On November 7-8, 2019 the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) hosted its first-ever Prison CPAC meeting in the Philadelphia area. The goal was to discuss federal, state and local policies, programs and practices focused on addressing criminal justice reform. Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union, and David Safavian, Deputy Director of the ACUF’s Nolan Center for Criminal Justice Reform, did a masterful job of bringing together people from across the political spectrum to talk about the barriers and solutions to preparing incarcerated men and women to reenter society after spending time in prison.
Day one of the Prison CPAC meeting took place inside a State Correctional Institution located in Chester, PA, which is a 1,175-bed prison for men with a documented history of substance abuse. The Superintendent of the Chester prison, Marirosa Lamas, welcomed more than 400 attendees to the meeting, and then introduced Matt Schlapp, Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel, and ACU board member Charlie Gerow to come on stage for opening remarks about how the event became a reality.
Audience members at this historic meeting included lawmakers, reformers, public and private sector partners, and employers. However, the largest segment of the audience were the approximately 350 incarcerated men living inside the Chester prison. They were not in the room for window dressing purposes only; they fully participated in the conference. They asked questions, spoke one-on-one with panelists, and welcomed other audience members to sit at their tables during lunch.
I was honored to sit on a panel to talk about the role of education in criminal justice reform. With me were Congressman Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), South Carolina businessman Scott Adams, and R Street Director of Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties Arthur Rizer, who moderated the panel. We discussed improvements to workforce development inside prison. At the Chester facility, for example, residents have access to GED classes as well as vocational training programs in carpentry, and heating ventilation and air conditioning.
We also discussed the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program for Incarcerated Individuals. President Barack Obama, the only president to visit a prison while in office, decided to open the Pell Grant program to the incarcerated on a limited basis. On July 31, 2015, his administration announced the launch of the program to allow partnerships between prisons and postsecondary institutions to offer certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor degrees in subjects ranging from business to the social sciences. More than 200 postsecondary institutions applied. On June 24, 2016, Secretary of Education John King announced the 67 two and four year colleges that were granted an opportunity to educate approximately 12,000 men and women in 100 prisons in 27 states. Since the program began, Second Chance Pell sites have awarded 954 credentials. More than 60 postsecondary institutions remain in the program today.
Unlike some prison-based GED and vocational programs, the Pell Pilot Program is designed to help men and women prepare for a job, start their own business, or pursue a master’s or doctoral degree once they leave prison.
My support for offering a college degree to the incarcerated is based on three things. First, I saw firsthand as a former member of the trustee board at Patten University in Oakland, CA the positive social and economic benefits private-sector financial support for college prep courses and an AA program in San Quentin Prison had on the lives of the incarcerated. Use of a Pell Grant to do the same is important. Second, I visited prisons in Arkansas and Oklahoma that participate in the Second Chance Pell Program and heard from men and women inside prison — and those who left — who shared the impact that the program had on their lives. Prison leadership and staff also attest to the positive impact it has on prison culture. Third, as a life-long supporter of educational opportunities for adults, my support of Pell Grant usage to pursue a college degree does not stop once at the prison gate.
Not all conservatives and liberals support the idea of giving a Pell Grant to prisoners. Some contend that people who committed a crime lost the right to gain access to a Pell Grant. That rationale was used to enact the bipartisan supported Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that barred incarcerated men and women from receiving a Pell Grant to get an education. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law and Senator Joe Biden was a sponsor of the legislation. Many Republicans and Democrats in Congress still hold this view.
Other congresspersons support the use of Pell Grants for incarcerated adults. For instance, US Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Restoring Education and Learning (REAL) Act of 2019 to restore Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated men and women. Senator Schatz explained why he introduced this legislation. “When we give people in prison an opportunity to earn an education, our communities are safer, taxpayers save money, and we can end the cycle of recidivism.” Senator Lee did the same. “The REAL Act is an important part of providing opportunity to federal offenders and reducing recidivism.”
In the House of Representatives, Danny Davis (D-IL), Jim Banks (R-IN), Barbara Lee (D-CA) and French Hill (R-AK) support companion legislation. “Restoring Pell Grants to the incarcerated is a bipartisan effort because it strengthens communities, improves reentry, promotes economic well-being, increases labor force participation, and meets workforce demands,” said Rep. Davis.
In closing, the CPAC Prison conference was an important gathering because it provided conservatives a platform to discuss their role in criminal justice reform, and offered democrats, libertarians and the incarcerated an opportunity to do the same. While there is room for disagreement inside the big tent of ideas, let us agree that we need to reform how we prepare people to renter society. Education programs — be it for workforce development, basic skills training or for a college degree — are one pathway worth our consideration.
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