- Updated guidance to serve former inmates
- DOL awards grants for pre-apprenticeships
Updated guidance to serve former inmates
The U.S. Education Department (ED) has updated its guidance for colleges that serve formerly incarcerated individuals.
The 2023 “Beyond the Box” report includes recommendations to mitigate barriers to enrollment and ensure persistence and completion. Among its recommendations:
- Connect with individuals prior to release to develop a game plan.
- Consider developing or partnering with an education-in-prison program to provide continuity for students.
- Counsel students on career opportunities available to them, noting there may be licensure restrictions.
Among three models of postsecondary education for formerly incarcerated students the report cites is in the state of Washington, which includes state-funded reentry organizations and post-prison education programs that, in part, connect students to community colleges through state-run “navigators.”
This summer will mark the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for individuals in prison. More than 760,000 people in prison will be able to apply for Pell grants starting July 1, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. The ED report notes that from 2016-2021, more than 28,000 students received help in enrolling through the department’s Second Chance Pell pilot program, which included mainly community colleges. More than 9,000 of those students have earned a certificate, diploma, associate degree or baccalaureate, it says.
The original ‘Beyond the Box” report was released in 2016. ED says the new 53-page version builds on that by adding what’s been learned over the past seven years.
DOL awards grants for pre-apprenticeships
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has awarded more $90 million in grants to support pre-apprenticeships that serve young people ages 16 to 24. A half dozen community colleges are among the recipients, with grants ranging from $1.2 million to $1.5 million.
The colleges and the amounts are:
- Central Carolina Community College (North Carolina), $1.5 million
- Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas, $1.2 million
- Des Moines Area Community College (Iowa), $1.2 million
- Mott Community College (Michigan), $1.5 million
- Research Foundation, Manhattan Community College (New York), $1.5 million
- Valencia College (Florida), $1.5 million
DOL’s YouthBuild grants program supports a pre-apprenticeship model that provides disadvantaged young people with occupational skills training, employment services and educational guidance, with emphasis on green building techniques, including understanding sustainable building materials, solar panel installation, weatherization processes and the use of Energy Star appliances, according to the department.
YouthBuild participants will divide their time between classroom instruction – where they earn their high school diploma or equivalency degree – and workplace training to prepare for postsecondary opportunities, DOL said. The grants will also enable young people to train for careers in healthcare, information technology, manufacturing and logistics, culinary arts and hospitality.
