REENTRY EDUCATION: LESSONS LEARNED AND

NEXT STEPS

August 26, 2015

Lul Tesfai, OCTAE

Michelle Tolbert, RTI International

Wendy Erisman, Strix Research LLC

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Agenda

Welcome and Introductions

The Reentry Education Model

The Implementation Study

Federal Activities Supporting Reentry

Next Steps

Group Discussion

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Reentry Education Model

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Original Reentry Model

Goal

To coordinate services among institutional and community-based

education providers and their partners to ensure individuals in the

correctional population can progress through their education path as

their correctional status changes

Development

Developed using findings from an environmental scan of the

literature

Revised based on feedback from a panel

of experts

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Original Reentry Education Model

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Education Services

Align programs with those in

the community

Align programs with labor market

and jobs without criminal history

restrictions

Offer cognitive-based skills instruction

Use technology to enhance and increase program access

Provide flexibility in program schedules to accommodate jobs or

other work opportunities

Ensure needed support and employment services are provided

Develop a student recruitment and retention strategy

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Program Infrastructure

Resources

Strategic partnerships

Electronic data systems

Staff training

Policy

Evaluation

Intake in Facility

Assess knowledge, skills,

and occupational interests

Engage individual in creating

an education and career plan

Use information to determine

eligibility and timing for education services

Record information in a centralized electronic data

system

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Prerelease

Provide transcripts and

test scores

Ensure timely transfer of data

to community supervision

and new provider

Assist individual with revising education and career plan

and applying for financial aid, if applicable

Connect students to community-based education programs

through in-reach services and program referrals

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Intake in Community

For individuals transitioning

from incarceration:

Connect with individual through

in-reach services

Ensure timely data transfer

Help with revisions of the education and career plan

and applications for financial aid, if applicable

Communicate regularly with all partners working with individual

For individuals moving directly into community supervision,

follow steps outlined under “Intake in Facility”

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Model Outcome

Individual employed long-term

in a living-wage occupation

and transitions successfully

out of court supervision

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Promoting Reentry Success through Continuity of

Educational Opportunities (PRSCEO)

Demonstrate the benefits of implementing the model by

providing grants to three sites

Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Western Technical College, La Crosse, Wisconsin

Barton Community College, Great Bend, Kansas

Provide technical assistance (TA) to grantees

Document the sites’ implementation experiences

Share resources, TA tools, and project findings with the field

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Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13,

Lancaster, PA

Challenges:

Demand for GED classes outweighed capacity

Coordination with workforce services was lacking

Goals:

Enhance adult education services for persons with criminal histories

Strengthen pipeline from incarceration to community education

Used PRSCEO funds to:

Increased number of GED classes at the prison

Created reentry-focused GED classes at the local one-stop

Provided instructor time for case management

Western Technical College, La Crosse, WI

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Challenges:

GED classes at jail were not well integrated with those on campus

Transitions for students from the jail to the campus were challenging

Goal:

Help students make a successful transition from jail-based classes

to college when released

Used PRSCEO funds to:

Developed new certificate program

Hired coordinator with experience in community reentry work

Established or expanded partnerships with other community

agencies

Barton Community College, Great Bend, KS

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Challenge:

Well-established program, but needed to clarify processes

Goal:

Improve and document processes for recruiting, advising,

enrolling, and retaining incarcerated students

Used PRSCEO funds to:

Structured and streamlined enrollment process

Developed procedures manual for correctional education

program

Covered tuition for incarcerated students enrolled in

postsecondary courses

PRSCEO

Implementation Study

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Implementation Study Methods

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Tell story of model implementation

Identify strengths and limitations

Covers first full year of project implementation

Data collection largely qualitative

Review of relevant documents

Two multi-day visits to each site

Interviews and focus groups

Target Audience for Model

State prisons versus county jails

Valuable tool for both settings

But certain elements play out in different ways

Length of incarceration

Availability of pre-release services

Geographical area served

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Revised Reentry Education Model

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Strategic Partnerships

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Key partner = correctional facilities

Partnership strategies

Resource mapping

Building buy-in

Communication

Preparing for change

Program Infrastructure

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Program capacity

Staff, space, and technology

Funding and sustainability

Data and evaluation

Policy

Education Services

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Core of model, essential to student success

Evidence-based practices

Motivational interviewing

Cognitive-based skills

Peer tutoring and mentoring

Career Pathways

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Stackable credentials aligned with industry sector

Contextualized and integrated learning strategies

Career navigation

Soft skills training

Job search assistance

Wrap-around support

services

Transitions—Correctional Facility

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Recruitment

More interest than available class slots

Selection process important

Retention

Follow up with stop-outs

Release

Start planning early

Transitions—Community Program

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Recruitment

Can’t always enroll students immediately after release

Follow-up helpful but time-consuming

Referrals are crucial

Retention

Follow up with stop-outs

Offer help

Communicate with partners

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Reentry Education Model Comparison

Update on Federal Activities

Supporting Reentry

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Workforce Innovation and Opportunity

Act (WIOA)

WIOA continues to support a range of education and job

training activities for incarcerated individuals to promote

successful reentry and reduce recidivism

Most WIOA provisions went into effect on July 1, 2015

Funds now can be used for activities authorized under

Section 225 of WIOA

WIOA regulation will not be finalized until 2016; OCTAE

released a factsheet clarifying changes under the new law

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Adult Reentry Education

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Promoting Reentry Success through

Continuity of Educational

Opportunities (PRSCEO)

Revised Reentry Education Model

Improved Reentry Education (IRE)

Improved Reentry Education (IRE)

IRE seeks to demonstrate that high-quality, appropriately

designed, integrated, and well-implemented educational and

related services in institutional and community settings are

critical in supporting educational attainment and reentry

success for individuals who have been incarcerated

$300,000 average award size for each year, over 3 years

Awards will be made by September 30, 2015

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Juvenile Reentry Education

Notice inviting application for Juvenile Justice Reentry

Education Program: Opening Doors to College and Careers

through Career and Technical Education

Purpose is to improve outcomes for justice-involved youth through career and technical education (CTE) programs, reentry services, and employment training opportunities

Primary grant recipients will be Perkins eligible CTE programs, however, applicants must propose to implement a project in partnership with a juvenile justice agency, local educational agency, postsecondary institution and/or workforce development agency

Additional partners can include social service and child welfare agencies, community-based organizations, and employers and labor organizations

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Second Chance Pell

What: Experiment waiving ban on

incarcerated students accessing Pell Grants

Who: Title IV eligible postsecondary

education institutions, in partnership with

Federal/State penal institutions, can apply to

distribute Pell Grants to incarcerated

students eligible for release, particularly

within 5 years

Why: test whether financial aid increases

access to high-quality postsecondary

education and influences academic and life

outcomes

When

: Applications due October 2, 2015

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Ability to Benefit (ATB)

ATB allows students without a high

school diploma or its equivalent to

access Federal financial aid if they

are enrolled in an eligible career

pathway program

Roughly 46% of individuals in local

and county jails lack a high school

diploma

ATB has the potential improve access

to Pell-funded postsecondary

programs for locally-detained

individuals

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Education Technology in Correction

Report is intended to inform federal, state, and

local corrections and correctional education

administrators as they explore ways to

securely and cost-effectively provide advanced

technologies in corrections facilities to help

strengthen and expand educational and

reentry services.

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Federal Reentry Council - Purpose

Support the Administration’s efforts in advancing public

safety and well-being through enhanced communication,

coordination, and collaboration across Federal agency

initiatives that:

Make communities safer by reducing recidivism and victimization

Assist those returning from prison and jail in becoming productive citizens

Save taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration

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Federal Reentry Council – Recent Efforts

Reducing barriers to employment

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) revised its Myth Buster on Federal Hiring

The Department of Labor (DOL) awarded Linking Employment Activities Pre-release (LEAP) grants to support the development and implementation of specialized American Job Centers (AJCs) inside correctional facilities

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is conducting a project to examine the barriers faced by individuals with a criminal record who are trying to enter the healthcare workforce

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Federal Reentry Council – Recent Efforts

Increasing access to health care and treatment for justice-

involved individuals

The Department of Justice (DOJ) funded a new web tool that includes state-by-state profiles with information about the health system and health coverage options

HHS made regulatory changes that facilitate payment of incentives when correctional facilities adopt electronic health records

HHS and DOJ’s National Institute of Corrections (NIC) are testing the efficacy of enrolling individuals in prison or jail in Medicaid prior to release

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Federal Reentry Council – Recent Efforts

Increasing access to quality education for confined youth

ED and DOJ released a correctional education guidance package to inform the efforts of states, school districts, and juvenile justice facilities that serve system-involved youth. Guidance package includes:

Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings

Dear Colleague Letter on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for Students with Disabilities in Correctional Facilities

Dear Colleague Letter on the Civil Rights of Students in Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities

Dear Colleague Letter on Access to Pell Grants for Students in Juvenile Justice Facilities

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Federal Reentry Council – Myth Busters

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Next Steps

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Reentry Education Tool Kit

Reentry Education Framework report

Will include guidelines, tools, resources, and examples from demonstration sites

Reentry Education Tool Kit website

Will include guidelines, tools, resources, and an instructional video demonstrating how to use report and website

Report and website will be available fall/winter 2015

Group Discussion

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Discussion Questions

How is your state supporting a reentry education

continuum in its jails and prisons?

How will your approach be affected by WIOA?

What challenges have your programs experienced with

developing a reentry education continuum?

Have you identified any effective practices related to

developing a reentry education continuum?

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Contact Information

Lul Tesfai: Lul.Tesfai@ed.gov

Michelle Tolbert: Mtolbert@rti.org

Wendy Erisman: werisman@strixresearch.com

PRSCEO Implementation Study

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/correctio

nal-education.html

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