Building the bridge from community corrections to community education programs.

Shane, whose parents are both deaf, was born with normal hearing. As a child, sign language became his first language. Although his mother shared books with him, the spoken language did not become a reality for him until he went to kindergarten. For whatever reasons, Shane always struggled in school and dropped out by the eighth grade. By then, he was already involved in drugs and alcohol. He was sentenced to West Central Community-Based Correctional Facility in Marysville, Ohio, at age 18 for aggravated burglary.

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On the other end of the academic spectrum is Matthew. He scored in the college range on standardized reading and math tests. Although he was heavily involved in substance abuse in high school, he did graduate. "School was the place to go to get high and find out where all the parties were," said Matthew. "I always skated through without having to study." By the age of 20, he was sentenced to West Central for drug possession.

Shane and Matthew are not too different from other adults in correctional facilities. While these two men have many commonalties, their educational needs are very different. Like Shane, there are many incarcerated individuals with learning difficulties. There is no clear data with exact percentages of how many inmates have learning disabilities, but what is known is that there appears to be an overrepresentation of people with learning disabilities among correctional populations. (1) In addition, only 51 percent of inmates have completed high school or its equivalent, compared with 76 percent of the general population. (2) The reality is that while many inmates do get their GEDs or high school diplomas while incarcerated, there are numerous inmates who need additional educational services upon release, including Matthew, whose lifelong goal is to become a mechanical engineer. West Central staff believe in lifelong learning; therefore, all residents must participate in educational programming throughout their stay. Research shows that inmates who participate in educational programming while incarcerated have a lower rate of recidivism. (3)

Program Overview

West Central Community-Based Correctional Facility is a 90-bed facility for adult male nonviolent felony offenders, serving eight counties in central Ohio. As a community-based correctional facility that uses the therapeutic community treatment modality, West Central embodies all definitions of community. The sense of community, both inside and outside the prison walls, are ingrained in residents and staff. For example, staff build a community as each department coordinates with the others to assess all aspects of every resident's treatment program, from security to clinical. The residents strengthen their community with peer support and then give back to their local communities through community service. The process of internalizing the sense of similarity or likeness with others while a resident at West Central and then taking those daily living skills and applying them in one's home locality develops community, which is just the beginning of a resident's process of reintegration. Although this sense of community permeates all departments of West Central, the process described here will be the education linkage with the resident's community.

Linking inmates to their communities is not a new concept; many post-release centers focus on helping felony offenders obtain housing and employment. At West Central, the education staff are the natural link for offenders to receive educational services in their communities. The purpose of the Education Community Linkage Program at West Central is to meet residents' needs in a changing work force by coordinating employability skills and interests with education. As residents set goals, the direction is always coordinated with career and education. The developed education linkage program at West Central guides residents to work on needed educational skills and apply those toward their future education and career attainment. The average length of stay is 152 days; therefore, it is necessary to narrow the educational needs early so that residents can receive services based on their needs and goals.

Shortly after intake, West Central residents complete an individual career assessment (Career Scope), which provides a printout of career aptitude and interests, and the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System, a standardized test that measures their employability competencies in reading and math. Education staff then review these assessment outcomes with each resident. Based on the education standardized test score and information gained from informal assessments, such as a learning styles inventory, writing sample and goal setting, residents are placed in one of three education areas to meet their needs--GED, literacy or continuing education. GED and literacy students attend classes with the program goal of improving their basic skills in their three main societal roles: that of parent, worker and community member. (4) While many of GED and literacy residents' primary goals is to obtain their GEDs, the educators incorporate life skills into the lessons as part of the reintegration process by using academics in real-life contexts. If needed, the teacher-instructed class includes computer-assisted instruction and support services such as one-on-one tutoring. Residents placed in continuing education have already obtained a GED or high school diploma so they work on individual computer-assisted instruction and begin researching vocational and college opportunities. Many residents obtain their GEDs while at West Central and then begin researching vocational or college programs.

All residents also attend a careers class and are required to research the results of their career assessments. For example, they find out what education or certification is required for specific career fields, other related jobs in that field, job outlook, pay, etc. All of this information is written in a standard form called a seminar. Seminars are a therapeutic community tool used for residents to research and present their information to others. Throughout their stay at West Central, residents have to research and present several seminar topics, one of which must be a career seminar. In addition to gaining knowledge about career options, writing a career seminar and presenting the information to a large group helps residents learn written and oral communication skills, which are valuable in the job market. A resident's history is considered when reviewing careers due to some licenses being difficult or impossible to obtain based on felony offenses. In this situation, residents are given the contacts of licensing boards so they can write a letter to see if they can obtain certification or a license in the desired field.

Linking With the Community

The linkage process began in July 2001 when education staff realized that in order to effectively work with the educational services in eight counties, they needed to get out and physically visit each program and establish a working relationship with each one. If staff could personalize each local program and be a conduit for information, it could help relieve some fears residents have about reintegrating back into society. A West Central staff member made contacts with GED/literacy programs, vocational schools and colleges in each of the counties served. That bridge needed to be built between West Central and the various programs in order to exchange information and build support for residents both before and after their release. Therefore, a staff member is continually making visits and collecting materials. Information was necessary before release so that residents were able to make education program choices that they could continue after release, which was the primary purpose of the community education linkage program.

In an effort to assist residents with information gathering, county notebooks and education fairs are organized. County program notebooks contain information on education programs offered in each resident's community. The notebooks are divided into three sections: vocational schools, GED/literacy programs and colleges. Each includes available program information, application procedures, maps, financial aid opportunities, schedules and any additional documents pertaining to the program.

An education fair is organized twice each year, inviting various education programs representing GED/literacy, vocational schools and college opportunities within the served counties. Each visiting program gives a brief presentation about its offerings, provides materials and answers residents' questions. Former residents also attend to share their education experiences after they were released. A student panel is then introduced, which includes former residents and nontraditional students. Panel members share experiences and answer questions for residents about continuing their education upon release. Many residents are concerned not only with the fear of starting a new program but also balancing the everyday life demands of job, family and school. West Central has found the education fair to be a valuable learning experience for residents and a beneficial linkage for correctional staff as camaraderie is continually developed with the program staff. In turn, when representatives from community education programs visit West Central, they become more receptive to helping residents because they have a better understanding of offenders and community-based corrections.

The community link is made with staff support and materials provided to assist residents with their educational goals for basic literacy, GED, vocational school or college. When college is the selected path, residents also need to consider finances and the opportunities available to them when they return home. Residents considering college complete the federal government financial aid form (FAFSA), college application and college entrance testing. Some residents require more assistance than others and staff are available to guide the residents, but it is important that residents take the initiative to move forward in their career and education goals. If necessary, personal visits by the residents to the school can also be arranged for entrance testing or to make the resident more comfortable so that he or she will continue the process after release. Many times, residents just need support and assistance to take the first step toward a new or unfamiliar education program.

Once residents are released, there is a 180-day follow-up program in place to help support them in their education goals. A portfolio is developed for residents to take with them, which includes information about educational skills they gained while at West Central. Phone calls are made and letters are sent after release to help encourage and motivate the residents to remain concentrated on their goals and offer assistance if needed.

Since the correctional residents are a transient population, follow-up has been difficult. Phone lines are disconnected and letters have been returned, which hinders the ability to collect accurate data. In the future, a qualitative study could be conducted involving randomly selected residents. Communication between parole officers and West Central education staff could also be improved, which would help provide the current address and phone numbers as residents relocate in the community. Based on anecdotal evidence, the outcomes of this program are proving to be successful and can only be improved.

Program Costs

Initial costs required approximately 80 hours of staff time and a few additional resources other than those already being used in the education department. The initial staff time included making contacts and visiting various county education programs. To continue building the bridge with the community and to familiarize the West Central staff with the available programs, other visits have been made to various county programs since the initial contacts. Additional resources include the county notebooks that were developed as resource guides for the residents.

Time needed to continue the program after initial start-up time varies based on residents' needs but averages one to two hours per week. Community education programs have eagerly added West Central to their mailing lists, providing the facility with ongoing resources.

Positive Outcomes

Shane spent five months at West Central working on his recovery issues, and educational and employment skills. As part of the sense of community that residents internalize, Shane also taught the other residents sign language. Shane accomplished his short-term goals of improving his reading, writing and math skills, but he still had a long way to go on his long-term goal--getting his GED. In the face of limited staff resources, it would be easy to send him out the front door with the expectation that, as an adult, he would go to his home community and look up his local GED program in the phone book, make an appointment to visit the center and then start attending until he earns his GED. Or, staff could be a little more involved in his aftercare and send him out the door with the name and phone number of his local GED program and hope that he follows through. That is where West Central's reintegration process is different. Shane's teacher went to the local GED program before he was discharged. By visiting the new program and meeting the staff there, she was able to describe the new environment to Shane, which helped ease some of his fears and heightened his anticipation about the new program. Two days after he was released, the teacher picked up Shane at his home and took him to visit his local GED program. He was able to get acquainted face-to-face with the teachers and students. When she called him a month later, he was still attending. West Central staff role model this sense of community and support residents the way that staff expect residents to support one another.

Matthew spent four months at West Central. In addition to his clinical programming and vocational training, he also completed his educational requirements, working on college-level math lessons on a computer academic program. He knew that he would have to have strong math skills to succeed in a college engineering program. While at West Central, he shared his sense of community by being a peer tutor for the other residents. Matthew came back 18 months after he had been successfully discharged--not as a resident, but as a college student. As a guest at the education fair, he shared with the other residents his experiences of his new life in recovery and as a member of the dean's list at a state college. He attributes his success to the "tools, patience and structure" he learned from living in a therapeutic community. Matthew told residents, "By making a plan while being locked up, it helped me focus on what's important. I used time here to study, and when staff took me for a college visit and to take my placement test, I knew I was on my way. I was able to start college right after being discharged."

Does this sense of community and support help residents reintegrate back into society? According to the West Central three-year follow-up study, 82 percent of residents have not been reincarcerated. With a coordinated effort between all departments, residents are treated holistically. From the day residents arrive at West Central until the day they leave, they learn pro-social skills to take back to their home communities. Their responsibility is to continue using and refining their skills, and staff's responsibility is to give them the resources to take with them. Thus, the education linkage program ensures that the same education staff who help the resident set initial goals continue with him during education services at West Central, and also complete follow up with him after release. The education linkage program is a valuable tool for successful reintegration.

ENDNOTES

(1) Corley, M. and J. Taymans. 2001. Enhancing services to inmates with learning disabilities. Systemic reform of prison literacy programs. Journal of Correctional Education, 52(2):14-22.

(2) Kerka, S. 1995, Literacy behind prison walls. Columbus, Ohio: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education.

(3) Smith, L., S. Streurer and A. Tracy. 2001. Office of Correctional Education/Correctional Education Association three state recidivism study. Lanham, Md.: Correctional Education Association.

(4) Bingham, B. and S.G. Stein. 2001. Results that matter: An approach to program quality using equipped for the future. Washington, D.C.: National Institute for Literacy.

Donna Albanese is an education coordinator at West Central Community-Based Correctional Facility in Marysville, Ohio. Cindy Price is a correctional education teacher at Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility in Marion, Ohio, and an adult education instructor at West Central. Together, they developed the Education Community Linkage Program at West Central.