In 2013, Dr. Byron Johnson, Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion and Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Baylor University (Baylor), led a team of independent researchers from Baylor to assess PEP’s results.

Benchmarking

In terms of prevention of recidivism, PEP outperformed all nine of the other major prison rehabilitation services in Texas. On average, PEP delivered a 60% improvement over other models. 

Control Group Validation

The study compared 94 PEP graduates to a control group of over 50 inmates who had been selected for PEP but who did not participate in PEP’s programs (i.e. they paroled before class began). The recidivism rate of the control group was almost identical to the state average, and nearly 3-4 times that of PEP’s graduates. 

Return on Investment

On a very conservative basis, the Baylor team of researchers concluded that every dollar donated to PEP yields a 340% ROI due to avoided incarceration, increased child support payments and reduced reliance on government assistance.

Baylor Proud

Read how the Prison Entrepreneurship Program allows Baylor students to both serve and learn.