College for Convicts in New Jersey
BY SYDNEY GAYDA / NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM https://www.federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/prison-education/Image courtesy forbes.com
The New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Consortium (NJ-STEP) is revolutionizing how inmates will integrate back into society after their release. College-level classes, now offered to prisoners during their incarceration, are expected to offer “an invaluable boost to incarcerated students, help reduce the rates of recidivism and, cut public spending,” according to NJ.com.
“First launched in 2012, the program is being expanded through a $4 million in grants Rutgers received from The Fort Foundation and The Sunshine Lady Foundation.” The program has now expanded to seven correctional facilities across the state. At the Albert C. Wagner Correctional Facility in Bordentown, NJ, a select group of young inmates are taking classes in mostly every subject- from medieval history to sculpture. Once released, inmates are able to redeem their credits at “Mercer County Community College, Rutgers University and several other state institutions.”
Bridget Clerkin, for The Times, reported earlier this week that results of the program have been “positively extraordinary”. Recent research done by the Rand Corporation indicates that “inmates who participate in correctional education programs are 43 percent less likely to go back to prison. And employment after release is 13 percent higher among prisoners who participated in either academic or vocational education programs.”
