Reintegrating returning citizens through education and work

The Prison Scholar Fund (PSF) opens access to quality postsecondary education and mentoring for prisoners who wish to change their lives while in prison. With the tools gained from post secondary education, along with job placement programs, PSF will help young returning citizens regain control over their lives.

The U.S. incarcerates a higher percentage of its citizens than any other nation on earth. Recidivism of 68% feeds the cycle of mass incarceration. The PSF addresses a problem overlooked by the American prison system that fails to effectively rehabilitate its citizens. This oversight burdens taxpayers over $80 billion per year in corrections spending. In Illinois, for instance, it was found that the average cost of  recidivism to the taxpayer was $118,746. PSF provides educational opportunity for prisoners, has currently supported 114 inmates, and has a 4% recidivism rate among graduates.

The PSF opens access to quality education that changes lives. After 15 years in prison, where Dirk Van Velzen earned degrees during his incarceration; he attended Stanford GSB shortly after release. The PSF has helped 114 returning citizens develop tools to help them when released. Graduates have a 4% recidivism rate and many have found employment. Partnering with Microsoft, the PSF rigorously evaluates its program to identify the variables key to student success. Avoided costs associated with the program will be calculated and used to push prisoner education legislation on the state and national level, creating safer communities.

The Prison Scholar Fund’s desired outcomes are to provide prisoners the opportunity to pursue a postsecondary education so that they will develop the critical thinking and job related skills necessary to find gainful employment once released. The ultimate goal is to break the cycle of imprisonment and poverty by reducing recidivism and providing vital job skills that lead to meaningful employment for those in critically underserved communities.

Have program facilitators record student academic standing and completion of critical milestones. - Achieving an associate's, bachelor’s, or master’s degree.

Interview prisoners and determine where they are working, whether they are happy in that work, and what goals they have for the future. - Meaningful employment.

Continually check to see that prisoners who successfully complete the program are staying out of prison. This will be facilitated by our partnerships with correctional institutions and local law enforcement. - Lower recidivism rate.

The PSF is currently the only prison education program operating throughout the United States, in multiple states. Initial research from the Rand Corporation has shown that education is one of the most effective means at curbing recidivism, yet its study lacks critical data identifying educational dosage, delivery method effectiveness, and impact on crime types. Part of the PSF program is to employ rigorous evaluation methodology in partnership with Microsoft to identify the inputs that drive the expected outcomes. PSF is developing a highly effective education and job training program that will act as a road-map for future policy reform efforts.

The PSF was founded Dirk Van Velzen, a former inmate, who needed educational programs that did not exist. While incarcerated, he started the PSF to provide this much-needed service to other prisoners. Given the roots from which this program has grown, the PSF is in constant communication with their students, soliciting feedback, and making sure that the program meets their varying needs, and that the opportunities it provides are not hindered by institutional roadblocks. What’s more, the PSF has welcomed to its Board of Directors a currently incarcerated student, and engages other incarcerated students to work with the PSF.

The PSF builds partnerships with State Corrections Directors and Deans of Education operating inside of prisons to implement the programs, as well as individual students through word of mouth and traditional marketing campaigns. The PSF provides access to quality university education and mentoring cost free, as well as workforce readiness and placement. The PSF is exploring social impact bonds with the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs and with Bridges Fund Management to scale these programs. The idea is that the avoided cost from these types of programs are potentially huge, saving state, county, and local governments substantial tax dollars

The team will be funded initially through foundation grants, individual contributions, corporate sponsorship/partnerships, students’ voluntary repayment when released from prison and financially stable, and then eventually through social impact bonds. These social impact bonds will be used to pay for up front capital costs associated with education and mentoring efforts. The amount to be repaid on these bonds will be based on metrics determined by and measured by state and third party entities. However, the end goal of the program is to drive policy reform that builds educational programs into the rehabilitation efforts of federal and state correctional institutions. The Pell Grant for low-income students was eliminated for prisoners in 1994; we aim to drive change in Congress to reinstate funding for incarcerated students. As the PSF succeeds in this goal it will act as a consultant for institutions wishing to implement these types of programs, utilizing best practices.

The major factors limiting success are the perceptions that the general public have about providing services for incarcerated individuals. With competition from many different organizations it will be hard to convince people that these students deserve the opportunity of education. To overcome this limitation, the PSF is creating public campaigns showing how such programs actually save society at large a significant amount money as well as revitalizing and improving underserved communities.

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/opening_prison_doors

https://www.facebook.com/prisonscholars/

https://twitter.com/Prisonscholars

The PSF has a unique and effective solution to the problem of recidivism is the United States. Currently, the PSF is the only organization providing the combination of educational and job mentoring programs to prisoners. The solution developed by PSF has the potential to save US taxpayers billions of dollars and improve the lives of millions of people including the communities in which they live. Being apart of Solve will help PSF spread this message and provide a platform to accelerate policy initiatives critical to our success: social impact bonds and state sponsored educational programs.

• Washington State Department of Corrections
• Arizona State University (potential)
• University of Washington (potential)
• Rochester Institute of Technology (potential)
• Adams State College
• Microsoft
• Google
• Washington State Department of Corrections
• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
• Interaction Transition
• Post-Prison Education Program

None.