Educational Programs

Christopher Zoukis, JD | September 27, 2025 | Educational Programs

RAND prison education research proves education reduces recidivism and boosts employment—here’s what the data shows. The RAND Corporation’s landmark research on correctional education has fundamentally reshaped how policymakers, correctional administrators, and federal criminal defense attorneys understand the role of education in reducing recidivism and improving post-release outcomes. This analysis draws from RAND’s comprehensive meta-analysis, Government Accountability Office […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2025 | Educational Programs

Stray cats and kittens–hardened criminals with mental health disabilities. What do they have in common? Walking into the maximum security Indiana State Prison you will find stray cats that have given birth to kittens and from that began the cat therapy program that prisoners claim are helping to change their lives. Inmates take in the […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2025 | Educational Programs

Safe Harbor – the sound of that gives one a feeling of safety after a difficult time. And that is just what Safe Harbor Prison Dogs is all about – providing a safe place for dogs who face euthanasia. The dogs are rescued from high-kill animal shelters throughout the Midwest and brought to Lansing Correctional […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2025 | Educational Programs

Princeton University is a very prestigious, well-known, and highly respected learning establishment. An off-shoot from Princeton is the Pace Center for Civic Engagement which supports efforts by undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni to become engaged citizens and to help address issues of public concern. The goal is to build stronger communities and societies […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

Perhaps the most effective measure of the MAC Program’s success is in statements made by those who have participated in it. On AFOI’s website https://afoi.org/, under the heading “Why I like the Milk and Cookies Program…” statements from the child participants are provided. They read as follows: As you can see, Assisting Families of Inmates’ […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

Allowing supervised access to the internet could help with rehabilitation and reduce recidivism. Internet and computer access dominates most people’s lives to a major degree in many countries around the world. More than 45 percent of the world population has an internet connection at home — that’s fast approaching 4 billion people. In the United […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

STUDENTS FROM A WHITMAN COLLEGE AND INMATES AT WASHINGTON STATE PENITENTIARYARE LEARNING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS TOGETHER. Anthony Covert made a bad decision. At just 18 years of age, he had a disagreement with a peer over a girl. The two decided to duke it out, but Covert upped the ante by bringing a stolen gun to […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

Generally, crime is a violation of generally agreed-upon societal norms that have been codified into law via criminalization.  The concept is that society has deemed certain actions to be acceptable and others to be unacceptable, and when someone violates a social norm we expect that they will be chastised.  This chastisement maintains the agreed-upon social […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

Phillips State Prison has fostered various academic programs that lead to a general education diploma.  Historically, this prison’s programs have included remedial literacy, special education, and basic adult education.  It has recently moved beyond the high school education arena, however, to provide college-level courses.  Located in Buford, Georgia, Phillips State Prison is the site of […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 5, 2025 | Educational Programs

American prisoners and wild mustangs roaming the Arizona desert have a lot in common. The most obvious mutual denominator inmates and these untamed beasts share is there are too many of them. There are about five prison programs in the U.S. that bring prisoners and horses together to tame each other and ultimately lower the […]