For the past week I have been researching on the topic on whether our department should sponsor an undergraduate Economics major at the California Institution for Women in Chino, as part of a larger UCLA prison education program. Through this memo I want to summarize my research and offer some recommendations to the department.
Recently, the Education Department has been trying to lift a ban that was executed in 1994, a ban to limit education access to people in the prison. An experimental based pilot program was proposed to replant access to incarcerated person in hopes to give them a higher chance to be offered a job once released from prison. A study from RAND Corporation has shown that allowing education access to incarcerated person can reduces the risk of reincarceration by 16%, a relatively high percentage point considering how much taxpayer’s money was spent on prison. Lois Davis, researcher from RAND Corporation, said from their study, “for every dollar invested in a prison education program it will ultimately save taxpayers between $4 and $5 in reincarceration costs.”
Vivian Nixon, who was once incarcerated and now is the executive leader of College and Community Fellowship, suggested that because of stigma, ex-convict often finds it hard to be accepted back in the …show more content…
Regarding to fund allocation, I do agree we should focus on our own students in UCLA, however, I believe if we sponsor this program, it will benefit us all in the long term. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan revealed that keeping a prisoner in jail takes up to $40,000 per year, when Pell Grant to prisoners only cost $6,000 per year. Besides saving us taxpayers thousands of dollars, enrolling in this program will also give our department a higher reputation for bettering our
Recently, the Education Department has been trying to lift a ban that was executed in 1994, a ban to limit education access to people in the prison. An experimental based pilot program was proposed to replant access to incarcerated person in hopes to give them a higher chance to be offered a job once released from prison. A study from RAND Corporation has shown that allowing education access to incarcerated person can reduces the risk of reincarceration by 16%, a relatively high percentage point considering how much taxpayer’s money was spent on prison. Lois Davis, researcher from RAND Corporation, said from their study, “for every dollar invested in a prison education program it will ultimately save taxpayers between $4 and $5 in reincarceration costs.”
Vivian Nixon, who was once incarcerated and now is the executive leader of College and Community Fellowship, suggested that because of stigma, ex-convict often finds it hard to be accepted back in the …show more content…
Regarding to fund allocation, I do agree we should focus on our own students in UCLA, however, I believe if we sponsor this program, it will benefit us all in the long term. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan revealed that keeping a prisoner in jail takes up to $40,000 per year, when Pell Grant to prisoners only cost $6,000 per year. Besides saving us taxpayers thousands of dollars, enrolling in this program will also give our department a higher reputation for bettering our