Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program

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 reentry 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.

The Maryland Correctional Education program provides incarcerated individuals with high quality services that facilitate successful transition into Maryland’s workforce and communities. Correctional Education provides academic, library, occupational, and transitional services to incarcerated students in state correctional institutions. The academic program includes Adult Basic Education, GED^® Preparation, Special Education, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. The Library Services Program provides informational, research, and recreational reading services.  Transitional classes include life skills, financial literacy, introduction to computers, employment readiness and workforce development, and career exploration. Specific attention is given to academic and transitional students who are under 21 years of age to address their unique needs. Correctional Education prepares incarcerated students to become responsible members of their communities.

Instruction is delivered in 19 state prisons and pre-release centers through the Maryland Correctional Education Program, in partnership with the Maryland DPSCS, and in local detention centers through local adult education grantee programs. Funded programs will deliver academic instruction in adult basic education, adult secondary education and English language acquisition for incarcerated individuals to provide the resources and tools needed for transition to post-secondary education and training opportunities and unsubsidized employment. Within local detention centers, instruction is focused on improving basic academic skills and preparing for high school equivalency testing and providing the necessary credential for enrolling in post-secondary education or training or entering employment.

The need for Correctional Education in Maryland is well documented. The average reading level of the 18,500 inmates currently in the Maryland prison system is between the 5th and 8th grade. Less than half of these inmates have a high school diploma when they enter the correctional system. Correctional Education provides a comprehensive education program designed to meet the needs of student’s at all educational levels.

Pursuant to COMAR 09.37.02, education for certain inmates is a requirement. Within the state Correctional facilities, inmates with more than 18 months to serve on their sentence are required to take adult education classes if they do not have a high school diploma, unless they are exempt due to a medical, developmental, or learning disability. Special education is available for eligible students under the age of 21, supported by an inter-agency partnership. After earning a high school diploma, a number of occupational and transition offerings are available through the support of partner agencies and programs. Offenders are eligible for Correctional Education occupational programs or advanced education through a local partnering college or community college, once they have earned their High School Diploma. Programs are designed to reduce recidivism by supporting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals’ access to career pathways opportunities through innovative approaches that support academic achievement and transition to post-secondary training.

Labor, in collaboration with the DPSCS, successfully piloted the use of electronic tablets in academic courses at eight correctional facilities. The tablets are provided by American Prison Data Systems. The tablets provide inmates with secure monitored access to digital education, rehabilitation, and job training and job placement resources in a secure network environment. These tablets will be used to supplement and differentiate instruction. The tablets have been funded through several sources, including: a grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention submitted by the DPSCS, the MSDE Neglected & Delinquent grant, funds from the Adult Education and Literacy Services grant, and Labor state general funds. It is Labor’s intention to continue the tablet program with DPSCS, through an expansion within the next year.

Incarcerated individuals may also participate in internships, pre-apprenticeships, and nationally recognized non-union RAs. Maryland’s intensive pre-release transition program, in partnership with DPSCS and MSDE’s Neglected and Delinquent Grant, prepares individuals for life outside of the institution and provides job readiness in collaboration with workforce partners. During the 2018-19 school year, the Correctional Education Transition Program curriculum is offered at 17 sites by 16 instructors with 2370 participants successfully completing courses during FY19.

The following courses are offered in the Transition Program:

• Personal Assessment and Career Exploration,
• Employment Readiness Workshop,
• Financial Literacy,
• Health and Nutrition,
• Parenting,
• Introduction to Computers,
• Basic Keyboarding,
• Success at Work,
• Workshop Participation,
• Transition Planning for Under 21 Students,
• Life Skills for Reentry,
• Internet Job Search, and
• Reentry and Employment Resource Skills Training.

MD Labor's Office of Correctional Education-Transition and the OWD work together to ensure CE students have information about how to access employment services offered at the AJCs.

Representatives from state workforce programs visit exiting ex-offenders and provide services post release to support their transition to employment. The state supports two state of the art AJCs that provide specialized services to this population. All applicants for sections 225, 231, and 243 funds compete for funds through the same competitive grant process. Applicants have direct and equitable access to apply for grants, and funding opportunities are announced in local newspapers and on the MD Labor website.

The Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) program provides funding authorized as Research and Evaluation under Section 169, of WIOA for justice-involved youth, young adults, and formerly incarcerated adults. The REO grants are available to organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status, including women's and minority organizations; state or local governments; or any Indian and Native American entity eligible for grants under Section 166 of WIOA to develop or expand programs to improve employment opportunities for adults ages 18-24 who have been incarcerated in the youth or adult criminal justice system, and adults ages 25 or older, released from prison or jail within two years of enrollment. Maryland currently has five REO grantees, all operating in Baltimore, City. Goodwill Industries International, Inc.; Living Classrooms Foundation; and Volunteers of America Chesapeake, Inc. are serving adults. Family Health International and Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation are serving young adults.

MD Labor adheres to the same competitive process, including assurances of direct and equitable access mentioned in Subtitle C when competing 225 funds for correctional and other institutional programs though contextualized standards-based instruction and workforce preparation skills to support incarcerated adults’ transition post release.