Education plans deserve support
Being behind bars is punishment, to be sure. Almost no one would choose to have their life tightly circumscribed and almost all their freedoms taken away.
But for all but the most monstrous offenders, being locked up should provide a path to rehabilitation, where an inmate can, with any luck, understand the errors that led to their incarceration, and acquire skills that will decrease the odds they will be making a second or third trip back to the jailhouse.
In a story in Monday’s Observer-Reporter, we reported on work by Washington School District and Washington County jail to offer a high school education and, ultimately, diplomas to anyone under the age of 21 who wants one. It fulfills a state and federal mandate that anyone under 21 is entitled to a free public education.
The Greene County jail also provides educational opportunities to its inmates and has a GED program that is overseen by the Intermediate Unit 1.
The efforts by Washington County’s jail and the city school district to provide educational opportunities to inmates were fortified last month when Washington School Board and the Washington County commissioners agreed to share the cost of hiring a facilitator with the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission who would help educate eligible inmates under age 21. The facilitator would also point inmates toward drug and alcohol programs regardless of their age. Public education and General Educational Development courses will be offered.
And, yes, high school dropouts will be able to start afresh and try to get a diploma.
Many studies have found educational programs in jails and prisons help inmates and appreciably reduce the likelihood that they will reoffend. In 2013, the RAND Corporation studied correctional education programs and found that inmates who participated in them were 43 percent less likely to end up back in prison. Another benefit: Inmates who received a vocational or academic education were 13 percent more likely to find employment after getting out of prison.
Moreover, educational programs in correctional facilities are cost-effective. The RAND report found $4 to $5 is saved in reincarceration costs for every dollar spent on correctional education.
Upon the release of the RAND study, Arne Duncan, who was then secretary of education, said “correctional education programs provide individuals with the skills and knowledge essential to their futures. Investing in these education programs helps released prisoners get back on their feet – and stay on their feet – when they return to communities across the country.”
Right now, a substitute teacher goes into Washington County jail to work with an inmate three days a week, and, according to Roberta DiLorenzo, the superintendent of Washington School District, there have been as many as five or six inmates who are receiving instruction in the jail. The hard part, she added, is finding teachers willing to go into the jail.
Let’s hope they find them. Edging inmates toward being productive, participating citizens will not only benefit them, but all of us.