Pell Grant Case Study

The prison system realizes that an immense majority of inmates will be released; we need to prepare them for outside life. Without the efforts of educational programs, a prison can become a “revolving door, with inmates having nowhere to go but back” to the prison with no future (Young 1). A majority of the states offer a GED program, but North Carolina profits from a Community College system that offers classes in academics, auto mechanics, masonry, wiring, plumbing, and computer literacy. The Community Colleges offer two-year degree programs in many areas. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers business association classes to inmates over twenty-five years of age. Because of the excellent programs they have to offer, more than five thousand of about thirty thousand inmates are in the education program and these numbers continue to grow.

Although several educational programs are widely available, many inmates are unable to take advantage of them, do not complete them, or lack follow up in the form of ongoing support services once released from the correctional system. The following table displays this concern: Table 2. national and state data on inmate participation and completion . Approximate Numbers 1993-2007: Institution Type Total Number of Inmates System 165,000 167,717 Number of Inmates Enrolled in Education Programs 54,000 87,624 Rate of Attendance, At Completion of Course 50% 60% Rate of Completion

Many offenders will be released from prison and yet approximately 60% will return for violating the law (Beard, Johnson, & Kemp, 2003). An inmate that has an education equivalent to a

The correctional educational programs plays a role in reducing recidivism. Recidivism remains high nationally, with four in 10 inmates returning to prison within three years of release. Most inmate that goes to prison had less education than the general population. I feel that it's

The article "The Impact of Career and Technical Education Programs on Adult Offenders: Learning Behind Bars" by Howard Gordon and Bracie Weldon (2003) studies of how prisoners receiving educations in prison reduces the recidivism rate. Gordon and Weldon studied the inmates who were participating in the educational programs at the Huttonsville Correctional Center in West Virginia and claimed that inmates who participated in the educational programs were less likely to recidivate once released back into the population as compared to inmates who did not participate in these programs (Gordon & Weldon, 2003). This study provides valuable information as to the effectiveness of educational programs in prison and how they affect prisoner's lives

Many programs and acts have been put into place to try to decrease the budget for the department. One that seemed to be the answer

It is pretty impractical to expect full time college students to work and pay for college tuition simultaneously. How could you expect a full-time students to work full- time hours and live comfortably? Students should be able to focus on school rather than worry about how they will be able to afford college the next semester. Furthermore, there would allow more graduates and obtain jobs in the community.

Inmates need to be educated and rehabilitated in order to be released back into society. If prisoners receive a good education they are less likely to commit misconduct in the future. The Three State Recidivism Study

As governor of Texas, I believe that the public schools funding need to have more equity. In order to do that we need to change the state’s formulas that decide how funding is distributed. Although some may not like the way their money is being distributed, the money is going towards a good cause. If we can fund schools in poverty just as much as those who are more wealthy, then we could improve our education system exponentially.

In the article “The New Normal” by David Brooks, he states that there are many issues involving the national budget that need to be addressed. Brooks first exclaims that in order to begin to solve the issues, the citizens of the nation need to make it so that everyone is affected by the different cuts. Not just one group of people. The author also states that we need to trim from the elderly to invest in the young considering many schools and their programs are experiencing sizable budget cuts due to lack of funding. The final law that Brooks discussed was that government officials should, under no condition, cut without an evaluation process.

Many programs have been initiated to help the problems of overcrowding and negligence. These include education, rehabilitation programs, work-release programs, and other preventative measures. Numerous education programs are offered to inmates. Some prisons even mandate the completion of a GED if the offender never finished high school. Many colleges in the prison’s community partner together with each other to enable higher learning as a possibility for offenders to obtain college credit. These services help inmates succeed in an inmate’s preparation to reintegrate into society with less chances of being arrested again. Offenders that are more prepared to leave prison are not as likely to commit a crime which improves the safety of the public and also saves money from taxpayers. (Office of Vocational Adult Education, 2009)

The system is fully based on the foundation grant. This grant ensures that all the necessary costs such as teachers, textbook, school supplies, classroom supplies, etc.. are met in order for a student to have a proper education. In other words “to bring expenditures up to a minimum level in order to provide the education program adequately” (Ontario education funding, 2018, p.5) Could the current grant system be improved? The current system is perfect, judging from the grant allocations, over the years everything is increased for instance special education grant was $2.04B in 2007-08, in 2014-15 it became $2.72B, and for this year special education $2.86B.

I think that his new budget sucks. They are trying to give the future education a better chance

Budget cuts in schools cause turmoil and stress among the students and faculty. Drastic changes in the budgets have caused schools to negatively impact the people around them. With the lack of funding, schools are facing difficult decisions on what to do to stay within their budget. Supervision is facing much scrutiny on how to handle the lack of funding in their school districts. A solution needs to be made to improve the distribution of funding to our schools in order to keep them operating and thriving for our children to obtain their education. Budget cuts in schools have shown negative effects on employee positions, supplies, extracurricular activities.

Education reduces the recidivism rate. According to www.ed.gov, “Employment after release was thirteen percent higher among prisoners who participated in either academic or vocational education programs than among those who did not.” Education gives