College Access, Advocacy, and Health: Factors That Matter for Youth and Young Adults Moving From Juvenile and Adult Prisons Into College

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: A New Landscape: Rethinking Education Models for Incarcerated Youth

Abstract

Education researchers have studied marginalized populations including incarcerated youth, but college students with criminal records (CSCR) are significantly understudied. The current study is the first to explore college access and experiences with 10 California community college students 18- to 23-years old. With the use of a series of interviews and weekly journal entries across one academic year, findings offer actionable recommendations to California policy makers and higher education administrators, including: close relationships were significant for students’ college access; correctional college experiences were leveraged to navigate academics; CSCR-led groups at colleges created opportunities for students to volunteer in advocacy activities and build academic identities; and health indicators suggest symptoms of chronic-stress and PTS.

Author

• Morghan Vélez, California State University - Fresno