Inside the unique NJ jail re-entry program teaching inmates to change their lives

️ A first-of-its-kind re-entry program is helping inmates prepare for life beyond jail in Salem County.

The 36-week program focuses on anger management, accountability and better decision-making.

18 inmates graduated from the program's inaugural class in July, with hopes of expanding it to other New Jersey jails.

WOODSTOWN — A re-entry program is the first of its kind at a New Jersey county jail.

Named after a book in the Bible, the Exodus Program at the Salem County Correctional Facility is a residential treatment within the county jail facility, said Warden John Cuzzupe.

The Book of Exodus talks about how the Israelites were freed from Egypt under God’s direction. “We tried to input that same mindset in inmates who made bad past decisions,” Cuzzupe said.

The Exodus Program is all about changing that mindset. It places inmates in a more relaxed unit with fewer jail rules, as long as they maintain good behavior.

Salem County jail launches 36-week inmate re-entry program

It’s geared toward changing the mindset and improving cognitive thinking, so inmates learn the process of making good decisions, controlling their emotions, and not making anger-based decisions, but rather making rational, calm ones, avoiding conflict, and realizing that for every bad decision, there is a consequence, Cuzzupe said.

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The more the program evolves, and the more inmates improve, they hopefully will see the benefits of good decisions and privileges that get awarded to them, he added.

Programs like Exodus are typically only offered at state or federal prisons. But Cuzzupe said this is the first time one is being offered at a county jail in New Jersey.

“I credit that to the Acasia organization. Acasia is an urban trauma relief organization here in South Jersey. It’s owned and administered by a retired municipal court judge, Jason Witcher,” Cuzzupe said.

Witcher and Cuzzupe, who are friends, came up with an idea of having a two-week boot camp at the Salem County Correctional Facility in July 2025. The inmates really embraced it. They were looking for structure. They were looking to change their mindset. They were looking for going back into the community as a different person.

They decided to turn this two-week boot camp into a 36-week full-blown program, and that’s how the Exodus re-entry program evolved, Cuzzupe explained.

Anger management and accountability are central to the program

The syllabus involves nine steps. The first step of the process is gaining an understanding of what victimization is, which is far beyond just the victim that they’ve committed a crime against.

It progresses to cognitive thinking, anger management, and consequences for bad decision-making, Cuzzupe said.

The inmates have meetings daily with their facilitators, who were also inmates. The meetings are peer-to-peer driven, geared toward holding each other accountable.

So, for example, if a facilitator sees that a bed is not made in the cell, the inmate will be brought before their general peers, and a consequence will be decided upon, Cuzzupe explained.

“As the inmates improve upon showing good leadership skills and good communication skills, they become facilitators of the program, and it continues to evolve with not only facilitators that are inmates but with the Acasia instructors as well,” Cuzzupe said.

Inmates can participate before they are convicted

What makes the Exodus program so unique is that inmates are learning these out-of-the-box thinking skills before they are convicted.

Most of the state programs involved convicted criminals who are doing time. But, most of the inmates at the Salem County Correctional Facility in the Exodus program are pre-trial participants, so they’re not convicted of a crime yet, Cuzzupe explained.

18 inmates graduated from the inaugural class in July. Since this is a county correctional facility, some of the graduates will leave. They will either go to state prison or be given time served, in which case they’ll leave the jail and start their new life.

“I’m hoping that it becomes infectious throughout the jail so that we have inmates who initially weren’t interested in joining the Exodus program to now say, ‘hey, you know what? I want to give that a try,’ Cuzzupe said.

He also hopes to see other jails in New Jersey implement similar programs in the future.

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