What People Are Saying

State and federal facilities, pre-release programs, workforce development initiatives, and more are using InsideOut Dad™ to prepare inmates for successful reentry.  Over 300 organizations/facilities in all 50 states are currently using this evidence-based, life-changing program for incarcerated fathers.  Check out their success stories below.

Twenty-three state Departments of Corrections, as well as the District of Columbia consider InsideOut Dad to be standard reentry programming.  View the full list of standardized states.

Plus, independent evaluations have shown that InsideOut Dad™ successfully improves inmate knowledge and attitudes and increases family contact.  View the research. 

Success Stories

What facilitators are saying:

“It's addressed a huge need for the men.  The InsideOut Dad™ program is well written and easily understood.  It touches on important topics that I haven't seen in other programs”
Pamela Norbeck, Facilitator
MD Dept. of Corrections, Jessup Facility (Jessup, MD)

“The program was great, and the inmates loved it!  We're planning on 4 more groups [next year].”
Jack Hardcastle, Facilitator
Hillcrest Family Ministries (Abilene, TX)

“This is remarkable material.”
Janet Kregel, M.Ed
Iowa State University (Ames, IA)

What dads are saying:

"It gave me and the other guys in the program an opportunity to discuss how important our kids were in our lives…The program helped me understand how to be a better father…I would do anything to help promote this program. It changed my life and the life of my kids!”
Former inmate, current cable company supervisor

"Being a part of this program made me realize I can still be a part of my beautiful little girl's life."
InsideOut Dad™ Graduate (Abilene, TX)

“The InsideOut Dad™ is the best class by far...As we go through the workbook, we get into some very deep discussions about the issues brought up in workbook…The class is once a week. The class doesn’t get here fast enough and when I get there, it goes by too fast. This class is definitely worth it. Every issue that we deal with relates to our lives in one way or another…I have been in prison for five years. At first I never heard from my daughter. Now we have a relationship.”
InsideOut Dad™ Graduate
Lea County Correctional Facility (Hobbs, NM)

“I really enjoyed the chance to be a part of this class. I’ll really miss coming here week after week, talking about my greatest joy, my daughter. I appreciate the chance to look to the future for something better than what I did in the past."
InsideOut Dad™ Graduate (Nebraska)

“I’ve seen a positive (change) in my life during this program. During this program I’ve come to terms with a lot of the wrongs in my life. I now know what I need to do to break the circle and help my children become productive, well-balanced adults."
InsideOut Dad™ Graduate (Nebraska)

Evaluation & Research

Independent research shows that InsideOut Dad™:

• Improves inmates' knowledge and attitudes
• Increases family contact

View the research:

Assessing the Impact of InsideOut Dad™: Executive Summary (August 2011)
This Executive Summary provides an overview and results of Rutgers University's multi-method evaluation of the InsideOut Dad™ program in three Community Education Centers (CEC) Residential Reentry Centers in New Jersey.

Assessing the Impact of InsideOut Dad™: Full Report (August 2011)
This report presents a multi-method evaluation of the InsideOut Dad™ program in three Community Education Centers (CEC) Residential Reentry Centers in New Jersey. The evaluation includes both quantitative and qualitative data in the form of participant surveys, institutional data collection, participant interviews, and stakeholder interviews.

InsideOut Dad™ Program in Maryland and Ohio Prisons (February 23, 2009)
An objective, third-party analysis of how well incarcerated fathers responded, through increased knowledge and shifts in attitude, and whether or not participation in the program improved contact between these fathers and their children.

InsideOut Dad™ Program Evaluation Report(June 16, 2008)
An objective, third-party analysis of how well incarcerated fathers responded, through increased knowledge and shifts in attitude, and whether or not participation in the program improved contact between these fathers and their children.

 InsideOut Dad™ Program Logic Model
A logic model clearly describes how the InsideOut Dad™ Program addresses the problem of father absence, as well as the expected activities, outputs, and outcomes of this program. Funders often request logic models. For more information on logic models, visit the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

States Standardized

The following 24 states consider InsideOut Dad™ to be standardized programming for their Department of Corrections:

Alabama
Alaska
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
Wyoming