Continuing a discussion started in the fall of 2012, the U.S. Department of Education will co-host a Correctional Education Summit with the Ford Foundation on Monday, April 29, 2013. The event is an opportunity to assess progress on correctional education with field leaders and to identify levers for improving existing programs and policy.
Monday’s summit will begin with opening remarks at 8:30 EDT from Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education Brenda Dann-Messier. Following her remarks, experts in the field – including leaders at the Ford Foundation − will join U.S. Department of Education officials throughout the day to discuss the state of education in correctional facilities.
Participating Department officials include Deb Delisle, Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Michael Yudin, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Debra Saunders-White, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education; John DiPaolo, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Office for Civil Rights; and Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement. There will also be presentations from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Justice.
The Department hosted its first correctional education summit last fall, where scholars, researchers, and practitioners shared their perspectives on education programs in juvenile and adult justice facilities and education re-entry programs. These programs can make communities safer by reducing recidivism and victimization; assisting those who return from prison and jail in becoming productive citizens; and saving taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration.
Monday’s summit is part of the U.S. Department of Education and Ford Foundation’s commitment to a cross-governmental strategy that improves the correctional education system by engaging in a robust field discussion and supporting federal policy and state and local programs that improve the outcomes of the individuals returning to communities after secure confinement.