Learning to Reduce Recidivism:

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• Learning to Reduce Recidivism
• A 50-state analysis of postsecondary education
  policy
• Wendy Erisman
• Institute for Higher Education Policy
• Washington, DC

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Part of Larger Research Agenda

• To look at subgroups facing unique barriers to
  accessing higher education
• Disabled Students
• Foster Youth
• Immigrant Students
• Working Poor
• Rural Students
• LGBT Students

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Prisoners in the U.S.

• 1.5 million adults incarcerated in state and
  federal prisons as of December 2004
• Prisoners are disproportionately
• Male
• Racial/ethnic minorities
• Impoverished
• Group that has been poorly served by educational
  system

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Educational Attainment of Prisoners
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Why Offer Higher Education to Prisoners?

• Fewer disciplinary problems
• Improved self-esteem and critical thinking
• Can become role models for their children
• Increased employment prospects
• Reduced recidivism

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Higher Education and Recidivism

• More than half of released prisoners return to
  prison within 3 years
• Studies show that taking college classes while in
  prison reduces recidivism by 46 on average
• Reduced recidivism lowers incarceration costs
• 30 billion annually as of 2001

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Research Questions

• What is the current status of higher education in
  American prisons?
• What barriers are preventing prisoners from
  gaining access to higher education?
• What innovative efforts are helping prisoners
  gain access to higher education?

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Methods

• Quantitative
• Survey of correctional education administrators
• 45 states and Federal Bureau of Prisons responded
• 90 response rate
• Qualitative
• Open-Ended Survey Question
• Follow-Up Telephone Interviews
• Review of Incarcerated Youth Offender Reports
• Focus Group with Prisoners in Virginia

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Status of Higher Education in American Prisons
2003-04

• 44 of 46 responding prison systems offered some
  higher education for inmates
• At least 85,491 prisoners took college classes
  during 2003-04
• 5 of total prison population
• 11 of prisoners with GED or high school diploma
• Similar to percentage enrolled prior to loss of
  Pell Grants in 1994

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Uneven Participation

• 15 prison systems
• Incarcerated 66 of all prisoners
• Enrolled 89 of inmate-students
• Granted 96 of degrees and certificates
• Key factor
• Strong institutional and state support for
  correctional education

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Higher Enrollment Prison Systems
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Average Enrollment 2003-04
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Degree and Certificate Programs 2003-04
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Completions 2003-04
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Vocational Education

• 62 of prisoners taking classes for college
  credit were enrolled in vocational programs
• 92 of those who earned a credential in 2003-04
  earned a vocational certificate

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Eligibility Factors
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Sources of Instruction
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Means of Instruction
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Funding Sources

• Federal Incarcerated Youth Offender Grants (IYO)
• State Appropriations
• Inmate Self-Payment
• State Grants for Low-Income Students
• Scholarships/Donations

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Funding by Enrollment
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Barriers to Access

• Inadequate funding
• IYO restrictions
• Limited funds
• Per student spending cap
• Age limit
• Lack of support from state officials
• Inmate self-funding impractical

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Barriers to Access

• Poor academic preparation
• Logistical problems
• Security protocols
• Remote locations
• Difficulties hiring/retaining instructors
• Prison overcrowding
• Involuntary transfer of inmates

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Barriers to Access

• Structural/organizational barriers
• Staff resentment
• Obstructive policies
• Competing priorities
• Lack of public support

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Innovative ProgramsTexas

• Legislature required that prisoners reimburse
  state for educational costs
• Repayment after release
• Payment plan negotiated with parole officer
• Over 1.1 million repaid

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Innovative ProgramsMinnesota

• Lost all state funding for academic higher
  education programs
• Created private foundation to raise funds
• Board includes Commissioner of Corrections and a
  community college president
• Funds raised go to consortium of colleges that
  provide classes in state prisons

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Innovative ProgramsNew Mexico

• Small prison system/large area
• Web-based distance education via secure
  connection from single university to multiple
  prisons
• All state prisons have computer labs and offer
  the same classes
• Each prison also has a trained coordinator to
  assist inmate-students

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Innovative ProgramsNorth Carolina

• High enrollments/high completions
• Partnership between corrections and community
  college system
• Shared costs
• Steering committee meets regularly
• Matrix based on length of average sentence
  determines which facilities offer which programs

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Policy Recommendations

• Additional funding is needed
• Reinstate Pell Grants for inmates
• Expand IYO program and raise age limit
• Increase state appropriations
• Ensure that state colleges and universities
  receive formula funding
• Make inmates eligible for state grants
• Seek additional private resources

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Policy Recommendations

• State-level support is essential
• Encourage close relationships among key state
  agencies
• Build partnerships with colleges/universities
• Develop supportive state/institutional policies
• Policymakers and public need education
• Publicize successful outcomes
• Emphasize inmate accountability

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• Learning to Reduce Recidivism
• A 50-state analysis of postsecondary education
  policy
• Funded by the Ford Foundation
• Report available for download at
• http//www.ihep.org