OCTAE’s Take Charge of Your Future guide has recently been updated by RTI International. Two of the contributors, Laura Rasmussen Foster and Margaret Patterson, have joined the Correctional and Reentry Education Group today to answer some questions about the guide and how it can be used by instructors in correctional education settings to support learners as they continue in their education and training after release.
Laura, tell us about the guide. What is its purpose and who is it for?
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Thanks, Jeff! I'm excited to talk about this updated resource.
The Take Charge of Your Future guide is for people who are incarcerated and for those on probation and parole. It’s also for those who were previously involved with the justice system. The guide will help them get started — or continue — their paths to further education and training.
It is not designed to be read from cover-to-cover; instead, individuals should use the guide to figure out what steps they’ve already taken to pursue education and training and jump ahead to the chapter(s) they need.
The guide also recognizes that education may not be the first step in many people’s reentry process. Instead, it acknowledges the need to address other more pressing concerns, like finding housing or a job, and then reconnecting with an education program when they’re ready.
Please let us know what questions you have about the guide!
Margaret, what was updated in the guide? What has changed since the last guide?
Excellent questions, Jeff! It's super to participate in this discussion, and like Laura, I am excited to share about the updated guide. One of my favorite additions was the personal stories of formerly incarcerated adult learners throughout the guide (and their profiles in Appendix A).
On page 3 in the guide, program staff will find tips for using the guide in correctional education and reentry programs. These tips can help program participants understand where they are in a career pathway and point adults to sections of the guide related to their immediate next steps.
Web links and tips are offered throughout the guide. Programs can also provide access to technology (where available) so that participants can research and access the many resources suggested in this guide.
In my next post I will give some examples of specific new sections and where to find them in the guide. In the meantime, I have a question, too:
How do those in this thread think returning citizens could use this guide to their advantage? Thanks!
I agree with Margaret that the learner profiles in the guide are a must-read! We gathered input from people with lived experience to make sure that the information in this guide reflected their actual education and career paths. Their quotes and stories are included in the guide as inspiration and motivation for others to continue their education.
One of the most useful features of the 2022 Take Charge of Your Future guide is the step-by-step guidance. This newly updated guidance is offered on multiple topics:
Getting a job (pp. 12-14)
Completing a high school credential (pp. 28-34)
Finding information on career pathways (pp. 36-42)
Planning for college (pp. 43-48) and even
Getting funding to pay for college (pp. 52-56), including scholarships (pp. 59-62)
In addition, guidance for adults with disabilities is available on pp. 10, 29-30, 36, 43, 45-46.
Which sections do you think might be most useful to adults you work with?
How do you recommend correctional educators use this guide directly or support learners in its use?
On p. 3 of the guide, some suggestions offered for correctional educators are below. More are in the guide itself.
"...Correctional education and reentry staff play an important role in supporting current and future students in identifying and pursuing their education, life, and career goals. You can use this guide in your programs by"...
- helping students figure out where they are in their education,
- pointing them to relevant sections of the guide,
- providing direct access to online resources, or if direct access is not possible, download resources they are interested in,
- advising them on safe storage of their records,
- serving as a trusted sounding board as they figure out next steps.
I would also add that correctional educators could go through the guide in a small group with other educators, in their own correctional or reentry program or with other programs, in a virtual book-club-style discussion, perhaps taking a chapter at a time, discussing the ideas, looking at online links together, and talking through ways they could use or have used ideas from the guide with students.
What other suggestions for using the guide with students might work in your setting?
What’s the best way for instructors to access the guide? How can students access it?
Our goal is to get this guide into the hands of the learners that need it. We are working with tablet vendors to get it preloaded on devices used in correctional education programs, contacting facility administrators at prisons and jails, and of course including it in the LINCS Resource Collection.
The guide is currently available online in the (LINCS resource collection!) and we’ve designated it an “electronic version.” That’s because we know it will need to be updated again once the Pell grant changes are finalized. Then the guide will be made available in print, as we know that’s the common way it gets shared in correctional facilities.
For now, instructors can access the guide through LINCS. It also can be added to tablets and computers available in facilities (e.g., downloaded and made available as an offline document). Here's the link to it: https://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-276
How do you plan to use and share this guide?
The guide is currently available online in the (LINCS resource collection!) and we’ve designated it an “electronic version.” That’s because we know it will need to be updated again once the Pell grant changes are finalized. Then the guide will be made available in print, as we know that’s the common way it gets shared in correctional facilities.
For now, instructors can access the guide through LINCS. It also can be added to tablets and computers available in facilities (e.g., downloaded and made available as an offline document). Here's the link to it: https://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-276
How do you plan to use and share this guide?
Thanks, Laura and Jeff! This afternoon I also wanted to add that the updated information on financial aid (pp. 52-56) should be helpful for learners trying to navigate paying for college. I join you all in hoping this guide will continue to be updated, especially as PELL is reinstated and comes available to adults. Looking forward to everyone's thoughts and comments on the guide!