Bridges to Practice

The following information and statistics are taken in full from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and the web page on Correctional Education at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/AdultEd/fact-10.html

Correctional education is that part of the total correctional process that focuses on changing the behavior of offenders through planned learning experiences and learning environments. It seeks to develop or enhance knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values of incarcerated youth and adults. Although literacy does not guarantee a better life outside prison walls, illiteracy guarantees a higher recidivism rate. It is estimated that over 50 percent of the offenders released from institutions each year will return within three years.

What Should Be Included in Adult Education Programs for the Incarcerated?

Adult education and literacy training for inmates should include the core basic skills of reading, writing, calculating, speaking, listening, and problem solving. Instruction should also focus on job skills and life skills. The goal of instruction should be to upgrade educational skills to enhance opportunities for employment and fulfilling individual potential.

The Correctional Population
Generally, the adult correctional population is poor, unskilled, and unemployed or underemployed. Approximately 49 percent of the Prison Population has not completed High School or a GED, compared with approximately 24 percent of the general population.

As of June 30, 1998 there were an estimated 1,210,034 adults incarcerated in State and Federal institutions.
As of June 30, 1998 there were an estimated 592,462 inmates held in the nations local jails.
As of July 1, 1998, there were an estimated 668 prison inmates per 100,000 U.S. Residents, up from 292 at the year-end 1990.
As of year-end 1997, 5.6 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole."
(Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, under "Correctional Populations" at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#C.)

What is Correctional Education? | Literacy Fact Sheet - Correctional Education
Correctional Education Programs for Adults with Learning Disabilities
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