Reducing recidivism through in-prison tech education and post-incarceration mentorship
Team Leader
Beverly Parenti
Reducing recidivism through in-prison tech education and post-incarceration mentorship.
Solution Pitch
The Problem
Despite having the world’s highest incarceration rate, America’s prison system has a five-year recidivism rate of 77 percent. This proven lack of effective rehabilitation makes incarceration a cyclical problem. Securing a well-paying job post-incarceration is incredibly challenging due to unjust stigma and a lack of opportunities for the incarcerated population to gain sought-after technical and digital skills.
The Solution
The Last Mile (TLM) provides scalable in-prison tech education and post-incarceration mentorship. TLM’s vocational training for high-demand jobs has proven to increase social mobility, open career pathways, and reduce recidivism. TLM leverages a custom-built remote instruction software, proprietary Learning Management System (LMS), and thoughtfully curated curriculum to teach: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Node, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose, and React.
TLM students are taught remotely by an instructor in real time. Students complete coursework through the LMS, a sans internet platform created specifically for incarcerated students. The LMS adheres to correctional institutions’ security requirements while serving as a central location for instructors to interact with students, assign and grade coursework, and track student progress. After completing the program individuals are qualified to apply for employment as full stack programmers upon release from prison.
Stats
The Last Mile has successfully served nearly 700 men, women, and young adults inside California, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Michigan correctional facilities; over 250 have since been released from prison.
Market Opportunity
Approximately 650,000 people are released from prison in the US annually. Those who graduate from The Last Mile’s program while incarcerated qualify for entry level web development positions. According to Indeed.com, the average annual salary for entry level web developers in the US is $56,261. On a grand scale, this suggests a $36 billion opportunity for returning citizens to earn a liveable wage and in turn, contribute to the economy. Further, according to a study by the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council (SPAC) the average cost of individual reconviction in Illinois is $151,662, with an estimated total cost of $13 billion in Illinois alone by 2023. Reducing recidivism nationwide would save billions of taxpayer dollars and contribute to breaking an unjust cycle of poverty and incarceration.
Organization Highlights
Chan Zuckerberg highlighted TLM’s program in a prison in McLoud, Oklahoma on “CBS This Morning”
Founder Chris Redlitz interviewed by Tyler Mathisen at CNBC’s @Work event
Featured in The Atlantic, Forbes, The Guardian, USA Today, Inc., and more
Partnership Goals
The Last Mile currently seeks:
New hiring partners to expand apprenticeship program
Technology donations including laptop and smartphone donations
Resources for curriculum expansion
Post-incarceration continued education opportunities
What is the name of your organization?
The Last Mile
What is the name of your solution?
The Last Mile
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Reducing recidivism through in-prison tech education and post-incarceration mentorship.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
San Francisco, CA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
Despite having the world's highest incarceration rate, America's prison system has a five-year recidivism rate of 77 percent. This proven lack of effective rehabilitation makes incarceration a cyclical problem.
What is your solution?
The Last Mile (TLM) provides scalable in-prison tech education and post-incarceration mentorship. TLM's vocational training for high-demand jobs has proven to increase social mobility, open career pathways, and reduce recidivism. TLM leverages a custom-built remote instruction software, proprietary Learning Management System (LMS), and thoughtfully curated curriculum to teach: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Node, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose, and React.
TLM students are taught remotely by an instructor in real time. Students complete coursework through the LMS, a sans internet platform created specifically for incarcerated students.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
TLM serves America's incarcerated population, in turn also serving the marginalized communities from which most incarcerated individuals come from. Of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in the US, over 60% are from African American and Latino communities. The median pre-prison income among incarcerated adults is $20,800 -- over 50% less than the average US adult's annual income.
TLM provides vocational training and post-release mentorship to individuals as a means of preventing recidivism. By equipping those who are incarcerated with the hard and soft skills necessary for gainful employment after release, TLM offers individuals new career pathways that would not have otherwise been available to them. This has proven to prevent recidivism, as 0% of TLM graduates have returned to prison after their release.
