From: https://www.njspotlight.com

Allowing prisoners to receive federal aid to pay for college courses while incarcerated would reduce recidivism rates, save states money and boost the economy as former inmates get higher-paying jobs, a new report shows.

Entitled Investing in Futures, the report from the Vera Institute of Justice estimates that nearly 463,000 inmates in state prisons — including 7,239, or more than a third of the prison population, in New Jersey — would benefit if the federal government rescinds a 1994 law that prevents people from receiving Pell Grants while incarcerated. Pell Grants are the main federal college aid that does not need to be repaid for low-income students. Even if only half of those eligible in New Jersey were to take college classes, that would lead to a 5 percent increase in the number of former prisoners employed each year and a $650,000 rise in wages earned the year after their release, according to the report.

“This would benefit not just the incarcerated people themselves, but also the communities they will be returning to,” said Nick Turner, president of the Vera Institute, a New York-based organization advocating for criminal justice reforms.

The institute’s push to make it easier for those in prison to get an education dovetails with an effort by New Jersey lawmakers to extend eligibility for state financial aid to inmates here. The Senate last year passed S-2055, which would eliminate a provision in current state law that prohibits prisoners from receiving either state grants or scholarships, most notably Tuition Assistance Grants for those of low income. The bill awaits action by the Assembly Higher Education Committee.

College courses are offered in seven of New Jersey’s nine correctional facilities through the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Consortium, or NJ-STEP. Working with the state Department of Corrections and Parole Board, a group of colleges offers a host of classes, including Cumberland Community College, Drew University, Essex County College, Mercer County Community College, Princeton University, Raritan Valley Community College, Salem Community College and The College of New Jersey. The consortium is housed at Rutgers University in Newark.

Advocates: Now is the right time for reform

NJ-STEP, which enrolled about 550 students last July, is funded largely by nonprofit foundations. Some students currently get federal aid in the form of Second Chance Pell Grants, a pilot program the Obama administration began in 2016 offering grants for about 12,000 inmates nationwide.

Unlocking the ‘transformative’ power of education

Arthur Rizer, Justice and Civil Liberties Policy Director at the R Street Institute, said when inmates are taking classes, they are busy and less apt to cause trouble for fellow prisoners and guards. But they also feel better about themselves.

“An education is transformative, which is why we send our kids to college,” said Rizer, a former police officer and prosecutor who now works at the conservative think tank. “For the person who is incarcerated, it is even more transformative. They have no hope. But in the classroom, they see themselves as a person, rather than just another number being watched by the guards.”

Jose Bou, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University while serving a 12-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, attested to that.

“Something happened as I started to get educated,” said Bou, who is now equity, family and community partnerships manager at the Holyoke Public Schools in Massachusetts. “I wanted to be part of something bigger.”

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From: https://www.njspotlight.com

Former Gov. Jim McGreevey says initiative would be ‘a game changer,’ offering those who are incarcerated the prospect of a career rather than a return to the streets ‘with no hope’

New Jersey would become one of the few states in the nation to provide state financial aid to those who are incarcerated and want to take college courses under a measure working its way through the Legislature. By doing so, it would expand access to college course to more inmates, as existing programs rely on national foundation grants.

Advocates said that ensuring prisoners who want to take classes can afford to do so could be transformational in helping those serving time be able to change their lives and better themselves when they complete their sentences and return to society.

“This is tremendously important; it’s a game changer for many of our clients,” said former Gov. Jim McGreevey, who is chairman of the board of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation. “Taking these courses allows them to have a goal linked to long term career prospects, as opposed to returning to the streets with no hope other than the chaos of the streets.”

A 2014 RAND Corporation study found that those who took classes — college, vocational and high school-equivalency degree courses — while in prison had lower rates of reincarceration and higher rates of post-release employment than prisoners who did not take classes. The study also found that “the direct costs of reincarceration were far greater than the direct costs of providing correctional education” and “correctional education programs appear to far exceed the break-even point in reducing the risk of reincarceration.”

Ending prohibition on prisoners

The bill (S-2055) would eliminate a provision in current state law that prohibits prisoners from receiving either state grants or scholarships. Instead, anyone who was a New Jersey resident for at least a year before incarceration would be eligible for aid, subject to the same rules that apply to all other grant recipients, if the state Department of Corrections (DOC) deems him or her eligible to enroll in college classes.

Reducing prison population

“New Jersey has made significant strides in reducing its prison population through the offering of higher education opportunities,” Cunningham said. “However, if New Jersey loses the ability to keep programs such as NJ-STEP at its facilities, it will see its inmate population increase and raise the state’s expenses.”

Ruth Delaney, program manager at the Vera Institute of Justice, which has provided funding for NJ-STEP, praised the bill’s passage.

“New Jersey has long been a leader in providing postsecondary education for people in prison, but the Senate vote today moved the state one step closer to removing one of the biggest obstacles to enrollment,” she said. “Expanding access to postsecondary education in prison will help provide people with the skills they need to secure jobs and other opportunities upon release … Our hope is that with states like New Jersey paving the way, others will follow suit and reconsider state and federal barriers to postsecondary education in prison, so as to create a justice system that produces better outcomes for all.”

The bill cleared the Senate last week by a vote of 27-10, largely along party lines. It now heads to the Assembly for consideration.

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By Colleen O’Dea

From: https://www.truthdig.com

NEWARK, N.J.—This is the story of Emmanuel Mervilus, who got locked up for a crime he did not commit, whose life was derailed and nearly destroyed by the experience and who will graduate this spring from Rutgers University. It is a story of being a poor black man in America, with the exception being that most poor black men never get a second chance.

The only reason Mervilus got a second chance was because of one man, history professor Don Roden, who founded the Mountainview Program at Rutgers for formerly incarcerated students. This program accepts, among others, the students I teach in prison, one of whom, Ron Pierce, also will graduate this spring.

There are only a few saints in this world. Professor Roden is one.

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Written by Chris Hedges.

Emmanuel Mervilus, who will graduate soon from Rutgers after being in prison, speaks in Newark, N.J., at an event sponsored by the Mountainview Program, which fosters education among those who have been incarcerated. (Mountainview Program)