David,

Our experience is that a successful transition from a prison education
program to a community based program is difficult. There are so many
things that have to happen:

- First, as you surmised, so many people "coming home" have multiple
issues that need to get addressed before they can focus on education -
most importantly, housing and employment. Some folks do come home with a
place to live, but many do not and end up in shelters. And even for
those who do have a place to go, the place is often a couch in their
friend's or aunt's apartment. 

Employment is also critical, particularly for people on parole.
Employment is usually mandated for parolees. If they don't find a job,
they run the risk of getting locked up again. Needless to say, finding a
job is difficult, particularly in this day and age when so much of our
personal information is available to every potential employer on the
internet. 

I believe it helps if people land in a place that 
- offers wraparound services, so that people can come to the doors and
find employment services, supportive housing or housing referrals,
education, and transitional counseling in the same place. 
- has staff members who have been incarcerated themselves. They are more
likely to be able to understand and relate to what the newly released
student is going through. 

However, I don't believe people coming home have to be in programs
specifically designed for the formerly incarcerated. What matters most
is that we have caring, empathetic staff who don't make summary
judgments about people based on their past experiences. I'm sure that
many, if not most, adult education programs already serve people who
have been incarcerated - perhaps without knowing it.

john 


-----Original Message-----
From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David J. Rosen
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 7:12 PM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 857] From corrections education to
communityeducation

For all our guests:

When an inmate who has been in an education program inside a state
corrections institution or county jail and is released, what needs to
happen for him or her to connect to and stick with a community-based
education program? Do these events need to happen immediately mon
release or can they be phased in over time after housing, shelter,
counseling and job needs are met? Are you aware of any exemplary models
of connections between inside education and community based education
programs? Can you tell us about them? What can community- based
education programs do to partner with corrections education programs
that release inmates back to their communities?

David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net



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