Wendy,

Here in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) we have an Adult Education Program
in the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) serving about 500 inmates per year.
It is a voluntary program and inmates who do not have a diploma are able
to work toward obtaining a GED; inmates who do have a diploma or who
have obtained a GED are able to enroll in our computer literacy program
which incorporates a life/job readiness skills curriculum.  It includes
a component focused on producing a portfolio which includes a resume,
sample pre and post interview letters, and work products created by the
learner.  Our family literacy program also addresses early childhood
literacy and parenting issues, particularly related to separation of
inmates and their children.   We have also developed a program to train
inmates to tutor other inmates and provide the tutors with extensive
professional development.  

 

Our program is part of a collaborative of programs housed both in and
outside the ACJ, which serve inmates while incarcerated and upon
re-entry to the community.  Programs include shelters, D & A treatment
programs, MH services, Fatherhood Programs, and programs for female
offenders, to name a few.   Our adult education program has organized
job/resource fairs within the ACJ which connect inmates with future
employers and services they may need when they are released.  We offer
information to employers about financial incentives available to them
when they hire ex-offenders and connect inmates with resources to assist
them in working toward expunging their criminal records, in cases where
that is possible.  

 

In answer to your question, I believe that the GED in combination with
the support that inmates need to transition successfully to the
community can be very valuable.  Actually, preparing for and passing the
GED can be a very empowering experience.  For some who may not have had
many successes in their lives, it opens a world of possibilities.  Many
learners tell us that they would never have had whatever it takes to
enroll in and complete a GED prep course while living in the community.
But the experience while incarcerated has taught them a lot about
discipline, perseverance, their own abilities and the desire to be more
than they have been.    For some, it can be a life-changing experience.
The credential itself is a gateway to further training/education.  Our
local community college, CCAC, offers a free college course to anyone in
the county who passes the GED.  Learners are encouraged to connect with
CCAC to explore career options and training.  We have had inmate tutors
who started out in our GED prep program, leave ACJ, and based on their
educational and tutoring experience, enroll in a college program to
prepare for a career in education.  In regard to employment, a GED or HS
diploma is a minimum criteria for even entry level jobs.   We have
developed relationships with employers willing to hire ex-offenders, and
that is very important connection.  An inmate's ability to maintain that
job has a great deal to do with future success in the transition process
and moving forward on a career path. 

 

The success of an ex-offender depends on a myriad of factors.  The GED
is just one of the tools in his/her toolbox in preparing to transition,
but without the GED, the possibility for success is limited.  

 

Mary Mulroy

Director, Adult Education & Workforce Development Programs

Allegheny Intermediate Unit

475 East Waterfront Drive

Homestead, PA 15120

412-394-5876

412-394-5835 fax

mary.mulroy at aiu3.net

 

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Jackson, Wendy
P.
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 10:52 PM
To: povertyracewomen at nifl.gov
Subject: RE: Devaluing education

 

Hello fellow listers,

 

Mostly, I just lurk because I was blessed with a job at a time when I
really needed it in the Adult Ed field and I knew NOTHING about
education or the adult aspects of it. I have always thought you can
learn as you go if you connect yourself to the right resources, so I
subscribed to a couple of lists and began the learning process.
Sometimes the thread is so above my knowledge that I have to go on a
learning expedition to learn! Others, I am challenged to find out who I
am based on my thoughts about the items discussed. The topic of GEDs and
prisoners has just struck such a deep chord within me that I have
followed any and every comment posted on it. I even broke my no posting
code to say we should not place our emphasis on stats. Again, I am
driven to comment.

 

I am currently enrolled in the local Community College. I have just
finished an Intro to Sociology class where we learned the theories
connected to deviant behaviors. One such theory was called the Labeling
Theory. This was where the individual was labeled as bad for so long,
they began to believe it and live it. They saw no way to avoid becoming
what they were labeled. I have seen this happen in real life. We place a
person in a jail or detention center. They are told they have done wrong
and are there to be rehabilitated. As a part of the process, they are
told getting their GED will help them to stay straight outside. It will
give them a way to support themselves, a way to win back the respect of
their loved ones. They are released back into society. The debt that
society said they owed is paid. GED in hand. AND NOTHING! 

 

Is the GED only as good as the person who earned it has been? Does that
not devalue the purpose of adult education and GEDs? I understand the
"God give me the strength to accept the things I can not change"
philosophy but refusing to go into the fray before knowing what can be
changed, I do not understand. If the GED has conditional value, then we
need to tell all of the ones that earn a GED that its value is
conditional on the life they have lived. Help me here! I do not see this
as an issue we should just let be. If the value of the GED is
conditional, why spend all of the dollars spent on GED? Why not just put
it into building better jails? 

 

I do not want my qualifications based on the 20 something that had no
education and could not keep a job 90 days.  I refuse to allow my
yesterday to control my tomorrow and offenders who have served their
time, ought not be forced to do so either - primate or not.

 

 

 

Wendy Jackson

Roane County Adult Education

________________________________




From: "Jones-Turner, Patricia" <JonesTurnerP at chesterfield.gov>
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 104] Re: economic impact of earning a GED

Sure that is true UNLESS you are the inmate. 

-----Original Message-----
From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
TraceyAssociates at aol.com
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 11:55 AM
To: povertyracewomen at nifl.gov
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 94] Re: economic impact of earning a GED



Greetings:

In fairness, one has to sadly admit that discrimination by race, color,
and a million other measures is certainly not a uniquely American
phenomenon, but a universal problem among almost all peoples since the
dawn of time. (Anyone who bothered to join this web site is well aware
of this, but it helps to be reminded now and then to temper ones anger
at the blind injustice and mess we have made of the world we live in.)

We are primates with clothing and better tools - but still primates.

To paraphrase Carl Sagan, the amount of time man has been walking the
Earth since the beginning of the universe can be measured in the blink
of an eye. These and other social ills will not be solved in our
lifetime, or perhaps any lifetime considering the accelerating pace of
nuclear proliferation. One just does what one can.

As for prisons, it should be no surprise that most rehab programs are
poorly conceived, underfunded, and often ineffective. It will always be
so if there is no $$ in it for the special interest lobbies. When it
becomes more profitable to run community-based prison rehab problems
with meaningful performance measures, they will be everywhere.

As the Irish say, It tis what it tis.  Accepting this fact helps us get
on with the business of doing whatever they can with whatever tools we
have available at the time.

Carpe diem.

Paul Tracey 
www.learningaboutdiabetes.org <http://www.learningaboutdiabetes.org/> 

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