Reducing Inmate Misconduct and Prison Returns with Facility Education Programs

Abstract

Research Summary Participants and nonparticipants in Ohio prison education programs were compared in rates of misconduct during incarceration and prison returns after release. Propensity score matching was used to compare male nonparticipants with males who completed or started but did not complete GEDs, vocational training/apprenticeship programs, and college classes (each education group examined separately). More than 92,000 males were eligible for study, reflecting all men admitted to Ohio prisons between January 2008 and June 2012. Inmates who earned GEDs or completed college classes were less likely than nonprogram inmates to engage in violence during incarceration, whereas completing vocational training and apprenticeship programs had no such effect on any type of inmate misconduct examined. On the other hand, completing vocational training and apprenticeship programs, GEDs, or college classes at any point during incarceration coincided with lower rates of prison returns within 3 years after release. None of these benefits accrued to inmates who started but did not complete these programs/classes. Policy Implications The provision of GED programs and college classes to prison inmates may help to reduce levels of violence during incarceration, thus, providing safer facility environments for both inmates and staff. GED programs, college classes, and vocational training/apprenticeship programs may also help offenders to refrain from returning to prison, perhaps by providi…