On April 24, the US Department of Education announced it was expanding the Second Chance Pell Experiment to 67 new institutions. The Second Chance Pell program was created in 2015 to allow incarcerated individuals access to postsecondary credits and job skills with the goal to reduce recidivism rates. The Pell grants are allocated to students enrolling in postsecondary programs provided by local educational institutions or distant learning providers.
This expansion more than doubles the previous number of institutions that were involved with the program; there will now be a total of 130 institutions authorized to participate in the experiment. A significant number of the new institutions are community and technical colleges.
A recently released “Snapshot” of the first three years of the experiment found significant success. More than 4,500 credentials--postsecondary certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and bachelor degrees--were awarded in three years, and the number of participants has increased every year. The report, from the Vera Institute of Justice also articulated earlier research that shows that those who participate in correctional educational programs are 48% less likely to be reincarcerated.
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