Reinvigorating Prison Education: Early Lessons from the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

By lifting the prohibition on Pell Grant eligibility for prison inmates and making need-based financial aid available to students in prisons for the first time in more than 20 years, the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program is reinvigorating education programs in prisons nationwide. The Second Chance Pell (SCP) program taps 69 colleges and universities in 28 states and aims to reach more than 12,000 students in prison. The goal of the SCP program is to generate rigorous evidence to add to our limited understanding of the effects of prison education on post-release outcomes. This panel brings together academic, policy and practitioner perspectives to discuss the roll out of the program with particular focus on implementation challenges and opportunities.

Sub Unit

• Area VII. The Criminal Justice System / 41. Jails & Prisons

Individual Presentations

• Ineligible Anyway: Evidence on the Barriers to Pell Eligibility for Prison Inmates in the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program in Pennsylvania - Sarah Tahamont, University of Maryland; Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University; Jennifer Lafferty, University of Maryland; Nicolette Bell, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; Michele Hiester, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; Benjamin Pheasant, University of Maryland

• Second Chances on the College Campus: Implementation of Pell funding at a SCP Site - Alesha Seroczynski, Holy Cross College; Sheila McCarthy, Holy Cross College

• Beyond Second Chance Pell: Metric Setting for Quality Higher Education in Prison Programs to Establish Robust Standards of Practice - Julie Ajinkya, Institute for Higher Education Policy; Heather Jo Erwin, Vera Institute of Justice

Chair

• Heather Jo Erwin, Vera Institute of Justice

Discussant

• Aaron Chalfin, University of Pennsylvania