By:  Ellis                                             S.R. No. 167

 1-1     By:  Ellis                                             S.R. No. 167

 1-2                              SENATE RESOLUTION

 1-3           WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes pride in

 1-4     recognizing APAC, an exceptional program for prisoners established

 1-5     by Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship ministry; and

 1-6           WHEREAS, APAC is a biblically based Christian program

 1-7     in which prisoners who volunteer to participate enroll in a

 1-8     24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week session during the final 18

 1-9     months of their sentence; the program was recently established

1-10     at Sugar Land's Jester II Unit; and

1-11           WHEREAS, Aimed at keeping former inmates from returning to

1-12     prison, the program is modeled after a Sao Paolo, Brazil, program

1-13     at Humaita prison; the program at Humaita was so successful that

1-14     the recidivism rate dropped from 70 percent to four percent, and

1-15     the government has given the entire institution to Prison Fellowship

1-16     to run on a permanent basis; and

1-17           WHEREAS, APAC addresses the needs of prisoners through

1-18     counseling and encourages repentance and spiritual growth; the

1-19     first phase of the program seeks to rebuild the prisoner's value

1-20     system, the second phase tests these values, and the final phase

1-21     seeks to reintegrate the prisoner into the community through the

1-22     family, church, and workplace; and

1-23           WHEREAS, Today in Texas, almost half of all inmates are

 2-1     returned to prison for offenses after their release; the APAC

 2-2     program, based on restorative justice rather than punitive justice,

 2-3     will be a positive step in the effort to lower the recidivism rate

 2-4     and reduce the incidence of crime; now, therefore, be it

 2-5           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,

 2-6     75th Legislature, hereby commend Prison Fellowship on its many

 2-7     accomplishments and encourage pastors and religious groups to

 2-8     support the APAC program in Sugar Land; and, be it further

 2-9           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for

2-10     the organizers of the APAC program as an expression of esteem from

2-11     the Texas Senate.

2-12                                  ______________________________________

2-13                                          President of the Senate

2-14                                       I hereby certify that the above

2-15                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate

2-16                                  on February 13, 1997.

2-17                                  ______________________________________

2-18                                          Secretary of the Senate

2-19                                  ______________________________________

2-20                                           Member, Texas Senate