In Brooke Wheeler's view, providing educational programs to people in North Carolina's prisons does more than just help the incarcerated. Wheeler said education is transformative not only for people in prison, but also for their children, their parents and the broader community.
“Just as we help individuals change, we help one person change. It impacts generations,” said Wheeler, director of educational services for the state Department of Adult Corrections. he said.
Wheeler gave a presentation to members of the Joint Reentry Council on Wednesday. The Joint Reentry Council is comprised of all cabinet-level state agencies established by Governor Roy Cooper's executive order to ensure that people leaving correctional facilities have the tools they need to reenter prisons. It was established to strengthen immigration efforts. they won't return.
The council has a mandate to achieve a number of ambitious benchmarks by the end of the decade. Their efforts include housing, employment, and health care. On Wednesday, the group's third meeting, members heard about educational opportunities for people incarcerated in North Carolina's 54 prisons.
“Governor Cooper has declared 2024 the 'Year of Public Schools,'” said Todd Ishee, commissioner of the Department of Adult Corrections. “From a very high level, we think of ourselves as a giant public school.”
Ishy said the prison system is making a “historic” investment in educational opportunities for inmates because expanding programs like this will make prisons safer and make people less likely to return to prison. I promised to do it.
“Education changes lives,” he said.
Mr. Wheeler presented data showing incarcerated people who participate in educational programs are 43% less likely to return to prison. As the level of education increased, the number decreased. People who participate in college programs are 72 percent less likely to return to prison, and those who complete a bachelor's degree are only 5 percent likely to return to prison, Wheeler said.
The prison system provides significant funding for high school and community college programs, but far less for four-year degree programs. That's what makes Second Chance Pell grants so important, Wheeler said.
In 1994, Congress made incarcerated students ineligible for Pell grants, but that ban was changed in 2015 when the Obama administration established the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program, which made 12,000 incarcerated students eligible for Pell grants. It lasted several decades before incarcerated students were able to receive subsidies. Starting last July, the funding was expanded to incarcerated students nationwide.
“Pell grants can be the difference between providing a bachelor's degree that lowers recidivism rates to 5 percent and not,” Wheeler said.
The North Carolina prison system has four partners that offer degree programs through Second Chance Pell grants. President Cooper's executive order directs states to increase the number of partners he has by 30%. Wheeler said officials are discussing potential Pell partners with Duke University, UNC, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University and East Carolina University.
Wheeler said the benefits of educational opportunities begin before a person is released from prison. Being educated can be a hugely transformative experience, making prisons safer by making people less likely to engage in violent and dangerous behavior while incarcerated.
“Education is about more than just a piece of paper you get after graduation,” Wheeler said. “What happens as we go through the process of acquiring it is that we change as people. We change the way we think, the way we problem solve, and the way we think critically.”
Towards the end of his presentation, Mr. Wheeler discussed Campbell University's undergraduate degree program. This program allows underage substance abuse counseling students to provide counseling services to their incarcerated peers. Someday, she said, it may be available to the people of the free world.
Mr. Wheeler showed councilors a photo of students graduating from the Campbell University program. They traded in their prison jumpsuits for caps and gowns. There were smiles on their faces.
“They're very happy,” Wheeler said. “This makes a huge difference for them.”
