About 200 Mabel Bassett Correctional Center inmates volunteer for the state's first faith-based and character-building program.

McLOUD -- In a big gray room, on a cloudy damp day, about 100 female inmates sat at metal tables, focused on workbooks and a class discussion about character traits.

But they hurried to line up into a choir when their studies were interrupted by a request to perform a song they had written themselves after a day of classes earlier this year.

"I want to be somebody, I want to go somewhere, so I woke up and paid attention," they cheerfully sang.

The women are among about 200 Mabel Bassett Correctional Center inmates who volunteered this year for the state's first faith-based, character-building program.

"We get a chance to learn the good characteristics that others have, and that sounds so simple, but obviously we have missed something in the make-up of what other people learn or else we wouldn't be here," said Beverly Hall, 55, who is serving 30 years in prison for first- degree manslaughter in an Osage County case.

The idea of the program is to reduce recidivism and behavioral problems among inmates by focusing on those serving longer sentences.

Oklahoma leads the nation in locking up female offenders. Mabel Bassett in McLoud, the state's most secure women's prison, houses more than 1,000.

The Faith and Character Community Program is a yearlong course divided into two tracks, one faith-based and the other secular. Inmates volunteer, complete an application and interview process, and then begin a series of 12-week sessions that include 30 hours per week of classes and activities.

"Each track has an entire dormitory, or pod, dedicated to the program," said Leo Brown, the Department of Corrections' agency chaplain and volunteer coordinator for the religious services unit. "It helps us develop the community aspect."

The program also is being offered on a smaller scale to men at Oklahoma State Reformatory.

Officials plan to evaluate the impact of the program, including its effect on misconduct in prison, changes in inmates' thinking patterns and how many of its graduates return to prison once they are released.

But it will be years before any official results can be gathered.

However, Hall said the program already is making a difference as inmates begin to help each other cope with family troubles and daily life behind bars, rather than just "mind their own business."

"You have so much concentration in this one place of bitterness, resentment and hurt," she said.

Vernita Watts, 47, who has been to prison three times for crimes in Oklahoma County ranging from assault with a dangerous weapon to robbery, said she wished she'd had the opportunity to take the class earlier in life.

"I feel like maybe if I had this program the first time around, maybe I wouldn't have come back," she said.

Something has to change, she and Hall said, because it seems that the inmates coming in are younger -- girls, really.

"Kids come in and learn how to be a better criminal," Hall said.

The program is not as simple as teaching the meanings of words that describe character traits, such as "alertness" or "meekness."

The woman are being asked to change their concept of all that is considered "normal," said Ilinda Jackson, coordinator of the program at Mabel Bassett.

And that is especially hard when "normal" often has included molestation, abuse, drugs, or watching parents steal, abuse drugs or suffer abuse, she said.

"It's a very challenging program, and it's often emotional," Jackson said, adding that "it has tremendous potential to change the way we do prison in Oklahoma."

Several states have adopted similar faith-based programs and give them good reviews, but definitive results on the programs are not widely available.

Many states have faced lawsuits regarding the separation of church and state, Brown said.

"Because of the legal concerns, we have been very careful in our designs on how we put this one together," he said.

"Both programs are based on cognitive behavioral methodology," Brown said.

The program's core curriculum is based on the Character First program, which originally was developed by the Oklahoma City-based Character Training Institute for use in school and corporate environments.

Both the character and faith tracks have the same goal, which is to promote positive changes in offenders' lives.

However, the character track remains secular, while the faith track connects the inmate's desire to change to their religious backgrounds, according to DOC information about the program.

The program is funded with the DOC's operating money and uses existing staff plus volunteers, said Debbie Mahaffey, deputy director of treatment and rehabilitation services.

State lawmakers have encouraged the development of such programs, she said. The state money that is used for the faith-based track is only for portions that are multifaith, Brown said, adding that volunteers provide any curriculum that is faith-specific.

Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne, who heads the state's Sentencing Commission, said he is in favor of programs to help inmates better return to society. However, he is concerned about providing state funds to religious organizations.

"It's going to be a fine line, it really is," he said.

Ashley Clem, 21, who is serving 40 years in prison for second-degree murder in Tulsa County, volunteered for the program's character component. She said she had been in prison for a little more than a year and was beginning to lose hope when she applied.

"It showed me that even in spite of all the bad that's going on, we can do good," she said.

Clem said she has learned to hold herself accountable, and she is working on finding "the positive instead of the negative in everything."

People around her have said she has changed her attitude, she said.

"I wish it would be available to those on the outside, so they don't end up here," she said.

Angel Riggs (405) 528-2465
angel.riggs@tulsaworld.com