RELEASE DATE: August 21, 2007
CONTACT: Audrey Bailey, (919) 807-6963
Chancy Kapp, (919) 807-6962
State Board of Community Colleges fed information on prison education
RALEIGH -- Spotless
linens. Elegant settings. Impeccable service. Spectacular food
prepared and
served by students in a community college program.
The State Board of Community Colleges enjoyed them all during a memorable luncheon at its August meeting, with one extra twist. The cooks and servers were prisoners as well as students, participants in a program supported, in part, by Wake Technical Community College at the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women in Raleigh.
DOC foodservice manager
Stephanie Young (below, right), who supervises two test and training
kitchens in
Department of
Correction buildings in Raleigh,
System President Lancaster and Martin CC President Ann Britt are served
supervised the preparation. Students in the test kitchen program receive food sanitation and cake decorating certificates from Wake Tech. These classes complement their on-the-job training, which is registered with the Department of Labor apprenticeship bureau.
“The academic resources of
community colleges provide a critical service that enhances the
possibility for a successful return to society,” said North Carolina
Department of Correction Secretary Theodis Beck (below), as he
thanked the Board for its support. He pointed out that 97 percent
of those incarcerated will one day reenter society. Community
colleges have provided services to inmates for 40 years, but Beck
said since Martin Lancaster has been president of the Community
College System, the service has grown. “He sets the tone for the
relationship,” said Beck.
Lancaster followed Beck by adding that the cooperative arrangement between the two agencies is the envy of other states because of its breadth and comprehensive coordination at the state and local levels.
“Every time we give an inmate work skills that they can use, the greater the chance he or she will not return to prison,” said Lancaster, who delivered the commencement address this spring for the program run by Central Carolina Community College at Harnett Correctional Institution in Lillington.
Seventy-eight prisons in North Carolina are served by 45 community colleges. The educational and vocational resources are tailored for each prison. Thirty percent of inmates take classes, either full time or part time. Inmates in school full time receive 30 hours of instruction per week. No inmate is allowed to enroll in a program that he or she will not have time to complete while incarcerated.
Basic Skills has the largest enrollment. Inmates average eighth-grade level in reading and seventh grade in math, according to DOC statistics.
Community colleges also provide Occupational Education and Human Resources Development (HRD) training, which teaches how to get and keep a job. Curriculum (for-credit) programs include technology certificates, diplomas, associate in applied science degrees and college transfer.
In addition to the culinary
education services Wake Tech provides at the RCCW, 11
additional community
colleges teach Foodservice Technology at the local
correctional institutions:
Asheville-Buncombe Technical (Craggy), Central Carolina (Harnett), College of The Albemarle (Pasquotank), Halifax (Caledonia), James Sprunt (Duplin), Johnston (Johnston), Lenoir (Eastern), Montgomery (Southern), Piedmont (Orange), Richmond (Morrison), and South Piedmont (Anson).
In 2006 1,729 inmates received GEDs, 39 received associate degrees, 315 received diplomas, and 1,325 earned curriculum certificates. Several thousand inmate students also received certificates of completion for non-credit occupational extension courses in specific job skills.
Board Chair Pinnix-Ragland selects a dessert
The partnership between the NCCCS and DOC also includes community college education and training for correctional officers, supervisors and prison staff members, enabling them to do their jobs better. This training is offered free of charge.
Arthur Clark (below, left) ,
Educational Specialist for the Division of Prisons, and Tracy
McPherson, (below,
right) Coordinator of
Criminal Justice and Correctional Education at the System Office,
are the team coordinating the prison education program. Clark told
the Board the services provided by community colleges are “making
North Carolina a safer place and a better place.”
The General Assembly authorizes the Community College System to waive tuition and fees for inmate students, who generate FTE funding for the System. In addition, the legislature provides funding to start educational programming when new prisons are built.
McPherson explained that, in addition to the test kitchen classes, the Community College System provides foodservice training to inmates at twelve prisons throughout the state. Inmate students in these programs earn community college credit and Department of Labor credentials while working in prison kitchens as apprentices.
According to Clark, the real value of inmate education is lower recidivism rates. At least 40 percent of inmates released will be rearrested, typically while unemployed. However, said Clark, the rate is about 20 percent for those who receive educational services.
“An ex-offender who is employed is three times more likely to remain in the community,” he said. “This means they can pay taxes and provide for their families.”
The North Carolina Community College System enrolls more than 800,000 students in 58 comprehensive community colleges. Internationally recognized for the scope and quality of its programs, the System is North Carolina's primary provider of workforce preparation and adult education. For details, visit www.nccommunitycolleges.edu.
-NCCCS-
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Tuesday, August 21, 2007 02:40:32 PM
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Audrey Bailey.