In the past three decades the United States’ incarceration rate has exploded, with seven million people currently behind bars, on probation, or parole. Considering the enormous scope of this population, the Obama Administration has unveiled a new initiative that will allow more people who are incarcerated to use federal financial aid (Pell grants) to access postsecondary education. Prisoners could use these grants for college classes, which will help them find work, support their families and lead productive lives once they leave prison.
Michelle Asha Cooper
This is unfair and shortsighted, as 95 percent of inmates will be released at some point; those without education will face few opportunities and daunting odds. But having postsecondary education and training will undoubtedly put them on a path that better supports our economy and society.
Current postsecondary attainment efforts aim to provide underserved student populations access to high-quality educational opportunities. These efforts exist because education is the ladder to mobility for these populations, but also because it produces the qualified workers and civically engaged citizens that strong communities need to thrive.
Yet incarcerated Americans are too often left out of such efforts, despite the fact that many of these men and women share so many of the characteristics of other underserved students.
Inmates are low-income: Recent findings from the Prison Policy Initiative demonstrate that incarcerated people had a median annual income of $19,185 prior to their incarceration, which is 41 percent less than non-incarcerated people of similar ages.
Inmates disproportionately hail from communities of color: Research tells us that Blacks are incarcerated at five times the rate of Whites and Hispanics are twice as likely to be incarcerated as Whites.
