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At this year's Correctional Leaders Association conference in Pittsburgh, Ryan Lechner, co-CEO of The Change Companies, and Alisha Tafoya-Lucero, Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Corrections Department, came together to talk about a problem every correctional system knows well: Readiness to change doesn't wait for program availability.
For years, New Mexico's programming model looked like most others across the country: programming was limited to classroom settings, and only so many individuals could participate at any time. If someone was ready to do the work but the class was full, the wait list was long, or the facility didn't offer the right program, that window of motivation could close before it was ever acted on. Secretary Tafoya-Lucero and her team set out to change that equation entirely. They wanted to make evidence-based programming available anytime, anywhere, to anyone with a tablet. This would mean no cost, no wait list, and no missed windows of change.
How Atlas changed the model
That shift became possible through Atlas, The Change Companies' digital platform. Atlas draws on nearly 40 years of corrections curriculum development and the evidence-based Interactive Journaling® methodology. Atlas puts hundreds of evidence-based Journals, videos, podcasts and skill practices directly into residents' hands.
In New Mexico, this looks like instant access for thousands of residents across every facility and custody level in New Mexico. What makes the platform work for NMCD is flexibility. Residents can browse programming on their own, be formally assigned a program during intake at a reception or diagnostic center, follow an individualized pathway tied to their case plan, or work through content in a peer-led group.
Atlas supports the essential work staff do by flagging risky or cryptic journal entries in real time, tracking shifts in pro-social versus antisocial language, and surfacing needs that formal assessments might miss. Staff retain full visibility into engagement, pace, and content. Atlas helps free staff time usually spent on documentation and administrative work, allowing them to do the people-centered work they joined the field to do.
Data-proven results and resident impact
The results have been substantial: a 2.3x increase in the number of people enrolled in evidence-based programs, a 4x increase in engagement, and an 87% completion rate among active users.
Peer leadership as the engine
Some of the most telling results came from unexpected places. At the Los Lunas geriatric facility, engagement started at nearly zero — the population simply wasn't tech-comfortable. Once peer "tech teachers" were brought in to help residents get oriented, usage climbed dramatically.
Elsewhere, a friendly peer competition took hold, particularly among women, with certificate counts becoming their own motivator. Introverted residents and those who'd historically avoided group therapy found they could engage meaningfully through Journaling on their own terms. Perhaps most striking, staff began noticing residents using clinical language unprompted, a sign the work was genuinely sinking in, rather than just being completed.
If there's one element the Secretary pointed to as the backbone of New Mexico's success, it's peer leadership. Residents trained as tech teachers help onboard others. Peer facilitators run groups using Atlas content as their curriculum. The logic is simple: the person who's walked the mile is the most credible messenger. That credibility has had a ripple effect on staff, too. Unit managers and lieutenants have started volunteering to lead their own groups on parenting and life skills.
Looking forward
Looking ahead, New Mexico is working to formalize its most-used Journals into structured, facilitated classes. Completion tracking could eventually support good-time credit and sentence-reduction incentives already allowed under state statute but not yet implemented. And with real-time backend reporting replacing manual spreadsheets, the department can now make faster, data-informed decisions about what to expand next.
New Mexico's experience offers a clear lesson for other systems: access isn't just about having programming available — it's about removing every unnecessary barrier between a person's readiness and the moment they can act on it.
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Evidence-based, behavioral health Interactive Journaling® curricula are available digitally on Atlas. Atlas can save staff time while supporting fidelity to evidence-based practices.
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