"Stories are data with a soul." — Brené Brown
Every day, residential reentry programs face the same challenge: helping individuals prepare not just to leave incarceration, but to build stable, productive lives after release. Success requires more than providing housing or checking program requirements. It requires helping people develop the confidence, skills, and motivation needed to navigate work, family relationships, recovery, and life in the community.
For more than 60 years, Dismas Charities has been one of the nation's leading providers of residential reentry services, partnering with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, state correctional agencies, and local jurisdictions to support successful community reintegration. Across dozens of residential reentry centers nationwide, Dismas combines accountability with evidence-based programming designed to reduce recidivism and help participants build meaningful, lasting change.
Like many forward-thinking organizations, Dismas is continually evaluating how new technologies can strengthen — not replace — the human relationships at the heart of effective reentry services.
That's what led to an independent evaluation of Atlas, The Change Companies' digital behavioral health platform.
At this year's Dismas Charities Leadership Symposium, Valerie Bagley, Chief Program Officer at The Change Companies, shared the findings from that evaluation, conducted at two Dismas locations in Manchester, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia. The study combined validated quantitative surveys with hour-long interviews of residents and staff, generating nearly 600 pages of qualitative feedback about how Atlas is shaping the reentry experience.
The findings tell an encouraging story about what happens when evidence-based programming, thoughtful implementation, and continuous listening come together to support people during one of the most important transitions of their lives.
Early in the presentation, Valerie referenced a quote from researcher Brené Brown:
"Stories are data with a soul."
This philosophy guided the entire evaluation. Rather than relying solely on satisfaction surveys, the evaluation intentionally paired quantitative outcome measures with in-depth interviews that allowed residents and staff to describe, in their own words, what Atlas meant to them. The result was a richer understanding of how evidence-based digital programming influences motivation, confidence, relationships, and long-term success.
One of the goals of Atlas is helping individuals prepare for successful reentry.
Across the evaluation, 85% of respondents agreed that Atlas provides useful tools for overcoming reentry challenges, while 80% agreed it helps participants avoid behaviors that could lead to returning to prison.
Interviews revealed what those numbers actually looked like in practice.
One resident explained:
"I needed my driver's license in order to possibly obtain a job. The journaling helped me think through what steps I needed to take to make that happen."
Another reflected on how Atlas was changing decision-making itself:
"I think it's definitely gonna have a positive impact on me not reoffending. It helps me slow down and think before I act."
Rather than simply completing assignments, residents described developing practical plans, increasing self-awareness, and learning to pause before reacting — skills that directly support successful community reintegration.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected findings involved parenting.
Although the evaluation didn't specifically include survey items on parenting, the theme surfaced repeatedly throughout resident interviews.
One parent shared:
"I never had patience before, but I have so much patience with my son now. That came from actually sitting down and thinking through the journaling."
Another resident described discovering what mattered most to their children:
"I learned how much they value our time together. Even if it's just talking and laughing about everyday things, that really changed how I approached my kids."
Overall, 85% of participants agreed Atlas helped improve personal relationships and interactions with others.
Reflecting on these interviews, Valerie noted that parenting emerged so consistently that future evaluations will likely include a dedicated parenting measure in the evaluation.
Employment remains one of the strongest predictors of successful reentry. Residents described Atlas as helping them prepare not only emotionally, but practically.
One participant recalled:
"It gave me about five or six 'aha' moments… how to market yourself and how to make yourself not look at what your past failures were, but what your future holds."
Another credited Atlas with helping during an actual job interview:
"It did help me on my interview for the job I have now… when it was talking about, you know, make eye contact and don't move your hands."
Seventy percent of combined respondents agreed Atlas helped develop skills useful for obtaining and maintaining employment.
Another recurring theme was emotional expression. Many residents described Atlas as creating opportunities to express thoughts and feelings they might otherwise keep inside.
One staff member observed:
"Those feelings and thoughts… just being able to get them out by using Atlas… a lot of times that is our problem… we're angry, upset, hurt, but we're not letting it out."
A resident echoed that experience:
"It's something that helps when you don't have anybody to speak to… you're able to get your feelings out honestly… you're able to look back and see the progress of yourself."
While the survey measured anger management specifically, Valerie noted the interviews suggested something broader was happening: Atlas appeared to support emotional awareness, self-reflection, and emotional regulation.
One of the presentation's most memorable moments came as Valerie reflected on quality of life.
She explained that effective treatment should aim for more than simply reducing problems, but should enable people to find healthy, prosocial alternatives to previous behaviors and promote a life of flourishing.
Residents seem to agree. One participant simply stated:
"I know that it has improved my life and I know that I've witnessed it improving others' lives."
Another shared:
"My quality of life is better because I've gotten some tools from Atlas… additional tools in my toolbox that can help me navigate this world."
Overall, 75% of respondents agreed Atlas had improved overall quality of life.
While every outcome was encouraging, Valerie identified two results as the most significant.
90% of respondents agreed Atlas increased motivation to make positive changes.
One resident described how even small signs of progress mattered:
"When you see that progress on the screen — 20%, 40% — it helps. Seeing that motivates me. You don't get that with a notebook."
Equally important was self-efficacy: the belief that change is actually possible.
Again, 90% of respondents agreed Atlas increased confidence in their ability to make positive life changes.
One resident explained it this way:
"It helped me start to realize that I'm not a number. I'm [name] and I do have value… to move forward in my life."
Valerie connected these findings to Motivational Interviewing, noting that lasting behavior change depends not only on wanting to change, but believing you can.
When motivation and confidence grow together, meaningful change becomes far more attainable.
The evaluation also explored whether participants preferred digital or traditional paper journaling.
Interestingly, one of the strongest themes wasn't originally included in the survey. It emerged through interviews: privacy.
Residents described feeling safer expressing themselves honestly when journaling digitally because they no longer worried about others reading their personal reflections.
As one resident explained:
"If you live with other people, digital is probably better. Someone could easily grab your journal and read it."
Staff observed the same benefit:
"Digital journaling is more private… them and me is the only ones seeing it."
This sense of psychological safety may help explain why both residents and staff consistently associated digital journaling with greater honesty, stronger engagement, and increased willingness to journal.
The evaluation wasn't designed simply to validate Atlas; it was designed to improve it.
Staff identified documentation support, session planning guidance, individualized assignments, and AI-generated flags as some of Atlas's most valuable features. Multiple staff members estimated saving up to six hours per week on planning and documentation tasks.
They also provided thoughtful recommendations for improvement.
Among them:
Reducing unnecessary yellow flags while preserving important safety alerts.
Simplifying flag review workflows.
Replacing email notifications with text and push notifications.
Expanding employment resources.
Adding specialized programming for additional populations.
Creating more individualized treatment pathways using assessment data.
Many of these enhancements are already underway, including Ask Atlas, an AI-enabled chatbot that facilitates prioritization of tasks, aligning interventions with case plans, session planning, and coaching on best practices. Also in development are expanded employment resources, more individualized recommendations, and future integration with assessments to personalize treatment and case planning.
Valerie closed the presentation with one final resident quote that captured the spirit of the evaluation:
"Your mind is like a garden. If you plant seeds in it, the seeds will grow… Atlas is actually planting things in your mind. How are we to change the way we think if we don't plant anything in the mind?"
Technology alone doesn't change lives. People do. And when organizations commit to listening — to residents, to staff, and to the evidence — they create the conditions where meaningful change can take root and grow.
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