Prisoner Returning To Prison Essay

In later years Federal and state prisoners have been ineligible for the grants since Congress banned the practice two decades ago. The goal is to test the effectiveness of higher education programs for a U.S. prison population that has grown dramatically by nearly 50 percent since the initial ban. Mass incarceration has to be handled in a manner that can help better the economy and give those without the educational skills the chance to achieve something more. Prison education programs have helped reduce the chance of a prisoner returning to prison and improve a prisoner's chance of thriving once released.

If the long term cost of educating Incarcerated prisoners outweighs the cost of just housing them, then education while imprisoned is logical. Education can have a huge effect in really helping prisoners to gain the skills they need and prepare them to be employed. In a 30 year study on the effectiveness of prison education for inmates, has found that, if an individual participates in any type of correctional education program whether it be adult basic education, GED preparation, college education or vocational training they had a 13 percentage point reduction in their risk of becoming re-incarcerated

Prison education programs that are already suffering from cuts imposed by states facing budget shortages will continue to have major budget cuts. A study conducted by the non-profit RAND Corporation on behalf of the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance found that states reduced funding for prison education programs by an average of 6% between years 2009 through 2012, reported that states with large prison populations cut prison education funding by 10%, on average, while states with medium-sized populations slashed education budgets by an average of 20%.