August 19, 2015
On July
31, 2015, Secretary Duncan announced the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program during a
visit to the Maryland
Correctional Institution in Jessup, Maryland. The correctional facility has a
partnership with nearby Goucher College. The college is part of the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison, based at Bard College in
New York. According to the announcement the program is designed “to test new models to
allow incarcerated Americans to receive Pell Grants and pursue postsecondary education with the goal
of helping them get jobs, support their families, and turn their lives around.”
Notification of the pilot program was
published in the Federal Register, on August 3, 2015. Postsecondary educational institutions are encouraged to
review the full Federal Register
notice to learn more about applying for this program. Stakeholders in
correctional education are encouraged to follow the work of this pilot and the
programs of study for potential application to their own work with correctional
students.
The announcement indicates that the
program is part of the administration's commitment to “create a fairer, more
effective criminal justice system, reduce recidivism, and combat the impact of
mass incarceration on communities.”
Incarcerated individuals in this pilot program can access Pell Grants
to pursue postsecondary education and training, if they meet Title IV
eligibility requirements and are eligible for release (particularly within the
next five years). As given in the announcement, the program’s goal is
to increase inmates’ access “to high-quality educational opportunities and help
these individuals successfully transition out of prison and back into the
classroom or the workforce.” Incarcerated students participating in this
program who receive Pell Grants will be subject to attendance restrictions;
their grants can only be used to pay for tuition, fees, books, and supplies
required by an inmate’s education program. A final stipulation is that
incarcerated students receiving the grants will be ineligible to receive other
types of federal student aid.
As stated in the press release, “high-quality
correctional education — including postsecondary correctional education — has
been shown to measurably reduce re-incarceration rates. [And] by reducing
recidivism, correctional education can ultimately save taxpayers money and
create safer communities.” According to a U.S. Department of Justice-funded
2013 study from the RAND Corporation, as given in the release:
“….Incarcerated individuals who participated in
correctional education were 43 percent less likely to return to prison within
three years than prisoners who didn't participate in any correctional education
programs. …[And] it was estimated that for every dollar invested in
correctional education programs, four to five dollars are saved on three year
re-incarceration costs.
The Second Chance Pell Pilot Program is intended
to build upon previous administration efforts, such as the "My Brother's
Keeper Task Force." A report from
this task force, as reported in the announcement, recommended enforcing the
rights of incarcerated youths, including their access to a quality education
and the elimination of unnecessary barriers to their reentry. Additionally, late last year, the Departments
of Education and Justice released a Correctional Education
Guidance Package. This guidance was designed to
improve education programs in juvenile justice facilities, and clarify existing
rules around Pell Grant eligibility for youths housed in juvenile justice
facilities and individuals held in local and county jails. The pilot program is
expected to use this guidance to build and expand access to high-quality
postsecondary educational opportunities and support the successful reentry of
adults.Back to Top
The U.S. Department of
Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) recently released Educational Technology in Corrections 2015. This new
report details the current status of educational technologies in corrections,
existing and emerging approaches to providing such services in facilities, and
the successes and challenges of early implementers. The report states that it
is designed to inform federal, state, and local corrections officials, and
correctional education administrators, of ways to “securely and cost
effectively provide advanced technologies in corrections facilities to help
strengthen and expand educational and reentry services.”
Educational
Technology in
Corrections 2015 is an initial
response to the 2014 RAND report, Evaluating
the Effectiveness of Correctional Education. The new OCTAE report builds upon findings
from this earlier report, which laid out the challenges and opportunities that
technology presents for correctional education. OCTAE has entered this
educational arena with enormous respect for the legitimate security concerns of
correctional staff. But it also has
entered with an optimism that advances in electronic communications and
educational technology can be safely used to extend higher-quality teaching and
learning resources to correctional teachers and students.
Correctional settings create
significant barriers for educators, incarcerated students, and program partners
that must be accommodated in order to provide an effective teaching and
learning environment. The introduction of advanced technologies makes these
barriers even more apparent. While other education systems have expanded their
use of technology, correctional education has lagged behind. The major reason:
security concerns.
This report describes the
barriers to integrating technology in correctional education — including state
and local policies that prohibit incarcerated individuals from accessing the
Internet — and provides examples of ways some states and localities have
overcome these barriers. Insights from the report suggest that strengthening
correctional education services and using advanced technologies helps
correctional education programs reduce recidivism rates and ease the reentry
process.
The report details ways in which
correctional institutions are cautiously adopting advanced technologies to
“help prepare students to join our globally networked society; provide students
with access to online assessments; expand the professional development
resources available to instructors; support an education continuum for
incarcerated individuals; and, expand the reach of correctional education services.”
The report, produced under
contract by RTI International, concludes with recommendations for state
corrections agencies, facilities, and their education partners to consider as
they look for ways to strengthen and expand their correctional education
services. The recommendations focus on learning, assessment, teaching,
infrastructure, and productivity.Back to Top
On August, 17, 2015, the Office of Career,
Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) and the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released vision documents as part of the
department’s continuing efforts to assist states and local areas in
implementing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The
two documents describe a framework to support implementation activities and
recommend actions states should undertake to make an effective transition to
the WIOA and to help realize the vision for the Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act (AEFLA) and for vocational rehabilitation. Adult education and
family literacy and rehabilitation services are core programs under the act.
See the following for more information:
The U.S. departments
of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban
Development are soliciting comments concerning a collection of data that will
be used for unified and combined state plans under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The Required Elements for Submission of the
Unified or Combined State Plan and Plan Modifications under WIOA is a
consolidated information collection that would implement sections 102 and 103
of WIOA (P.L. 113-128). WIOA requires that, no later than
March 3, 2016, each state, at a minimum, must submit a unified state plan
as a condition of receiving funds for core programs subject to the unified
state plan requirements. As an alternative, states may submit a combined state
plan as a condition of receiving funds under certain named programs subject to
the combined state plan provisions.
The unified or combined state plan
requirements are designed to improve service integration and ensure that the
publicly funded workforce system provides a range of employment, education,
training, and related services. The requirements also aim to help all
jobseekers secure good jobs while providing businesses with the skilled workers
they need to compete in the global economy. To that end, the unified or
combined state plan would describe how the state will develop and implement a
unified, integrated service delivery system rather than discuss the state’s
approach to operating each program individually. For more information on
workforce innovation and opportunity see 29 U.S.C. §§ 3112 and
3113.
A copy of the
proposed Information Collection Request with applicable supporting
documentation may be accessed at http://www.regulations.gov by
searching for Docket ID number ETA-2015-0006 or by going directly here. The
comment period is open for 60 days and closes on October 5, 2015. The
department only considers comments that comply with the processes outlined in
the Federal Register.
Technical assistance materials will be available at http://wioa.workforce3one.org.Back to Top
The College and Career Readiness and Success
Center (CCRS Center), in partnership with the Center on Great Teachers and
Leaders (GTL Center) and RTI International, recently released a professional
learning module entitled “Integrating Employability Skills: A Framework for All
Educators.” Provided below is information to bring stakeholders unfamiliar with
the Employability Skills Framework up to speed.
The framework was developed as part of the
Support for States Employability Standards in Career and Technical Education
and Adult Education project, an OCTAE initiative. The framework development was
guided by a group of career and technical education (CTE), adult education,
workforce development, and business organizations.
These skills, which may be taught through the
education and workforce development systems, fall into three broad categories:
applied knowledge, effective relationships, and workplace skills.
The first category, applied knowledge,
encompasses both academic and technical knowledge, and applications in the
workplace. The second category, effective relationships, includes the
interpersonal skills required to maintain positive and productive relationships
with supervisors, coworkers, and team members. The third category, workplace
skills, encompasses the practical skills required to be productive in any type
of job, including time management, clear communication, and critical thinking. To learn more about the Employability Skills
Framework, please visit its homepage.
This new framework recognizes the importance
of nonacademic skills in the workforce, which students may not have the
opportunity to learn outside of classes before they graduate and are ready to
enter the job market. This framework seeks to integrate these skills into
traditional CTE classes and education programs so that students will be
prepared for the workforce regardless of backgrounds.
On
Thursday, July 16, 2015, the College and Career Readiness and Success Center
(CCRS Center), in partnership with the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders
(GTL Center) and RTI International, released “Integrating Employability Skills:
A Framework for All Educators.” This professional learning module — a
collection of customizable, train-the-trainer materials — is designed to build
knowledge and increase capacity to integrate and prioritize employability
skills at the state and local levels.
The
module includes PowerPoint slides, handouts, a sample agenda, a workbook, tools
for individuals or state work groups, and a facilitator’s guide designed to
accomplish the following:
- Introduce
participants to the Employability Skills Framework and its importance.
- Connect
employability skills with other education initiatives.
-
Provide
tools and strategies to prioritize employability skills at all levels.
According
to the CCRS Center, this module can be used by educators at the secondary,
postsecondary, and adult levels; state offices; regional comprehensive centers;
and by the employers themselves.
For
more information about the module and to view the CCRS Center’s guidelines for
use, please visit their website here.
To
learn more about the Employability Skills Framework itself, please visit its homepage.Back to Top
Economic Cost of Youth Disadvantage and
High Return Opportunities for Change (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/mbkreport_final.pdf), a recent report of the executive
office of the president, explains the administration’s position on the
importance of closing opportunity gaps and lowering barriers to achievement for
disadvantaged youths —especially youths of color. This position relates to both
the economic well-being of these individuals, and the economic well-being of
the United States. The report examines
the causes and consequences of the disadvantaged youth population and discusses
the potential economic benefits of improving the lives of disadvantaged youths.
The
report affirms President Obama’s belief that all Americans should be empowered
to make their own lives without being limited by the circumstances of their
birth. But today there are persistent gaps in opportunity for millions of
American youths related to barriers including the circumstances of their birth
that prevent them from reaching their potential and from contributing fully to
their communities and to our nation’s economy.
In
addition to the vast human costs these opportunity gaps and barriers to
achievement pose for youths of color, they also stifle the American economy by
lowering aggregate earnings, shrinking the labor market, and slowing economic
growth. Addressing these gaps and
barriers, the report avers, would result in substantial nation economic gains.
For example, closing educational gaps between working-age men of color and
non-Hispanic white men from 25 through 64 years old could produce an estimated
1.8 percent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Additionally, men of color would earn as much
as $170 billion more annually. This
would increase the average weekly earnings among U.S. workers overall by 3.6
percent. Furthermore, if our nation
closed the gap in labor force participation between 16- to 54-year-old men of
color and non-Hispanic white men of the same age, the total U.S. GDP would
increase by 2 percent.
In
addition to describing the benefits that both these young individuals and the
nation would accrue from leveling the playing field, the report finds
continuing and persistent evidence that a lack of opportunity, as well as other
barriers, thwart the progress of these youths.
The report describes disparities in education, in exposure to the
juvenile and criminal justice systems, and in employment.
Closing
the gaps and mitigating the barriers require substantial investments in the
lives of disadvantaged young people. The report points to programs that show
promise of improving outcomes for these youths — programs that it says can
generate benefits that are more than three times their costs.
The
report concludes that the consequences of the disparities provide compelling
evidence that our nation — in its own self-interest as well as the
self-interest of the disadvantaged youth — must work to improve opportunities
for all youths but particularly for young men of color.Back to Top
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