NCJ Number
238295
Date Published
June 2009
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This report reviews the history of the program entitled, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ("7 Habits") as it evolved in Colorado men's and women's prison settings, with preliminary evaluation results reported from pre-tests and post-tests.
Abstract
Jerry Gasko, Director of Prisons for the State of Colorado, first learned about the 7 Habits while serving in the U.S. Army in the 1980s. In 1996, he decided to teach the 7 Habits to the prison warden and directors at the Fremont Correctional Facility. Eventually, he decided to teach the 7 Habits to the inmates. A trial run was approved for Fremont inmates in 1997. Twenty of the most hardened criminals were selected for participation in the first class, which was taught b y Chaplain Dan Matsche. After the 8-week course ended, Gasko noted that the course resulted in behavioral changes among participants; they started talking to each other instead of fighting each other, and they engaged in misconduct much less often. After a few years, inmates succeeded in developing a workbook that included sections on how to live in prison and how to get out on parole. Between 1998 and 2002, approximately 500 inmates participated in the course in a number of Colorado prisons. In 2008, Karen de Lorenzo, a 7 Habits facilitator, volunteered to teach the program at the La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo, CO. The program was taught to 12 women. The follow-up survey showed an overall moderate increase in the average score compared to the pre-test, and significant increases occurred on several of the individual question averages. A carefully controlled study of the impact of 7 Habits on inmates' long-term behavior has not yet been conducted; until this is done, current findings should be regarded as preliminary. 4 figures