The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with 754 prisoners per 100,000 individuals as of 2009. The booming incarceration rate is reflective of a broader trend of mass incarceration that disproportionately affects specific populations in the U.S. criminal justice system.
One of the most striking trends is the simple increase in the number of women incarcerated. In 1977, just over 11,000 women were in U.S. state and federal prisons. In 2004, their ranks had increased by 757% to over 111,000. In 2024 that number increased to 190,600 women and girls incarcerated. The number of women in prison has continued to grow at nearly twice the rate of the male population since 2000, reflecting a pronounced shift in incarceration patterns.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attributes part of this rise to overly broad drug legislation. In the ACLU's opinion, "Even when women have minor or no involvement in the drug trade, they are increasingly being caught up in the ever-widening net being cast by current drug laws" due to legal provisions concerning conspiracy, accomplice liability, and constructive possession—laws that too frequently criminalize partners, relatives, and witnesses.
While the U.S. criminal justice system has long focused on incarceration as a central strategy, it has paid far less attention to reentry and rehabilitation. This is a critical omission, given that an estimated 95% of incarcerated individuals, "emergents"—will eventually be released back into their communities. In the absence of sufficient reintegration initiatives and recidivism-reducing assistance, many former offenders face significant barriers that increase the likelihood of recidivism.
THE SOLUTION
Faith-Based Reentry Services for Women in Phoenix, AZ
The Arizona Department of Corrections recognizes that inmates who participate in religious programs show reduced involvement in negative activity while incarcerated. The programs also provide much-needed spiritual guidance in the reentry into society and support in the teaching of life skills that improve long-term ability to succeed after release.
Although religious programs within prisons for female inmates are available in many institutions, the process of reentering society does not go easily for many. Once released from prison, the women often resume the same habits that led to their imprisonment—and now carry a criminal record stigma along with being largely cut off from support groups.
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, SISTER Ministries is the nation's newest parachurch, non-profit ministry that aims to help formerly incarcerated women, or emergent women, successfully re-enter society. SISTER Ministries equips Christ-centered, Bible-based churches with the resources and training needed to effectively minister to these women as they rebuild their lives.
Research shows that as churches in the local community offer consistent support and women come to have a personal, close relationship with Christ, recidivism rates dramatically decrease, families are reunited, and communities are made stronger. With this faith-based reentry ministry, SISTER Ministries is leaving an eternal mark in the Phoenix community and beyond.
