Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Programs
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the following as it pertains to adult education and literacy programs and activities under title II of WIOA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).
c. Corrections Education and other Education of Institutionalized Individuals
Describe how the State will establish and operate programs under section 225 of WIOA for corrections education and education of other institutionalized individuals, including how it will fund, in accordance with the requirements of title II subtitle C, any of the following academic programs for:
- Adult education and literacy activities;
- Special education, as determined by the eligible agency;
- Secondary school credit;
- Integrated education and training;
- Career pathways;
- Concurrent enrollment;
- Peer tutoring; and
- Transition to re-entry initiatives and other post release services with the goal of reducing recidivism.
Each eligible agency using funds provided under Programs for Corrections Education and Other Institutionalized Individuals to carry out a program for criminal offenders within a correctional institution must give priority to serving individuals who are likely to leave the correctional institution within 5 years of participation in the program.
Current Narrative:
If the State awards funds for Corrections Education, the State will ensure that no more than the 20% of the eligible funds awarded under WIOA statute will be allocated. Any funds allocated under section 225 will be tracked according to the budget submitted by the awarded local provider and approved by Vermont AOE. The local provider will be required to report on individuals served using funds under section 225 through the AEL database system. In addition, AOE report requirements will monitor all local providers’ expenditures of AEL grant funds including those awarded for Corrections Education, if any.
Currently, it is not expected that the State will award funds under Title II for Corrections Education for the following reason: incarcerated individuals who do not have a diploma and/or are basic skills deficient and/or are English language learners, are enrolled in the Community High School (CHSVT) of Vermont and therefore, do not meet the definition of eligible individuals under Title II.
Eligible individual means an individual who is at least 16 years of age; is not enrolled in school or required to be enrolled in secondary school under State law; and who is basic skills deficient; does not have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and has not achieved an equivalent level of education; or is an English language learner.
The CHSVT is operated and regulated by the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC). It is an independent school approved by the Vermont State Board of Education and operates in service of its learners at multiple sites around the state. The Community High School serves all incarcerated persons under the custody of the Commissioner of Corrections who meet their eligibility definition. Under Vermont law, incarcerated individuals under the age of 23 who do not have a diploma are required to be enrolled at CHSVT upon admission into the correctional facility.
Referrals are routinely made to local AEL providers as learners transition from CHSVT back to the community. DOC personnel, including probation officers and CHSVT staff, refer adults re-entering to local AEL providers. At that point of engagement with the local AEL provider, the students are eligible individuals and will receive the range of services afforded any adult learner.
At the State level, core partners have been participating with other one-stop partners in the Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic (ARES) Planning Grant’s Cross-Disciplinary Workgroup, which is identifying how to improve job readiness for moderate to high-risk offenders re-entering the community. The group has conducted an assessment of services for this population and documented assessments across systems used to determine basic skill levels, career interests, readiness for specific industries, and psychosocial readiness for employment. Members of this group have committed to continue to identify strategies to better serve adults re-entering, whether or not further grant funds are obtained to financially support implementation of statewide strategies to integrate service delivery to this population.