Restoring Prisoners' Access to Education Reduces Recidivism

Since 2016, the Second Chance Pell program has been providing financial aid for those experiencing incarceration to pursue a college education. Started under the Obama administration, it has gained bipartisan support and traction in the Trump administration as well. Considering 90% of incarcerated individuals will be released, the Second Chance Pell program serves as a demonstrated commitment to reduce recidivism and mass incarceration.

California is shifting to expand programs that help give incarcerated people the skills and knowledge they need to effectively transition back into society. Various re-entry programs for men and women across the state that connect people with education and job resources helped dropped recidivism rates from 44.6% to 41.9%, based on the state’s most recent data, and also cost taxpayers less than the average cost of incarceration.

With the new statewide Medicaid expansion, the Department of Adult Correction is working to ensure fewer people reenter society after incarceration and enter a healthcare coverage gap by helping people apply for Medicaid before release. With the Medicaid expansion, 80% of the 15,000 people released from prison each year are now eligible for coverage, and prison staff submit about 100 Medicaid applications each week.

Providing those experiencing incarceration with educational services has shown to reduce recidivism by 28%. While many prisons offer GED or higher education classes, the opportunities are still hard to come by consistently, so organizations like Underground Scholars help recruit individuals after prison to colleges. Looking forward, those pushing for criminal justice reform hope to overturn a 1994 legislation that banned incarcerated individuals from being eligible for Pell Grants, which could help drive more people from prison to school.

For the People identifies eligible cases for California’s resentencing law, conducts outreach to incarcerated women, reviews applications, and makes referrals to prosecutor resentencing units in participating counties in an effort to address the gender gap in resentencing cases. The program has helped resentence about 1,000 people, including three women, and is being implemented in five other states.

Project Rebound at the Pelican Bay State Prison is a partnership with California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt that provides associate and bachelor’s degree education to incarcerated individuals. Research shows access to higher education in prison lowers recidivism rates and increases the likelihood the person will find a job post-incarceration. Currently, about 14,000 incarcerated individuals in the state are taking classes toward a college degree, or about 15% of the prison population.

An educational program called ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves) taught at San Quentin prison in Marin County, California, has transformed into the Literature Club due to the pandemic and has reached other nearby prisons. The Literature Club, started by the Asian Prisoner Support Committee in Oakland, pairs people who are incarcerated with people outside, and they exchange emails to update each other on their reading progress and reflections. "More than a reading group, it’s a supportive space where emotions are openly discussed."

Kenya's overcrowded and poorly maintained prisons offer some educational and rehabilitative programs to inmates, but the nuns of the Dimesse congregation provide something else to try to transform the lives of those who committed crimes: religious instruction, with a side helping of basic humanitarian supplies. Along with food, underwear, and sanitary pads, the nuns use regular visits to men's and women's prisons to hand out bibles and give faith-based instruction aimed at reintegrating shunned citizens once they return to their communities.

California is leading the nation in prison education. “There are now in-person community college classes in all but one prison in the state, enrolling some 4,000 students." Nationally, 4 percent of higher ed institutions teach for-credit classes in prisons. “It's been the most amazing experience of my entire life, as either a free man or as an incarcerated human being." Evidence shows that providing people in prison with education reduces recidivism rates. “A major study by the RAND Corporation found taking classes in prison cuts the chances of getting locked up again by 43%.”

The first class of students enrolled in the Wesleyan University Center for Prison Education has just graduated. The program awards participants with an associate degree from Middlesex Community College in general studies and intends to serve as a tool against recidivism by offering an opportunity for success after incarceration. The Center for Prison Education has existed since 2009, serving 138 students thus far, and started offering a degree option in 2016.