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There’s something new at Iowa Central

On June 24, the federal Department of Education announced that 67 colleges and universities were selected to participate in a new Second Chance Pell pilot program to offer high-quality education programs to incarcerated individuals. This program will allow eligible incarcerated Americans to receive Pell Grants to help them pursue degrees in higher educational programs, in preparation for release back into society. The ability to get an advanced degree or increased credentials improves their chances of obtaining employment and a better quality of life for themselves and their families.

This type of education is not new to Iowa Central or the two correctional facilities in our service area, the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility and the North Central Correctional Facility, located in Rockwell City. Through numerous different funds over the past couple of decades, Iowa Central has offered both credit and noncredit programs/courses to inmates in hopes of building a trade or skill that would be beneficial upon the inmate’s release. Through funding received from the Department of Corrections, and before that the Incarcerated Individuals Act, Iowa Central has offered such programs as culinary arts, baking, building trades, electrical, warehouse management and welding, along with standalone classes such as mathematics, accounting and computers. While the monies to support these offerings have come and gone, so have the educational opportunities of these students. Not only has Iowa Central offered training in the Career and Technical Education field, but Iowa Central has also provided GED and HiSET (high school equivalency) courses along with Life Skills and English as a Second Language classes for these individuals through the Department of Corrections.

As published in a press release by the U.S. Department of Education, a 2013 study funded by the U.S, Department of Justice showed that incarcerated individuals who participated in a correctional higher education program were 43 percent less likely to return to prison within three years, than individuals who did not participate in any program. This same study also estimated that for every dollar invested into these correctional education programs, four to five dollars are saved on the three year re-incarceration costs. These numbers alone show the importance of education and the financial benefits to the students receiving the training, but also to the tax payers.

Iowa Central Community College is proud to be one of 67 colleges and universities to be selected to carry the torch in this program, to show the positive impact on the lives of these students which will increase the likelihood of this pilot program’s extension long into the future.

Starting in the fall of 2016, Iowa Central will be offering five unique programs at both the Fort Dodge and North Central Correctional Facilities, in hopes of training around 350 inmates each year. These students will receive college credits towards either a diploma or Associates degree, while also completing the graduation requirements to receive a certificate in their program of study. These programs were researched and developed in respect to potential job placement, wages, and employment opportunities to ensure that once the program was completed, these students would be eligible for employment in high demand programs with job openings.

Students will have the opportunity to choose between programs such as culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, carpentry, welding technology, supply chain management, turfgrass management and industrial machinist. These programs will be taught with a mixture of lecture and lab classroom settings, along with the potential of television classroom and hybrid learning environments. When applicable and available, nationally recognized credentials such as OSHA 10, Forklift Training, American Welding Society Welding Certifications, the National Career Readiness Certificate, ServSafe (food safety), and Applicators licenses will be built into the curriculum to ensure that the student not only receives a diploma from Iowa Central, but they have been tested and certified by an industry based body, adding to their resume and employability potential.

Iowa Central will use a combination of full-time faculty and part-time adjunct instructors to teach these classes, and these individuals will meet the same faculty qualifications as the faculty and adjuncts that teach our traditional student populations on one of our three college campuses and the North Central Career Academy.

To be eligible, the incarcerated individual would have to meet the appropriate privilege level for each correctional facility, with a preference given to those individuals that are within five years of their release date, they will have to be a high school graduate or have their high school equivalency, and they cannot have any treatment classes that would affect their academic program. No one serving a life sentence will be considered for this program.

In addition to the academic curriculum that these students will have access to, Iowa Central will also assist students in preparing their financial aid application, assist students in making career choices in reference to these new post-secondary academic programs, along with continuing to offer the current academic and guidance courses that are offered to incarcerated individuals, such as High School Equivalency, Pre-Release Employment Program and Life Skills training. There are also literacy courses for individuals with low level reading skills. At the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility there are education tutors that are available in the evenings to assist students. At both correctional facilities, different community service groups come in and work directly with incarcerated individuals to improve communication, public speaking and leadership skills.

The great option that we have built into each and every one of our Certificate programs that will be offered within the correctional facilities is that each program has a continuation option, meaning that upon their release, they can continue their post-secondary education at Iowa Central to gain either a diploma or an Associate’s degree in their chosen field.

Iowa Central Community College sees this pilot program as a great opportunity to further assist the correctional system in the rehabilitation and training of inmates to assist in improving their skills, employability, and their ability to be a productive member of society upon their release.

Neale Adams is a faculty member at Iowa Central Community College affiliated with its business and industrial technology programs.

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