About the Report of the Re-Entry Council

15: Education and Vocation Training

Teach inmates functional, educational, and vocational competencies based on employment market demand and public safety requirements.

Overview

When a person is incarcerated, a tremendous opportunity exists to provide him or her with basic reading, writing, and math skills; a trade that is useful in the marketplace; and, sometimes, an advanced degree. The research and recommendations that follow outline ways to improve the quantity and quality of vocational and educational programs available to people during their incarceration, so that they are best prepared to return to the community.

Research Highlights

Recommendations

  1. Develop programs that will enable inmates to be functionally literate and capable of receiving high school or postsecondary credentials.
  2. Analyze the job market in the area to which people in prison or jail will be returning.
  3. Ensure that vocational and education classes target the needs of the job market.
  4. Encourage inmates to participate in educational and job training programs.
  5. Engage community-based agencies, such as volunteer and faith-based organizations, to provide institutional job-skills programs.
  6. When appropriate, provide prisoners with opportunities to gain occupational competence through postsecondary education.
  7. Prioritize the allocation of education and training resources when resources are limited.

Related Policy Statements

 Our Publications

10/23/2008: New Toolkit on Law Enforcement Role in Prisoner Reentry: Four Agencies Selected as "Learning Sites" with Justice Department Grant

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center announced today the release of the toolkit, Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement Reentry Strategy. With support by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the kit has been designed as a guide and self-assessment tool for policing personnel and their partners to help reduce repeat crimes and facilitate successful reintegration by the more than 700,000 individuals who return to our communities from prisons each year and the more than 9 million from jails.

Related Information

Issue Area:
Sex Offenders

Program Example:
California: Ex-Felon Employment Initiative
San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and National Economic Development and Law Center

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