What is the Answer?

At the end of the day, what are we doing to improve the divides that are present between the criminal justice system and education?  This is the question that I keep asking myself after every posting that I have written.  The pessimist in me just wants to pack it all up and throw it in the trash, not looking back for one second.

The real me, however, knows that there is hope.  I truly believe that out of the mess that is being created now, future generations will learn a lot and do things differently.

 

In the prisons themselves, it seems that some university is always willing to try some sort of outreach program to mentor and teach the incarcerated so that they are able to learn and not only help others that may fall into the same predicament, but actively participate in outreach programs to hopefully prevent a younger person from walking down the path that led to ruin.

A program that I stumbled upon my searches had a wonderful mission statement that speaks to the heart of the matter.  The group University Beyond Bars’ Mission Statement reads as such:

     “University Beyond Bars offers post-secondary education to the incarcerated in Washington State’s prisons, particularly prisoners of color, with the twin goals of reducing recidivism by preparing offenders to reenter society as successful, productive members of their communities, and to reduce prison violence by providing meaningful intellectual pursuits and hope to those who are serving time.

      University Beyond Bars advocates for enlightened solutions to society’s problems beyond the wasted human potential, violence and needless expense of having the highest rate of incarceration in the world.” (UBB, 2012)

This mission statement addresses many of the issues that we here have addressed in this blog.  Looking around the website could actually fill a person with hope thinking that there are people so dedicated to those that society would just cast away.

What of the children, might you ask?  A friend recently pointed out this article a few weeks ago, and after a little research, I am proud to say that there is some serious thought going into the kids by a national group called Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.  The heart of this group is about preventing child abuse however their advocacy of children’s issues does not stop there.  In a report titled Pay Now or Pay Much More Later, this group advocates in particular for “high-quality early education” (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, 2012).  Not only do they advocate for better quality programs but this group of people which is comprised of people from the criminal justice profession is doing this with data that proves that it has an impact on future rates of incarceration.

It seems that while we may know what works to improve the situation, as was discussed in blog 3, both the public perception of what a prisoner deserves and the legislature's "need" to balance the budget by slashing education spending while spending record amount on incarceration is simply unsustainable.  In my search to find a solution to fund education that would in the long run serve to defund criminal justice funding was just not present.  

I do believe that there is a group or person that is capable of fixing this.  That we as a society are on the verge of great change withing the criminal justice system that will make it possible.  I will keep watching and anxiously await that day. 

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California. (2012). Pay Now or Pay Much More Later: Law Enforcement Leaders support high-quality early education to cut. San Franciso: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California.

UBB. (2012, May 17). University Beyond Bars Mission Statement. Retrieved from University Beyond Bars: Freedom Through Education: http://www.universitybeyondbars.org/about-ubb/mission/