Education programs in prisons help to reduce recidivism rates. These education programs can be used to help inmates with reentry, all across the country. Unfortunately, these programs, and subsequently the human rights of inmates, are in jeopardy. Due to financial and political reasons, some education programs are cut and enrollment in programs is dropping. Instead of funding and rehabilitating prisoners, money is directed at building more prisons. Additionally, legislation to support inmate education has been cut back or ignored while other hindrances have appeared. The inmate is in danger of having no preparation for reentry and will likely wind up back in prison. There is a downward trend in prisoner enrollment in education programs. A
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This eliminated the opportunity for and right to education for many prisoners. Due to this early 1990s ruling many prisons shut down their educational programs or ended agreements with local education institutes (Boulard 2005). Even though “prison education has long been a traditional higher-education concern, with more than 350 individual two-year and four-year college programs offering classes to 38,000 students nationally by the early 1990s,” the restriction of Pell Grants to prisoners all but ended that trend (Boulard …show more content…
It was going to be a government solution for a government created problem. The act was signed into law in 2008, but funding has been inconsistent and insufficient. While President Bush requested $300 million to expand prisoner rights and help them with reentry, Congress only apportioned $25 million for pilot programs in selected locations and in most cases (Katel 2009). This funding did not go very far since some states did not receive support for reentry programs and most of the money just went to physical prison needs not prisoner needs (Katel 2009). In fact, 94 percent of the close to $22 billion prison budget has gone to construction and maintenance of the prisons while only the remaining six percent is allocated for education programs (Boulard 2005). This poor distribution of funds is restricting prisoners from education that they desperately need. A situation of poor management and allocation is exemplified in California’s prison
This eliminated the opportunity for and right to education for many prisoners. Due to this early 1990s ruling many prisons shut down their educational programs or ended agreements with local education institutes (Boulard 2005). Even though “prison education has long been a traditional higher-education concern, with more than 350 individual two-year and four-year college programs offering classes to 38,000 students nationally by the early 1990s,” the restriction of Pell Grants to prisoners all but ended that trend (Boulard …show more content…
It was going to be a government solution for a government created problem. The act was signed into law in 2008, but funding has been inconsistent and insufficient. While President Bush requested $300 million to expand prisoner rights and help them with reentry, Congress only apportioned $25 million for pilot programs in selected locations and in most cases (Katel 2009). This funding did not go very far since some states did not receive support for reentry programs and most of the money just went to physical prison needs not prisoner needs (Katel 2009). In fact, 94 percent of the close to $22 billion prison budget has gone to construction and maintenance of the prisons while only the remaining six percent is allocated for education programs (Boulard 2005). This poor distribution of funds is restricting prisoners from education that they desperately need. A situation of poor management and allocation is exemplified in California’s prison