The Columbus Dispatch, September 6, 2016: Pell Grants for College Courses Offer Inmates Second Chance

“The new Pell project will include an analysis of its effect on recidivism. Supporters point to an analysis of previous research by the Rand Corporation, concluding that the risk of an inmate returning to prison within three years drops by 13 percentage points among those who have any kind of education while in prison. A Dispatch analysis of a former Ohio University prison program in 1994 had a similar result: While 41 percent of the general prison population was sent back to prison within six years, the number was 28 percent among those who took college courses. Officials at the time were disappointed that the improvement wasn’t greater, and critics said that prisons should concentrate more on basic education. In 1994, three-quarters of all Ohio prisoners lacked even a high-school diploma or GED.”