On December 21, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed the First Step Act of 2018 into law. Title I of the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA or the Act) is focused on reforms to reduce recidivism among the federal prison population. Many of Title I's reforms hinge on the creation of a risk and needs assessment system. Under the FSA, the Attorney General…

Incarcerated students are generally prohibited from receiving Pell grants, which provide need-based federal financial aid to low-income undergraduate students. However, Education has the authority to waive specific statutory or regulatory requirements for providing federal student aid at schools approved to participate in its experiments.…

Why do inmates participate in educational activities? Is it for the main reasons that individuals belonging to general population do, or do the reasons differ significantly? The present study sought to determine the motives that drive adult prisoners to take part in educational programmes offered in prison. The study took part in Korydallos…

In order to define her educational philosophy, the author created the following action research project. Through it, she became aware of how all interactions and experiences each one has, no matter at what stage in life, impacts the way one thinks, feels, and acts differently. She challenged herself to create an environment for the children to…

The social sector's hottest "impact investing" product--the social impact bond (SIB)--has generated a range of reactions, from excitement to angst. An SIB uses private funds to pay for a social, educational, or health program, and the government repays investors (plus a return) only if the program achieves prespecified results. The…

Although prisoner reentry has taken center stage in correctional research and policy discussions, there has been little emphasis on reentry among jail populations. This paper examines a jail-based reentry program in New York City that begins while individuals are incarcerated and includes 90 days of postrelease services. This article explores…

The pace of implementation of PBIS in restrictive settings for juvenile offenders is accelerating. Recommendations for future research include the following: examine effects of PBIS on preventing entry into the school-to-prison pipeline, identify factors that influence PBIS implementation, develop the capacity of restrictive settings to engage in…

Given high recidivism rates and the vulnerability of detained youth, the authors posit that juvenile detention centers may be most efficacious by serving as both place and process to create career opportunity through vocational training. The authors review the psychosocial factors contributing to delinquency and the primary theories of…

Many youth in detention facilities come from vulnerable home environments where factors such as economic pressures, abuse, neglect, and parental incarceration are constantly operating within the family system. A vast majority of these youth have not had positive school experiences and many of them experience special needs and mental health issues.…

Lack of money has long kept promising preventive programs from expanding. Existing government-funded programs are furthermore subject to budgetary cutbacks or complete loss of funding. Moreover, preventive programs traditionally offer no accountability for success or failure. This leaves government entities in a bind where if they invest their…

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…

Although many correctional education studies have identified various treatment programs as being effective for reducing recidivism, few, if any, of these studies appear to be above reproach when assessing their methodological vigor. This paper highlights the shortcomings in the current post-treatment quasi-experimental design primarily used to…

Spurred by large increases in prison populations and other recent sentencing and correctional trends, the federal government has supported the development and implementation of Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiatives (SVORI) nationwide. While existing research demonstrates the effectiveness of the separate components of these programs…

A study evaluated the implementation of three demonstration programs for male juveniles that explored how the adult boot camp strategy could be modified to serve the unique needs of juveniles. Evaluation efforts sought to determine how the three demonstration sites--Cleveland, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Mobile, Alabama--were choosing and…