News Release
Prison-Based Education Declined During Economic Downturn; More Work Is Needed to Better Focus Spending
Feb 18, 2014
This report assesses the effectiveness of correctional education programs for both incarcerated adults and juveniles and the cost-effectiveness of adult correctional education. It also provides results of a survey of U.S. state correctional education directors that give an up-to-date picture of what correctional education looks like today. Finally, the authors offer recommendations for improving the field of correctional education moving forward.
The Results of a Comprehensive Evaluation
Does not include Appendix C.
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More than 2 million adults are incarcerated in U.S. prisons, and each year more than 700,000 leave federal and state prisons and return to communities. Unfortunately, within three years, 40 percent will be reincarcerated. One reason for this is that ex-offenders lack the knowledge, training, and skills to support a successful return to communities. Trying to reduce such high recidivism rates is partly why states devote resources to educating and training individuals in prison. This raises the question of how effective — and cost-effective — correctional education is — an even more salient question given the funding environment states face from the 2008 recession and its continuing aftermath. With funding from the Second Chance Act of 2007, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, asked RAND to help answer this question as part of a comprehensive examination of the current state of correctional education for incarcerated adults and juveniles. The RAND team conducted a systematic review of correctional education programs for incarcerated adults and juveniles. This included a meta-analysis on correctional education's effects on recidivism and postrelease employment outcomes for incarcerated adults, as well as a synthesis of evidence on programs for juveniles. The study also included a nationwide survey of state correctional education directors to understand how correctional education is provided today and the recession's impact. The authors also compared the direct costs of correctional education with those of reincarceration to put the recidivism findings into a broader context.
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
How Effective Is Correctional Education for Incarcerated Adults?
Chapter Three
A Systematic Review of Correctional Education Programs for Incarcerated Juveniles
Chapter Four
RAND Correctional Education Survey
Chapter Five
Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix A
Summary of Studies for the Juvenile Correctional Education Review
Appendix B
RAND Correctional Education Survey Questionnaire
The research described in this report was sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and was conducted in the Safety and Justice Program, within RAND Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment.
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