Dear Colleagues:
Few interventions have been shown to reduce recidivism and prepare people in prison to lead productive lives like access to quality postsecondary education and training (see RAND study findings below). Today’s OCTAE Connection is another reminder to the field about the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program available to institutions of higher education. The deadline for institutions to apply for this pilot program is October 2, 2015, for the 2016-17 academic year. Please share this with your postsecondary partners and Correctional Education colleagues.
Second Chance Pell Pilot Press Release
Second Chance Pell Fact Sheet
RAND STUDY FINDINGS
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs that Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults (Davis, Bozick, Steele, Saunders, & Miles, 2013).
Key findings from the RAND report:
- Correctional education improves inmates' chances of not returning to prison.
- Inmates who participate in correctional education programs had a 43 percent lower odds of recidivating than those who did not. This translates to a reduction in the risk of recidivating of 13 percentage points.
- It may improve their chances of obtaining employment after release. The odds of obtaining employment post-release among inmates who participated in correctional education was 13 percent higher than the odds for those who did not participate in correctional education.
- Inmates exposed to computer-assisted instruction learned slightly more in reading and substantially more in math in the same amount of instructional time.
- Providing correctional education can be cost-effective when it comes to reducing recidivism.
Visit the RAND website to download the full study (and several other studies on this important topic).
Cynthia Zafft
Postsecondary Completion Moderator