For incarcerated, Pell Grants a lifeline to the future
Employer demands for relevant skills are changing, so Maryland must develop affordable, accessible education pipelines that align with workforce needs.
In a recent announcement that should not be overlooked, the U.S. Department of Education recently laid the foundation for a monumental, generation-defining shift that will help people in prison successfully re-enter society.
On July 30, the department tannounced it will expand the Second Chance Pell experiment for the 2022-23 award year. Launched in 2015, the Second Chance Pell experiment provides Pell Grants to incarcerated men and women for enrollment in post-secondary education programs provided in state and federal prisons.
Through these learning opportunities, incarcerated adults can earn an associate of arts degree, industry-recognized certificates, and general course work that ultimately will boost their opportunities for employment when they once again free.
In addition to this good news, the federal stimulus package, signed into law in final days of 2020, eliminates barriers that had prevented incarcerated students from accessing financial support for higher education. The law increases the number of students eligible for the maximum award.
In Maryland, Anne Arundel Community College, Bowie State University, Goucher College, University of Baltimore, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Wor-Wic Community College have been affiliates in the experiment. U.S. Sen. Senator Ben Cardin is a longtime supporter of the program, and the recent expansion will enable more colleges and universities to offer prison education programs with student financial support from Pell Grants. Maryland is also one of only 17 states that does not ban students in prison or those with past criminal convictions from receiving state financial aid.
These landmark decisions amend decades-old legislation and open up opportunity to those committed to rebuilding their lives and contributing to our communities.
More than 25 years ago, with bipartisan support, a controversial provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 overturned a section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 that had permitted incarcerated citizens to receive Pell Grants for higher education while they were serving a prison sentence.
In the aftermath, prison college programs around the nation disbanded, disproportionately affecting under-served populations desperately in need of access to higher education — incarcerated individuals preparing to emerge as contributing members of society.
Nationally, 68% percent of all males in prison do not have a high school diploma, compared to less than 11% of males not incarcerated age 25 and older. For prospective students pursing higher education to improve career opportunities, a lack of high school diploma looms as a significant barrier to economic prosperity and social mobility. A 2018 study published by the Prison Policy Initiative found that 27% of an estimated five million formerly incarcerated people nationwide (1.35 million people) were unemployed at a time when overall national unemployment was about 4%. Renewing access to higher education for prison populations through strong GED preparation programs and the most recent change in legislation will provide skill training that leads to employment, especially for male populations.
Higher education programs reduce incarceration rates and spending. Implementing these programs in prisons has been shown to reduce violence, increase compliance, and lower oversight expenditures — all of which reduce overall costs to taxpayers. Access to education will also improve the very high rate of recidivism, which comes at a price, not just to individuals but to all Maryland taxpayers, with the average annual cost to incarcerate one inmate in Maryland estimated to be more than $44,000.
Education programs for the incarcerated are more successful in preparing individuals for successful reintegration into society when they are aligned with state workforce needs. Policymakers seeking to develop or implement education programs for felons should also consider the workforce skills most relevant to jobs in their communities and carefully prioritize programs that will provide healthy and stable work environments for individuals reentering society.
Employer demands for relevant skills are changing, so Maryland must develop affordable, accessible education pipelines that align with workforce needs.
Research shows that removing the federal ban on Pell Grants for people in prison will increase employment rates among formerly incarcerated students by 10 percent on average.
These benefits are exponential, as they help reduce poverty and disrupt intergenerational cycles of crime. Children of incarcerated students are themselves more likely to pursue their own post-secondary degree or certificate.
Now is the time to ensure that all Marylanders have access to the education and skills development they need to build successful futures for themselves and their families, and expand the state’s educated workforce, a critical element to building and sustaining a strong economy.