Security Threat Groups

Feb 10, 2012 No Comments

A rule in prisons, though I know it has become more of an issue in all schools, is “no touching is the best policy”. It is a prison rule all inmates know, and it can lead to a write-up for them. They cannot touch any of the staff.

Occasionally, I have given a professional handshake. When a man is on his way to be released and he is thanking me for helping him pass his GED, or he is thanking me for being his teacher, or coming to say goodbye, I will shake his hand.

The National Juvenile Justice Education Clearinghouse

Feb 4, 2012 No Comments

In conjunction with the Center for Criminology and Criminal Justice and Florida State University comes the National Juvenile Justice Education Clearinghouse. This vast project collects and consolidates information and data concerning juvenile justice. The purpose of the National Juvenile Justice Education Clearinghouse is to provide a place where juvenile justice educators can research and share

Correspondence Correctional Education: An Informed Comparative Overview

Jan 30, 2012 No Comments

While many like to talk about correspondence correctional education as a viable option for individual incarcerated students, few understand the true costs associated with such education or the limitations involved. In an effort to bring the true costs and limitations to light, I present an analysis of 4 different regionally accredited college correspondence programs based upon my personal experience.

Correspondence Correctional Education Costs

Cost is often the paramount concern when selecting a correspondence correctional education program. While many profess that correspondence college courses cost “a few hundred dollars,” few know exactly what the term “a few” really means. Let me share a few current examples.

Are We Inmates or Sardines?

Jan 25, 2012 No Comments

By Sean Shively

The suspense in the courtroom is thick enough to cut with a knife. I am waiting for the jury to come back into the courtroom with their decision on my case. A door opens and the twelve jurors start filing towards their seats. My stomach starts to cramp and I feel nauseous. The jury takes their seats and a deathly silence permeates the courtroom. The absence of sound is so deafening that when the judge’s gavel hits his desk, the reverberation causes my heart to palpitate.

The Cuckoos Run the Ward: Why Prison Education Isn’t Emphasized in American Corrections

Jan 24, 2012 No Comments

As I sit at my desk working on my latest English paper, the noise is deafening. Men locked in their cells, yet shouting. The sound of their fists and feet colliding with their steel cell doors reverberates around the housing unit. All of these sounds are carried to my cell – cell 91 – through the space below the door and through the vent.

Nevertheless, I attempt to work, but the noise is more than a mild distraction. It’s as if I’m being tapped on the shoulder each time I start a new sentence. Just when I think it can’t get any worse…it does. The idiots are now beating on the walls, floors, and ceilings of their cells. A football game must be on the TV.

Campaign for Youth & Justice – Because the Consequences Aren’t Minor

Jan 15, 2012 No Comments

On any given night in America, 10,000 children are held in adult jails and prisons. Approximately 7,500 of these kids have never been convicted of a crime. These are horrendous numbers! These are children often tried for non-violent crimes that are housed in adult jails and prisons with hard-core offenders! Research and data, when paid

Jails to Jobs

Jan 14, 2012 No Comments

For many incarcerated prisoners, the thought of finding employment once they are released can be a daunting task. And this is where Jails to Jobs comes along to help directly with this issue. Jails to Jobs is an organization that helps ex-offenders find the tools they may need to help themselves find gainful employment, from

Yavapai Reentry Program: Helping Arizona Inmates Reenter into Community

Jan 7, 2012 No Comments

Walking out of the doors of prison after being incarcerated can be a very scary time for an ex-prisoner. Thoughts are focused on simple basic survival–where will I live? How will I eat? How will I get a job? Where do I get appropriate clothing and how? For many of these former inmates, it is almost easier to head back into prison than to try and survive post-prison-lacking the education and skills to function in a normal society.

In Yavapai County, Arizona, exists a wonderful organization called Yavapai Reentry Project, a group of non-profit organizations, government offices and community members that have come together to help recently released prisoners transition into society. The Mission Statement for the Yavapai Reentry Program is: “we are a regional support system which promotes successful reintegration of former inmates in a way that improves community safety by reducing criminal behavior.”

Indiana State Prison Cat Therapy Program

Jan 4, 2012 No Comments

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

The "Coach Talk"

Dec 16, 2011 No Comments

Trust is a big issue. It takes time for me to earn it, and it never happens automatically. They see me as the “police”. They don’t trust anyone, including themselves, and they will tell me that.

Sometimes I acknowledge this to them, because they think I don’t understand them. I’ll say, “I know you probably see me as an old lady who doesn’t know anything, who’s just going to give you trouble. And given a little time, you’ll find out that’s not true.”

I try to encourage them to stick with it for at least one month. “Let’s go a month at a time.” Ninety percent of the time, if they stick with it, they calm down and life in the classroom is fine.

News

Security Threat Groups

The National Juvenile Justice Education Clearinghouse

Correspondence Correctional Education: An Informed Comparative Overview

Are We Inmates or Sardines?

The Cuckoos Run the Ward: Why Prison Education Isn’t Emphasized in American Corrections

Campaign for Youth & Justice – Because the Consequences Aren’t Minor

Jails to Jobs

Yavapai Reentry Program: Helping Arizona Inmates Reenter into Community

Indiana State Prison Cat Therapy Program

The "Coach Talk"

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