NCJ Number
172196
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 48 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1997) Pages: 70-72
Date Published
1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This paper describes how Ohio was able to continue its post- secondary education program for inmates following the U.S. Congress' elimination of Pell educational grants for inmates.
Abstract
The 1993 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act eliminated inmate access to Pell monies. In Ohio, however, all was not lost, because inmates were still eligible for Ohio Instructional Grants through the Ohio Board of Regents. Still, during the first year of the loss of Pell monies, overall participation in post-secondary education fell statewide from an average of 3,698 students per term to an average of 2,396 students per term. Two State universities withdrew from correctional institutions since it was no longer financially feasible for them to deliver classes. During this transition, the Ohio Penal Education Consortium (OPEC) -- an organization of 13 colleges and universities founded in the 1970s to promote correctional education in the State -- acted quickly to work with State legislators to preserve post-secondary funding. OPEC and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections launched a statewide recidivism study of all education programs, including college and university programs. In addition, OPEC initiated mandatory programs in community service for all inmate students at all sites as part of their "payback" to the State. OPEC colleges and universities also began to track the various contributions made by their respective institutions to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Finally, the executive officers of OPEC testified before the legislature in an attempt to persuade legislators about the value of correctional education. Armed with its research, OPEC was in a strong position to influence the report that was eventually released by the Penal Education Study Committee in August 1996. Based on Committee recommendations, OPEC established seven task forces in cooperation with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to implement the recommendations. Out of those task forces has emerged a new plan that keeps the core of post-secondary correctional education in tact for the foreseeable future. 1 table and 5 references