Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI)

Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI) is sponsored by Michigan Department of Corrections. A statewide initiative that coordinates services for individuals returning from prison to the community, focusing on employment, housing, and family reunification.

Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative Pursuant to Public Act 154 of 2005 Section 407(3), Section 411, Section 1010 and Section 1011 > Revised & Reposted 2/3/2006 SECTION NO. 1: IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF FORMER PRISONERS ............................................................................................................................................... 1 A.

Prisoner Population Characteristics .............................................................................................. 1 B. Parolee and MPRI Target Population Characteristics: January – December 2005 .................

1 C. Components of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI) ............................................. 2 Building Safer Neighborhoods & Better Citizens: A Comprehensive Approach ................................

2 The Three-Phase, Seven-Decision-Point MPRI Model ....................................................................... 4 Table 1: The Three-Phase, Seven-Decision-Point MPRI Model ..................................................... 4 Coordinating Community Development: The Heart of MPRI ............................................................

5 D. The Continuum of Services Corresponding to Prisoner Risk and Needs Assessment ............... 5 Current Approach to Prisoner Risk and Needs Assessment ................................................................

6 The MPRI Approach to Prisoner Risk and Needs Assessments ........................................................... 6 Transition Accountability Plans and Prison In-Reach ........................................................................ 7 Table 2: Transition Accountability Plans Utility .............................................................................

7 Pre- and Post-Release Programs and Services ................................................................................... 7 Ongoing Offender Behavior Assessments ............................................................................................ 8 Data Collection and Analysis for Future Efforts .................................................................................

8 E. PA 154, Section 407(3): Characteristics of Prisoners Enrolled in the MPRI .............................. 9 First IRU Offender Release Cohort .....................................................................................................

9 First Official MPRI Round 1 Pilot Site Offender Release Cohort ..................................................... 10 SECTION NO. 2: PROGRAM DESIGN AND STRATEGY .............................................................. 11 A.

The Plan to Implement the Critical Elements of the Strategy .................................................... 11 Prisoner Assessment and Planning .................................................................................................... 11 PA 154, Section 1010 and 1011: Vocational/Education and Academic Programs for Prisoners ....

11 Table 3: PA 154 of 2005, Sections 1010 (1) (2) Summar y ............................................................ 14 Table 4: PA 154 of 2005, Sections 1011 Summar y........................................................................ 16 Pre-Release Services for Prisoners ...................................................................................................

17 Table 5: Pre-Release Programs Current and Expanded ............................................................... 18 Transition Accountability Plans (TAP) and Prison In-Reach ........................................................... 18 Post-Release Services for Former Prisoners .....................................................................................

20 B. Operational Responsibilities of MPRI Pilot Site Steering Teams ............................................... 21 Analysis of the Current Systems to Screen and Assess the Nonviolent Prisoner Population ............

21 Coordination of Pre-Release Services ............................................................................................... 21 Coordination and Orientation to FB/CBO Partners to Help Develop Transition Plans .................. 22 C.

Operational Implementation Planning ......................................................................................... 22 Prisoner Engagement in the Process ................................................................................................. 22 SECTION NO. 3: MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITY ...........................

23 A. Advice and Leadership to Implement the MPRI: Structure and Membership ....................... 23 State Level Advisory Group: The MPRI State Policy and Executive Management Teams ...............

23 Local Level Advisory Group: MPRI Pilot Site Steering Teams ........................................................ 24 B. Management Structure and Staffing .............................................................................................

24 The Responsibilities of the Community Liaison ................................................................................. 24 Table 6: Community Liaison Responsibilities ............................................................................... 25 The Responsibilities of the Community Coordinator .........................................................................

25 Table 7: Community Coordinator Responsibilities ....................................................................... 26 SECTION NO. 4: PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION AND SUSTAINABILITY ........................... 27 A.

Evaluation of Performance ............................................................................................................ 27 Goals and Objectives for Program Development, Implementation, and Outcomes .......................... 27 B.

PA 154, Section 411: The MDOC Recidivism Reduction Plan .................................................. 28 Baseline Recidivism Rate ................................................................................................................... 28 Subsequent Recidivism Trend Results Against Baseline Recidivism Rate .........................................

28 Recidivism Reduction Measures ........................................................................................................ 29 Michigan Comparison to the Recidivism Rates of Other States and a National Average ................. 30 Recidivism Reduction Plan ................................................................................................................

30 Expectations ....................................................................................................................................... 31 C. Sustainability: Leveraging Evaluation and Collaborative Partnerships ..................................

32 Transition Accountability Plan: MPRI Process Flowchart ………………. ……………….

………………… 33 Addenda to MPRI Monthly Report Addendum No. 1 1st Round Pilot Site Offender Characteristics Addendum No. 2 The Ready4Work Model Addendum No. 3 MPRI Design & Implementation Guidelines Addendum No. 4 The MPRI Model Addendum No. 5 FY 2006 MPRI Funding Addendum No. 6 MPRI Statewide Implementation Plan Addendum No. 7 COMPAS Risk & Needs Assessment Addendum No. 8 TAP Development & Prison In-Reach Addendum No. 9 Prison Academic and Vocational Programs Report Addendum No. 10 Community Assessment Addendum No. 11 Community Coordinator Skills & Responsibilities Addendum No. 12 Oakland County Timeline and Position Descriptions Addendum No. 13a MPRI Implementation Process Description Addendum No. 13b MPRI Implementation Structure Chart Addendum No. 14 FY2006 Comprehensive Plan and Application for Funds Addendum No. 15 Recidivism Reduction Plan NOTE: When viewing this document in Adobe Acrobat it is recommended that the viewer navigates through the document using the BOOKMARKS tab on the upper left of your browser window.

Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative > Pursuant to Public Act 154 of 2005, Section 407(3), Section 411, Section 1010 and Section 1011 Section No. 1: Identifying and Addressing the Needs of Former Prisoners A) Prisoner Population Characteristics Michigan prisons and camps currently hold 49,377 prisoners.

Based on each inmate’s sentence with the largest minimum term, the offenses for which State prisoners are incarcerated include: 24% sex crimes, 44% other violent crimes, 9% drug crimes, and 23% other nonviolent crimes. Over 62% of the inmates are serving their first prison term (A prefix). The average cumulative minimum sentence is 8.

2 years. Approximately 35% of all prisoners are serving sentences of 10 years or more. Nearly 31% of the prison population is past the potential earliest release date (ERD).

Of those past the ERD, 76% have been denied parole throughout the current prison term and 24% have paroled but then returned as violators. There are 4,843 lifers. The prisoner population gender breakdown is about 96% male and 4% female.

Prisoner ages range from 15 to 92, and the average age is 36. The racial breakdown is 52% Black, 45% White, 2% Hispanic, and less than 1% Asian, American Indian, or Other. Substance abuse history data from pre-sentence investigation reports shows 57% with a history of drug and/or alcohol abuse (34% with past drug and alcohol abuse, 15% with past drug abuse only, and 8% with past alcohol abuse only).

Twenty-five percent (25%) of prisoners have a past history of mental health issues according PSI data. B) Parolee and MPRI Target Population Characteristics: January – December 2005 The Michigan Department of Corrections paroled nearly 10,300 offenders to the community in calendar year 2005. Given parole approval rate patterns, some parole population 1 of 33 characteristics are somewhat different from those for the prisoner population.

Parolees are more commonly serving sentences for drug and other nonviolent crimes, as well as comparatively shorter sentences. Though still small, the percentage of female parolees is somewhat higher than for prisoners. And a history of mental health issues is less common for parolees.

An examination of the MPRI 1 st round pilot site parole population characteristics reflects these differences 1. C) Components of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI) The VISION of the MPRI is that every prisoner released to the community will have the tools needed to succeed.

The MISSION of the MPRI is to reduce crime by implementing a seamless plan of services and supervision developed with each offender—delivered through state and local collaboration—from the time of their entry to prison through their transition, reintegration, and aftercare in the community.

MPRI GOALS are to: • Promote public safety by reducing the threat of harm to persons and their property by released offenders in the communities to which those offenders return. • Increase success rates of former prisoners by fostering effective risk management and treatment programming, accountability, and community and victim participation.

Building Safer Neighborhoods & Better Citizens: A Comprehensive Approach Michigan is a leader in prisoner re-entry and is the first state in the nation to converge the three major schools of thought on prisoner re-entry to develop and fully implement acomprehensive model of prisoner transition planning.

The MPRI Model begins with the three-phase re-entry approach of the Department of Justice’s Serious and Violent Offender ReEntry Initiative (SVORI); further delineates the transition process with the seven decision points of the National Institute of Corrections’ Transition from Prison to Community Initiative (TPCI) model; and incorporates into its approach the policy statements and recommendations from the Report > 1Please see Addendum No. 1, “1 st Round Pilot Site Offender Characteristics” for details 2 of 33 of the ReEntry Policy Council coordinated by the Council of State Governments.

In this way, the MPRI represents a synergistic model for prisoner re-entry that is deeply influenced by the nation’s best thinkers on how to improve parolee success.

In developing the MPRI Model, Michigan had the tremendous benefit of technical assistance grants from the National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) that provided substantial resources for consultation, research, training, and technical assistance.

Recently, as part of collaboration with the federal Department of Labor and the federal Department of Justice, the MPRI Model will also incorporate the Ready4Work Model at select locations.

This model emphasizes job training and placement, mentoring and case management, each of which is essential for job retention for former prisoners but none of which is sufficient alone given the enormous barriers to successful reintegration of former prisoners to Michigan’s work force 2. Thus, the knowledge base is unprecedented.

The MPRI Model is being implemented using funding provided by the Legislature for Fiscal Year 2006 at eight Pilot Sites throughout Michigan at the following locations: ƒ Capital Area (Ingham, Eaton, Clinton) ƒ 9-County Rural Region 3 As a result of funds provided to the MPRI by the JEHT Foundation, an additional seven Pilot Sites are being developed in 2006.

JEHT funds provide for a Community Coordinator at each location to organize these sites which will include the remaining seven urban counties: > 2See Addendum No. 2, “The Ready4Work Model” > 3The 9 County rural region includes the following counties: Antrim, Benzie, Crawford, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Missaukee, Otsego, and Wexford.

3 of 33 The Three-Phase, Seven-Decision-Point MPRI Model The National ReEntry Policy Council Report was adapted to create two types of documents 4 to assist Michigan's efforts in designing and implementing the MPRI Model: First, a set of guidelines on design and implementation issues and second, a set of three workbooks--one for each of the three MPRI Model phases (Getting Ready, Going Home, Staying Home)--that have been used to determine the policy statements, recommendations and implementation strategies for the MPRI Model that provides a summary of the MPRI Model, a series of 22 Policy Statements and approximately 150 recommendations which the cabinet-level MPRI State Policy Team approved for implementation.

The 22 Policy Statements are categorized by the three MPRI Phases and delineated by the seven primary decision points that comprise the Model as illustrated in Table 1. Table 1: The Three-Phase, Seven-Decision-Point MPRI Model The institutional phase describes the details of events and responsibilities which occur during the offender’s imprisonment from admission until the point of the parole decision and involves the first two 1.

Assessment and classification : Measuring the offender’s risks, needs, and strengths. 2. Prisoner programming : Assignments to reduce risk, address needs, and build on strengths.

The transition to the community or re-entry phase begins approximately six months before the offender’s target release date. In this phase, highly specific re-entry plans are organized that address housing, employment, and services to address addiction and mental illness. Phase Two involves the next two major decision points: 3.

Prisoner release preparation : Developing a strong, public-safety-conscious parole plan. 4. Release decision making : Improving parole release guidelines.

The community and discharge phase begins when the prisoner is released from prison and continues until discharge from community parole supervision. In this phase, it is the responsibility of the former inmate, human services providers, and the offender’s network of community supports and mentors to assure continued success. Phase Three involves the final three major decision points of the transition process: 5.

Supervision and services : Providing flexible and firm supervision and services. 6. Revocation decision making : Using graduated sanctions to respond to behavior.

7. Discharge and aftercare : Determining community responsibility to “take over” the case. > 4See Addendum No. 3, “MPRI Design Guidelines” and Addendum No. 4, “The MPRI Model” 4 of 33 The MPRI Model involves improved decision making at these seven critical decision points in the three phases of custody, release, and community supervision and discharge process.

The first 8 Pilot Sites are fully funded and additional funding is expected to be available to implement the MPRI Model statewide by the end of FY 2007 5. Coordinating Community Development: The Heart of MPRI Strong and sustained local capacity is the single most critical aspect of the MPRI implementation process.

Pilot Site communities have become dedicated champions of improved prisoner re-entry that will result in less crime through determined and specific preparation for prisoners who will transition back to their communities. Local efforts at education, training, planning, and implementation need significant guidance and support in order to build the capacity for system reform.

Each Pilot Site has a full- time local Community Coordinator funded by a grant from the JEHT Foundation to help the community effectively prepare for prisoner re-entry while MDOC is better preparing prisoners for release. This community coordination will serve to elicit community buy-in and investment, plan for sustainability, and ensure quality results throughout the process.

D) The Continuum of Services Corresponding to Prisoner Risk and Needs Assessment One of the more important goals of the MPRI is to establish a process for assessing offender risk, needs, and strengths to begin at intake and continue through discharge from parole, connecting the assessed risks, needs, and strengths to prisoner programming, and developing transition plans that will effectively manage the risks, address the needs and build on the strengths.

This section describes that continuum of services.

> 5See Addendum No. 5, “MPRI Funding for FY 2006” and Addendum No. 6, “The MPRI Statewide Implementation Plan” 5 of 33 Current Approach to Prisoner Risk and Needs Assessment The MDOC has a long standing history of using objective classification instruments at many stages from sentencing through final discharge, but the instruments used have been developed independently and do not comprise a unified system of risk, needs and strengths assessment.

Therefore, the MPRI has identified a risk instrument that integrates many of the elements of risk, needs, and strengths into a single assessment. Also, many of the instruments currently employed by MDOC rely heavily on “static factors” that cannot change, making it difficult to assess offender progress toward reducing the risk of recidivism.

Thus, the new MPRI instrument (COMPAS) captures information about factors subject to change (“dynamic factors”) to facilitate the tracking of progress toward MPRI objectives 6.

The MPRI Approach to Prisoner Risk and Needs Assessments The MPRI has focused on achieving the goals of the Assessment and Classification decision point that includes incorporating approaches to fully respond to assessed risk, needs, and strengths through a Case Management Plan. The Case Plan is summarized in a simple and straightforward Transition Accountability Plan (TAP) (see next section).

Effective assessment and classification, the Case Plan and the TAP form the four cornerstones of the Institutional Phase of the MPRI Model. COMPAS addresses the variables and key principles for assessment that underlie the Initiative, and is based on research that shows what works to reduce recidivism (See Section 2 for additional detail).

This evidence-based approach is critical and fundamental to the implementation of the full MPRI Model. > 6See Addendum No. 7, “The COMPAS: Risk and Needs Assessment in the MPRI Model” 6 of 33 Transition Accountability Plans and Prison In-Reach The lynchpin of the MPRI Model is the development and use of Transition Accountability Plans (TAPs) at four critical points in the prisoner transition process 7.

Each of the four TAPs succinctly describe for the prisoner, former prisoner, the institution and field staff and the community exactly what is expected for a successful re-entry process as illustrated by Table 2.

Under the MPRI Model, TAPs, which consist of summaries of the offender’s Case Management Plan at critical junctures in the transition process, are prepared with each prisoner: • As part of the prison intake process (MPRI Phase I) • As part of the parole decision process (MPRI Phase II) • When the prisoner re-enters the community (MPRI Phase III), and • When the former prisoner is discharged from parole supervision (MPRI Phase IV) Table 2: Transition Accountability Plans Utility o TAP1: The expectations for the prison term that will help inmates prepare for release.

o TAP2: The terms and conditions of prisoner release to communities. o TAP3: The supervision and services parolees will experience in the community. o TAP4: The elements of the Case Management Plan for eventual discharge from parole.

Pre- and Post-Release Programs and Services Each of the MPRI Prison Facilities that house prisoners who will be returning to the MPRI Pilot Site communities currently provide many core elements of essential cognitive behavioral programs and services as part of Phase II of the MPRI Model and eventually will be driven by the Ready4Work Model for employment retention.

As the MPRI Model is fully implemented across the state, post release programs and services will be implemented following the same employment retention model. Additional programs to strengthen the pre-release core curriculum within the prison will be accomplished as more state and federal funding becomes available.

> 7See Addendum No. 8, “ Transition Accountability Plans and the Importance of Prison In-Reach” 7 of 33 A continuum of “pre” and “post” release service – driven by the results of the COMPAS assessments – will be accomplished as a result of the collaborations that form the core of the MPRI. (Section 2 provides more detail on services.)

Ongoing Offender Behavior Assessments The principles of the COMPAS will provide standardized, accurate, and complete assessments of risk, needs, and strengths performed at prison intake and periodically thereafter. The assessments will identify the risk of failure for each prisoner and which programs, treatments, and interventions will reduce each prisoner’s risk of failure.

Periodic reassessment will be performed to measure the degree to which each offender’s risks and needs are being affected at each stage of the MPRI process from intake through discharge and aftercare. Using the COMPAS will allow for a process that both staff and prisoners understand so that they “buy into” the process as this is critical for effective implementation (See Section 2 for more detail).

Data Collection and Analysis for Future Efforts The COMPAS system will provide the MDOC and the MPRI Pilot Sites the capacity to enable users to input data related to offender risk, needs and strengths, specifically in the areas of: Criminal Attitudes, Educational Achievement, Vocational Training and related abilities, Substance Abuse History, Criminal Associates/Family, Mental Health History, Housing/Neighborhood, and Employment History/Financial Stability.

Northpointe, Inc., which developed the COMPAS and is under contract with the MDOC, will routinely assess the collected data and assessment scales for internal validity, and present the outcomes study to the MDOC. “Known-group” analysis will also be conducted on the MDOC data as an additional validity measure in testing the differentiation between selected offender risk groups.

MDOC staff feedback and administrative requirements will also be employed to enhance operational revisions at the early stages of the COMPAS tool implementation, including the potential inclusion of additional risk or need scales into the instrument.

8 of 33 Moreover, the JEHT Foundation and the MDOC have partnered to fund a full-scale evaluation of the MPRI that will measure the degree to which the MPRI and each Pilot Site is reducing parolee failure and increasing public safety.

E) PA 154, Section 407(3): Characteristics of Prisoners Enrolled in the MPRI Public Act 154 of 2005, Section 407(3) requires that the department provide monthly reports on the status and recidivism levels of offenders who participated in the MPRI and have been released, including a breakdown by the following offender types: drug, other nonassaultive, sex, and other assaultive.

The follow-up of MPRI-related offenders who are released to the community will be done by systematically tracking individual offender release cohorts. This is because the MPRI is being implemented in stages as the various components of the full MPRI Model are put into place.

For example, the Intensive ReEntry Units (IRU) that were implemented in 2005 are actually precursors to the MPRI because they have served as a testing ground for MPRI practices, but they have not implemented the full MPRI Model.

Similarly, the activity for the first round of official MPRI pilot sites is concentrated for the most part on Phases II and III of the MPRI Model because the new, dynamic risk/needs assessment instrument (COMPAS) that will be brought to bear from the point of offender reception into prison has not been implemented yet, and the process of reviewing prison programs to determine their evidence-based integrity is still underway.

Consequently, as each individual offender release cohort of MPRI-related cases transitions to parole with more of the full benefit of the MPRI Model in place, it is expected that there will be progressively improving recidivism outcomes. Tracking the individual offender release cohorts separately will assess the results of that expectation.

First IRU Offender Release Cohort All offenders released to parole from the IRU’s in 2005 represent the first pre-MPRI offender release cohort that will be tracked. The first of these offenders transitioned to parole in 9 of 33 February of 2005. Their sentences with the longest minimum terms include: 18% drug crimes, 47% other nonassaultive crimes, 6% sex crimes and 29% other assaultive crimes.

Through year-end, this first pre-MPRI offender release cohort yielded a 26% improvement in returns to prison so far, resulting in fewer crimes, fewer violations, and potential savings of more than 320 prison beds. These data, while preliminary are encouraging. As time goes on, these data will continue to be tracked with the expectation that at least minor improvements in return to prison and time to failure will result.

First Official MPRI Round 1 Pilot Site Offender Release Cohort The first official MPRI pilot site release cohort consists of 160 offenders (20 at each of eight pilot sites). Two of these offenders have had their paroles suspended prior to release and are now serving continuances, one due to pending charges and the other due to institutional misconduct.

Of the remaining 158 offenders, the sentences with the longest minimum terms include: 25% drug crimes, 53% other nonassaultive crimes, 0% sex crimes and 22% other assaultive crimes. These first official MPRI offenders began paroling in November and December of 2005, with 15 transitioned to parole and 100% positive community supervision status at the end of year.

The remaining cases are expected to parole in January-April of this year, after which the 2 nd wave of first round MPRI pilot site cases will begin to be released. There are over 1,800 prisoners who will be targeted for the MPRI in FY2006, and each release cohort (4-6 month cycles) will benefit from fuller implementation of the complete MPRI Model.

10 of 33 Section No. 2: Program Design and Strategy A) The Plan to Implement the Critical Elements of the Strategy The Implementation Plan for the MPRI at each Pilot Site has four distinct but inter-related components: prisoner assessment and planning; pre-release services for prisoners; prison in-reach and transition planning for prisoners; and post-release supervision and services for former prisoners.

Each is described in detail in this section. Prisoner Assessment and Planning The MPRI will be using the COMPAS risk assessment instrument, a tool specifically designed for assessment of risk and needs factors in correctional populations, and for providing decision support to justice professionals in assessing offenders for community placement.

COMPAS is automated, theory-driven, and designed to assist practitioners in designing case management support systems for offenders in community placement settings.

COMPAS has built multiple validity tests into the assessment to improve reliability of the collected data, and uses 22 risk and criminogenic scales, including Criminal Behavior, Needs and Social Factors, Personality, Cognition and Social Supports, Recidivism-related factors, and Validity scales.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the COMPAS, from an operational, service-delivery standpoint is that it addresses the principle of “responsivity” in that it is designed to build the Case Management Plan based on the unique needs, risks, and strengths of the prisoner and leads to the successful match to programs during the pre-release phase of the MPRI.

PA 154, Section 1010 and 1011: Vocational/Education and Academic Programs for Prisoners PA 154 of 2005, Sections 1010 (1) (2) and 1011 required the department to provide information regarding the percent of offenders who have a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) certificate; statistical reports on the efficacy of academic and 11 of 33 vocational education programs on reducing recidivism rates; and for GED rates, a plan on how to improve those rates.

This section of the report provides a brief synopsis of information regarding academic and vocational program operated in Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) prisons and camps 8. Prison academic and vocational programs are only two of many programs, interventions and strategies targeted at improving offender’s skills and abilities to enhance their prospects for parole success and satisfactory reintegration into society.

Education, both academic and vocational, is a critical component of preparing offenders to successfully reintegrate into society following completion of their prison term. Prisoner education can provide prisoners with necessary skills to obtain employment upon release, and rapid connection to employment is known to play a significant role in successful parole.

Many parolees tend to have difficulties finding work that will adequately provide for their basic needs (and often dependents) due in part to their deficiencies in marketable skills and their stigma of being felons. This problem is even more pronounced in states such as Michigan with higher than average unemployment rates.

The guiding premise of adult basic education is that if offenders’ deficiencies in basic skills for reading, math, writing, science, and social studies are improved then these offenders will have improved chances of being employed and avoiding criminal behavior upon their community re-entry.

Because educational and vocational programs lead to skills that, it turn, work in concert with other programs and treatments to make offenders more likely to succeed upon parole, they are central to MDOC’s efforts to better protect the public through increasing parolee success. Those efforts are centered on the implementation of the MPRI.

> 8See Addendum No. 9, “Prison Academic and Vocational Programs Report” 12 of 33 MDOC correctional educators instruct a unique and difficult population. For these prisoner students, the following barriers have been identified: • Prisoners begin their correctional education with low grade level test scores, and require basic academic instruction before they can begin GED preparation.

• The vast majority of these students have a history of polysubstance abuse which is known to result in memory loss and learning difficulties. • Many students, that are too old to currently qualify for services, report a previous special education history (which is an indicator of learning difficulties).

• Prisoner students (whose average age is approximately 35) are mandated to school, which combines with their previous negative educational experiences to create a poor attitude in the classroom. • The majority of these students have not developed study habits, work ethics, or testing strategies, all of which must be taught in addition to the core curricula.

• High prisoner transfer rates impede continuity of studies through enrollment, removal, and re-enrollment in numerous schools on the path to GED completion. • Approval for educational software has yet to be received, which impedes the use of computer assisted instruction. • There is a need for improved support to maintain educational delivery and data collection systems.

MDOC educators work within these barriers, and consistently create success as evidenced by the statistics that are provided in summary in Table 3 and Table 4. • MDOC prisoner education is responsible for more completed GEDs than all of the other Adult Education programs in the state combined.

In 2005, 2,586 GEDs were completed by MDOC prisoners • For the five year period from 2000 through 2005 an average of 2,256 GEDs were completed per year.

While public schools measure success by student advancement of one grade level in a year, prisoner students regularly advanced by two or more grade levels in a year, and the expectation is that in the average two-three year sentence, teachers will advance these students by half a dozen years, to attain their GED. Thousands of these students are made into GED 13 of 33 graduates in a year.

A majority of MDOC’s prisoners enter prison with poor job market skills and employment records. The intent of MDOC’s vocational training is to improve their chances of community employment and thereby decrease their chances of subsequent criminal activity. The teachers of MDOC meet the challenge, and prepare prisoners for return to their communities.

Some key findings regarding vocational programming in the MDOC: At any given point in time, there are over 9,000 prisoners enrolled in prison educational programming. In 2002, approximately 15. 8% (Voc Report N = 281, 12 month estimate =1,686) of all parole/discharges completed at least one vocational program during their most recent incarceration.

In 2005, 2,720 Vocational programs were completed The estimated annual participation in Vocational programs is between 6,000 to 8,000 depending on the amount of participant turn over in these programs. : PA 154 of 2005, Sections 1010 (1) (2) Summary 1010 (1): Percent of offenders included in the prison population intake for fiscal years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 who have a high school diploma of a general education development (G. E.

D.) certificate 1010 (2): Statistical reports on the efficacy of both department-provided prison general education and vocational education programs in reducing offender recidivism rates 48. 7% Baseline Recidivism Rate 9 Program Completion & Recidivism Rate • Vocational Program Only: 46.

1% • Both GED and Voc Program: 45. 6% The data indicate that there is a moderate improvement in the return to prison rate (recidivism) for prisoners who participate in either vocational education programs (2. 6%) or the GED program (.

4%) or both (3. 2%). Regardless of what the data indicate, this information > 9Comparisons do not include effects of MPRI because the first offenders paroled from MPRI in November 2005, so effects cannot yet be calculated.

14 of 33 should be viewed with caution. Research in other jurisdictions substantiates that, while education and employment programs can impact recidivism, the relationship is complex and must be studied in the broader context of offender needs and causes of their criminality.

An Urban Institute report (Solomon, et al, 2004) notes that “…because the link between employment and crime is complicated by other factors, including housing, health care and drug treatment, employment is only one component of a multifaceted approach to assist returning prisoners. ”