Lankford’s remarks ahead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony HERE . Background For years, Senator Lankford has championed the role of faith-based organizations in federal prisons, fighting to ensure they have equal access to rehabilitation work and are not sidelined by federal bureaucracy. His efforts have been instrumental in building the legal and policy framework that made today’s announcement possible. In 2018, Lankford voted in favor of the First Step Act , a landmark bipartisan legislation that expanded rehabilitative programming in federal prisons and created the framework for faith-based organizations like Prison Fellowship to partner with the BOP. Lankford successfully amended the First Step Act to explicitly allow faith-based groups to provide job training, social development, and family programming on equal footing with non-faith-based organizations. Prior to this amendment, the Bureau of Prisons had largely shut faith-based groups out of recidivism reduction work in federal facilities. That change directly paved the way for Prison Fellowship’s historic designation as the first nonprofit evidence-based recidivism reduction program under the First Step Act . Lankford co-authored the bipartisan MERCY Act with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), which was incorporated into the First Step Act and limits the use of solitary confinement for juveniles in federal custody, ensuring young people retain access to rehabilitative and educational programming while incarcerated. Lankford is a cosponsor of the Safer Supervision Act , bipartisan legislation supported by Prison Fellowship that modernizes federal supervised release by tailoring conditions to individual circumstances and reducing barriers to successful reentry. ###