BP Partners

A Special Thanks to Our SATP Friends

Basic Progress was developed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice between the years 1996 and 2001. Our continued efforts to bring significant social reform and individual recovery is indebted to the many who tendered patience, support, advice and direction in the early formative years of Basic Progress. While there are many who helped outside of the criminal justice system, BP is grateful for the hundreds of offenders, employees and volunteers who have had a major role in BP becoming available to the public at large. In a sense, the prison system is giving back to the free world!

Because of the inherent dangers of mixing or confusing secular treatment with spiritual therapy, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) demanded that the course be split into clearly differentiated sections that met the reasonable legal requirement of separation of church and state. Documentation had to be provided or it could not be presented under the TDCJ Substance Abuse Treatment Program (SATP). It is for this initial reason that the workbook was developed. Over time, the reactions, responses and curiosity of the BP participants demanded that the BP journey be divided into three core phases: Encounter, Quest and Dialogues. Our intent is to return to the prison systems nationwide to offer this proven commodity for reducing recidivism.

The first phase, Encounter, is faith-based but not specific to religious inclination. The second phase, Quest is an overview of world religions and spiritual pathways. The final phase, Dialogues, is explicitly Christian in its content and form. At each juncture, the participants have the full option and BP's full cooperation in either moving forward or seeking their own way. Basic Progress is authored by a Christian and does not hide that fact, but acknowledges that many may not be inclined or ready to pursue the depths of the Christian experience. Our goal is to help all who come our way to become productively content. It is our belief that is impossible without God's help, whatever that looks like.

While we understand that hosting a faith based treatment such as Basic Progress does not constitute endorsement, we are deeply grateful to the Regional Supervisor, Warden's office, the guards who provided supervision, safe passage and security, the Chaplaincy Department and Substance Abuse Treatment Programs on the following TDCJ units:

• ABILENE Middleton Transfer Facility
• ABILENE Robertson Unit
• SNYDER Price Daniel Unit
• COLORADO CITY Wallace Unit
• COLORADO CITY Ware Trans. Facility
• LA MESA Smith Unit
• BROWNFIELD Rudd Transfer Unit

Thank you.