Now that federal Pell Grant funding has been reinstated for learners who are incarcerated, the field is in flux. Higher education in prison programs and their home institutions, departments of correction, and accreditation and oversight bodies are all adapting and developing their practices to meet new policy and regulation needs. Two major facets…

New models for prison ministry are crucial during the current era of mass incarceration in America--a time when the potential reach of prison ministries can grow as the population of incarcerated individuals grows. In this article, I lift up one prison ministry in New Jersey as an example of how Christian evangelicals who are engaged in…

The process of entering prison as a civilian is such … sign in … send stuff through x-ray … walk through metal detector … get patted down by officer … show badge, get buzzed through steel door … get buzzed through another steel door … get buzzed through another steel door … show badge to officer, get buzzed through steel door. Enter the yard and…

This report explores the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Deep-End Initiative, which is helping juvenile justice jurisdictions safely and significantly reduce youth confinement -- especially for young people of color. In America today, youth of color are consistently over-represented in courtrooms and detention centers, youth prisons and other…

The purpose of this study was to identify key features associated with the successful transition from prison to community life of ex-offending African American and Latino males who have not recidivated in 3 years or more. To better understand and to identify these factors, I conducted 12 in-depth, semi-structured interviews between January 2015…

The State of New Jersey's inmate population totals almost 22,000 men and women. Nearly 53% of released inmates are re-arrested while 31.1% return to prison within 3 years. The stigma of being an ex-convict has multiple effects for former prisoners who seek to fully participate in society, and inmates re-entering society find their convictions can…

In this essay, Michael Satterfield recounts his experiences as a student in and outside of prison. His narrative exposes the challenges faced by one person in pursuit of an education, and recounts his early educational experiences as well as his participation in a college-in-prison program. He also describes his journey to a four-year college and…

This paper explores the concept of what a community-based participatory dropout prevention planning process might entail. Specifically, it looks at a year-long research project that brought together formerly incarcerated school non-completers, researchers, and local policy-makers (stakeholders) to address low high-school completion rates in the…

Background: The aging prison population in the United States presents a significant public health challenge with high rates of trauma and mental health issues that the correctional system alone is ill-prepared to address. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of age, objective, and subjective measures of trauma and stressful…

Walter Fortson never expected to finish college, especially as inmate 819161D at the Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility, in Hunterdon County, N.J. A few years ago, he chose to be a crack dealer to support his family and his reckless spending habits. He thought he was too smart to get caught, until one day in 2008 when he made a bad move. He…

This article presents a mixed-method evaluation of the InsideOut Dad Program in three correctional facilities in New Jersey. The InsideOut Dad program aims to improve the parenting skills of incarcerated fathers through a 12-session curriculum. Using a quasi-experimental design, study participants (N = 309) and a control group (N = 104) completed…

This study addresses the phenomenon of inmates voluntarily forgoing parole supervision and opting to remain in prison until the maximum expiration of their sentence. The research was conducted to inform public policy makers about the potential repercussions of this decision-making process and to help guide future policy and legislative proposals…

For more than 20 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, food insecurity,…

In this study, the author explores world assumptions of prisoners, how these assumptions vary by ethnicity and age, and whether trauma history affects world assumptions. A random sample of young and old prisoners, matched for prison location, was drawn from the New Jersey Department of Corrections prison population. Age and ethnicity had…

Guided by Anderson's theory of the code of the street, this study explored social mechanisms linking individual-level disadvantage factors with the adoption of beliefs grounded in the code of the street and with drug trafficking and gun carrying--the co-occurring behavior shaping violence among young men in urban areas. Secondary data were…