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Panel spotlights postsecondary prison education as a path to safer facilities and jobs
Summary
Experts at a Midwestern Compact panel urged expanding college programs inside prisons, citing research that participants have a 48% lower chance of returning to prison, workforce demand for middle-skill jobs, and the need to combine federal, state and private funding to scale programs.
A panel convened by the Midwestern Compact on postsecondary education for incarcerated people highlighted research and program models that panelists said reduce recidivism, improve facility safety and connect returning residents to jobs.
Alan Wakendorfer, program manager at the Vera Institute of Justice, said research shows "people who participate in post secondary education opportunities while they're in prison have a 48 percent lower odds of returning to prison than those who do not participate." He also cited cost-savings, saying each dollar invested in such programs yields roughly a $4 return from reduced incarceration costs.
Sean Addy, director of the Office of Correctional Education and of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education, described the department's role in…
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