STATS
The United States has the highest number of incarcerated people in the world. According to the Sentencing Project, Arkansas has over 23,000 inmates in prisons across the state.
EDUCATION IS VITAL. The incarcerated face difficulties while in prison and when released. Lack of education and a criminal record can greatly affect the formally incarcerated when searching for housing and applying for jobs. Their families also face hardship, and children of the incarcerated are more likely to go to prison than children of parents who have never been to prison.
1 in every 108 adults in America was in prison or jail in 2012 (Bureau of Justice Statistics).
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) reported in 2011 that nearly 7 in 10 people who are formerly incarcerated will commit a new crime, and half will end up back in prison within three years.
95 percent of incarcerated persons are expected to return to society. Programs such as postsecondary education have been identified factors that can facilitate successful reentry. (IHEP Unlocking Potential: Results of a National Survey of Postsecondary Education in State Prisons May 2011)
4,781,300 people were on probation or parole in 2012, for a total of 6,937,600 people in America under some
form of criminal justice supervision (Bureau of Justice Statistics).
Studies conducted over the last two decades almost unanimously indicate that higher education in prison programs reduces recidivism and translates into reductions in crime, savings to taxpayers, and long-term contributions to the safety and well-being of the communities to which formerly incarcerated people return (The Prison Studies Project).
A critical challenge facing Correctional Education Administrators is securing funding, a reality that may worsen in coming years because of the financial constraints of state budgets. (IHEP Unlocking Potential: Results of a National Survey of Postsecondary Education in State Prisons May 2011)