Overview

Funded by Ascendium Education Group and conducted in partnership with the State of Arkansas, this project will develop a comprehensive, linked data infrastructure to measure prison education programs. This resource will support analyses of educational opportunities in prisons and help estimate how effective these programs are in promoting post-release success.

Challenges

Prison education programs (PEP) strive to equip incarcerated individuals with the skills they need to succeed economically upon release. Rigorous measurement is essential to assess the effectiveness of PEP implementation and administration. However, at present, there is no integrated data system that provides comprehensive information on PEPs or the demographics, education background, and employment outcomes of the populations they serve.

The following challenges exist with current research methods:

●      Most research on post-release success relies on surveys, which capture a narrow segment of formerly incarcerated populations, limiting how broadly findings can be applied. Survey data also depends on self-reports, raising concerns about responses to sensitive topics.

●      Although PEPs work to promote long-term stability post incarceration, most studies measure employment between six months and three years after release due to a lack of employment data.

●      Studies often measure post-release success using a basic indicator of whether someone is employed, which doesn’t capture employment stability or economic advancement.

●     There must be comparable education and employment data for both formerly incarcerated individuals and similar non-incarcerated individuals to reliably estimate the impact of PEPs on employment and mobility, which is currently lacking.

Objective

Coleridge is partnering with the Arkansas state government to develop a data infrastructure on PEPs that offers a comprehensive picture from pre-conviction characteristics and PEP participation to post-release outcomes, enabling key stakeholders to address critical questions about their effectiveness. Each year, Arkansas serves about 10,000 students in one or more of its 77 prison education programs, including over 30 programs that provide higher education or vocational-technical instruction. It was one of the first states to establish a comprehensive incarceration management information system, so it has over 20 years of robust historical data on every aspect of incarceration and community supervision. Given its dedication to PEPs and the rich data availability, Arkansas is an ideal state to partner with to develop the data infrastructure.

Coleridge will also work with Arkansas state government to deliver Applied data Analytics (ADA) training designed to test and advance the data infrastructure's capabilities and establish networks and strategic partnerships to scale it into other states. Subject matter experts (SMEs) in the fields of criminal justice, education, and labor will be invited to participate in the training. Drawing on their deep knowledge, these SMEs will provide insight into the strengths, limitations, and potential uses of the data. They will also identify policy-relevant research questions that the data infrastructure should help address to meet stakeholder needs.

Participants from other states will also be invited to the training to foster cross-state collaboration, support knowledge sharing, and demonstrate the benefits of this infrastructure through a data dashboard. During the training, research projects will allow for an initial exploration of the data and its potential, though the limited class time will not permit in-depth, academically rigorous research.

Results

The goal of this project is to provide researchers—especially those in state agencies—with a comprehensive, linked data infrastructure to examine education opportunities in prisons and estimate how effective these programs are in supporting post-release success.

On the access and opportunity side, the new linked data asset can be used to answer questions such as:

●      What types of educational opportunities are available to incarcerated students and how they vary by location

●      How programs differ for male and female students

●      How these PEP opportunities compare to those available to similar non-incarcerated individuals.

Answers to these questions will help policymakers refine existing programs and design new ones that better meet students’ needs and improve their outcomes.

On the effectiveness side, the infrastructure can be used to:

●      Examine the relationship between participation in prison education programs and post-release employment outcomes

●     Identify which types of programs are associated with higher employment rates, higher wages, shorter job searches, and greater employment stability

●     Support the development of tools that recommend programs tailored to students’ interests and desired career paths after release

More closely aligned and effective programs can encourage higher participation and increase the social benefits these students bring to their communities.

The evidence base developed through this work will inform policymakers on the programs that are most effective at achieving upward socioeconomic mobility for these vulnerable students. Relatedly, because other states also face similar challenges, this work will serve as a blueprint for how they can develop and use a data infrastructure focused on the programs and the students they serve. It will not only directly benefit researchers and policymakers but, most importantly, benefit the students who will participate in the PEPs.