Alabama Correctional Education Coalition brings together stakeholders

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Alabama Correctional Education Coalition brings together stakeholders

October 2009

As the result of an outreach partnership between the College of Education and College of Liberal Arts

, state policymakers will visit Auburn University next week to discuss improving educational services for prisoners.

The Alabama Correctional Education Coalition will meet Tuesday, Oct. 13, at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Kyes Stevens, director of the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project

, and Dr. Peggy Shippen, an associate professor in the College of Education's Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, Counseling/School Psychology

, will direct the meeting sponsored by the AU Outreach Office.

The coalition will bring together representatives of state agencies and organizations engaged in education programming for incarcerated individuals. The meeting will advance discussion on how to improve educational services for Alabama's prisoners.

Participating organizations include the Alabama Department of Corrections

, the Alabama Department of Economic Development and Community Affairs

, the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services

, the Alabama Department of Youth Services

, the Alabama Department of Post Secondary Education

, Aid to Inmate Mothers

and several faith-based organizations.

This month's meeting builds on the dialogue facilitated by the Alabama Correctional Education Summit hosted at the university in May. During that meeting, Stevens, Shippen and representatives of several state agencies explored a variety of topics relating to prisoner education. The summit resulted from the project, "Enhancing the Educational Skills of Alabama's Prison Population,'' a partnership between Shippen and Stevens that focuses on expanding basic literacy tutoring programs and enhancing Auburn University's prison-based education efforts.

According to a 2004 article published in The Journal of Correctional Education, prisoners who participate in educational programs while incarcerated are far less likely to return to prison following their release. One study cited in the article revealed that the recidivism rate for inmates who had earned a diploma was 26.4 percent versus 44.6 percent for those who did not earn a degree.

Last modified on 10/7/09 9:55 AM by Lawrence Johnson