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Open Society Institute Funds College Classes in Maryland Prisons
When the Clinton Crime Bill gutted federal Pell Grants for prisoners, some states' prison education programs were hit harder than others. Many states funded post-secondary education entirely with state money. Maryland prisoners, though, were the hardest hit. Virtually all of Maryland's prison college education funding was channeled through Pell Grants. When that source dried up, post-secondary education in Maryland prisons blew away. Until this year.
In September, 1998, the Open Society Institute, a project of the Center on Crime Communities & Culture, announced a $1.2 million grant to be awarded over four years to the Maryland DOC's Correctional Education program. The money will be supplemented in the first year by a federal grant of $248,586 and additional funds in three subsequent years, officials said.
The program will employ teachers from three Maryland community colleges, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Coppin State College. It will transform the lives of Maryland's prisoners, said Mary Cotter, a senior research assistant with the Center on Crime, Communities & Culture's Baltimore office.
"Education is crime prevention, and we're making up for previous bad educational experiences of prisoners", she said. Such education "would give them a way to look at the world in a bigger way, beyond their own personal universe."
Washington Post
In September, 1998, the Open Society Institute, a project of the Center on Crime Communities & Culture, announced a $1.2 million grant to be awarded over four years to the Maryland DOC's Correctional Education program. The money will be supplemented in the first year by a federal grant of $248,586 and additional funds in three subsequent years, officials said.
The program will employ teachers from three Maryland community colleges, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Coppin State College. It will transform the lives of Maryland's prisoners, said Mary Cotter, a senior research assistant with the Center on Crime, Communities & Culture's Baltimore office.
"Education is crime prevention, and we're making up for previous bad educational experiences of prisoners", she said. Such education "would give them a way to look at the world in a bigger way, beyond their own personal universe."
Washington Post
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