Colleges Receive Funds To Educate NY Prisoners

DOBBS FERRY, NY — Eight area prisons will be able to help educate prisoners thanks to funds awarded from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Manhattan D.A. Cyrus R. Vance Jr. announced Monday the award of $7.3 million to fund educational programming and re-entry services at 17 New York state prisons over the next five years.

One of the recipients is Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry for its work at Sing Sing.

Cuomo said that prison isn’t just about serving time for crimes.

“It’s an opportunity to help those who have made mistakes rehabilitate and rebuild their lives,” he said.

“This program not only strengthens the futures of incarcerated individuals and their communities alike, but it will save taxpayer dollars in the long run,” Cuomo said.

The colleges and universities being awarded grants to provide classes and reentry services in the Hudson Valley are:

• Bard College, at Taconic, Coxsackie, Eastern, Fishkill, Green Haven, and Woodbourne correctional facilities;
• Mercy College, at Sing Sing correctional facility;
• New York University, at Wallkill correctional facility

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance, technical assistance provider to the Manhattan DA's Office on all of CJII, will work with the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to oversee the program's daily operations, working directly with the education providers.

The CUNY Prisoner Reentry Institute, in collaboration with the State University of New York, will receive approximately $2.37 million over five years to serve as the Education and Reentry Coordinator for the Program. The Education and Reentry Coordinator will oversee the education providers' reentry planning and offer technical assistance as needed; align course requirements across and develop articulation/transfer agreements between funded colleges; develop standards for prison education curricula in New York State; and exchange best practices and lessons learned among the education providers.

Most college education programs at state prison facilities are privately funded, according to a spokesperson. The classes have long waitlists and standardization across programs is often lacking.

Just over 1,000 incarcerated in prisoners in the state presently receive college-level instruction each year.

The Rand Corporation found in a 2013 study that individuals who participate in prison education programs are 43 percent less likely to return to prison, and 13 percent are more likely to obtain employment after their release.

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