A prison campus becomes a college campus!

 

“Prison education is a concept whose time has come. It is time to stop studying the issue and stop discoursing. It is time to start the ball rolling and do something about it.”

― Christopher Zoukis, federal prison consultant 

I’m proud to report that Pure Michigan IS doing something about it! 

Prison Journalism Project, an independent non-profit, recently published this exciting information: 

The state Legislature recently allocated $3.9 million to transform an unused industrial-scale warehouse within Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer into a self-contained college center. The college will provide higher education classes to all of the over 1,000 state prisoners held at the prison. Once completed, the campus building will house dozens of classrooms, a computer room without internet, a library and a small cafe with food available for purchase by professors and students. To be eligible, prisoners must be incarcerated at this medium security prison. And, to stay enrolled, students must maintain both good behavior and a minimum GPA. 

The concept, the philosophy, the project, make so much sense.  The Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that incarcerated individuals who participate in prison education programs have a 43% reduction in recidivism rates. In fact, the higher the education, the lower the recidivism rate! 

I’m very familiar with the Thumb Facility. Maurice Carter was a resident there for many years. I not only made regular trips to Lapeer, but I was a guest speaker for a special occasion there. Upon reading this exciting story about TCF I contacted the MDOC’s Kyle Kaminsky to learn more. He reports that his department is currently working on designing the space, and construction will start later this year. He said, “The long-term goal is to be able to have everyone at Thumb enrolled in educational programming at the same time thanks to adding this retrofitted space.” 

Despite the opposition of some of the older “hardline” prison administrators, the MDOC has been quietly and steadily pushing forward on this education concept. According to Kaminski, the MDOC has their 13th college partner launching its program in August! We’re especially proud of the fact that two colleges and seminaries right here in our area are playing a key role in this education project. The Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) program is based in the Handlon CF in Ionia. And. the Hope-Western Prison Education Program (HWPEP) is based at Muskegon Correctional Facility. 

We’ve been quick to criticize the MDOC regarding numerous issues over the years. But, credit where credit is due!  Michigan is the first state to turn an entire correctional facility into a secure college campus! 

And for that, HFP offers a well-deserved salute! 

“To provide post-secondary education to prisoners is not advocating that we be “soft on crime.” It is simply the most effective and least expensive method of getting some control over crime and reducing the crippling tax burden that crime imposes on law-abiding citizens.”

― Christopher Zoukis

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