According to a press release that I received yesterday:

“Jake Cronin, a policy analyst with the Institute of Public Policy in the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, studied Missouri Department of Corrections data and found that inmates who earned their GED in Missouri prisons were significantly more likely to find a job after prison and less likely to recidivate than inmates who did not. Cronin found the biggest jump in reduced recidivism rates, more than 33 percent, when he looked at inmates who earned a GED and acquired a full-time job after their release.

“Employment proves to be the strongest predictor of not returning to prison that we found,” Cronin said. “Those who have a full-time job are much less likely to return to prison than similar inmates who are unemployed. Recidivism rates were nearly cut in half for former inmates with a full-time job compared to similar inmates who are unemployed. Inmates who take advantage of the educational opportunities available to them in prison are more likely to find a job than those who do not.”

Cronin says these reduced recidivism rates can save the state a substantial amount of money in reduced incarceration costs. He points to a similar study which found that educational programs that reduced recidivism rates saved the state of Maryland $24 million a year, which is twice the amount of money spent on the program. Cronin believes this shows that correctional facility educational programs are a good investment for the state of Missouri.

“If similar results occur in Missouri, which I would expect given the findings of this study, that would mean the state is currently saving more than $20 million a year in reduced incarceration costs as a result of correctional education programs,” Cronin said. “In this political environment, states across the country are looking for ways to save money. This is one program that, in the long run, saves the state money. It is a good investment; an investment that has a high rate of return.”

This is directly relevant to current prisoners. My pen pal Randy Miller who is incarcerated at Indiana State Prison is an advocate for prisoner education. Here is a letter to the editor that he wrote a couple of months ago about this topic:

Recent legislation passed by Indiana law makers eliminated the bachelor’s degree program from all Indiana State Prison beginning in the fall semester of 2011. The reason given by Governor Mitch Daniels and the state legislators for this action, is that it is unfair for tax payers to be burdened with the cost of covering educational expenses for convicted felons. This may be a valid argument, except that financially it is an outright lie.

The cost of college expenses in the 2010 school year for all Department of Correction inmates was $9.06 million, covered by the Obama grant program. Under new legislation, only $2 million will be allocated to the Department of Corrections to cover educational expenses for college. On the surface this appears to be a financially sound move and looks to save tax payers $7 million a year, but let’s look at what it really costs.

The state of Indiana pays the Department of Corrections just under $58 per day, per inmate, or $21,170.00 per year. There are approximately 361 inmates eligible to receive a bachelor’s degree each year within the Department of Corrections. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree cuts two years off an inmates sentence, saving tax payers $42,340.00 per inmate. By eliminating this opportunity for an average of 361 inmates state wide per year, Governor Mitch Daniels and your state legislators have saved you the tax payer $7 million a year in educational expenses to inmates, and burdened you with $15,284,740.00 per year to house inmates who now cannot receive this time cut. These costs do not include the rising rate of recidivism bound to follow these cuts in education.

Governor Mitch Daniels wants to move to technical schooling to teach inmates a trade rather than a general education, even though these trades have been shown and proven to have little to no effect on lowering recidivism rates. As it stands today, the average recidivism rate in Indiana is at 63 percent. A bachelor’s degree cuts that rate to less than 8 percent! Under Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana has led the nation in prison population growth, with a prison population increase of more than 6 percent per year. Even California, a state who’s prison population dwarfs Indiana’s in comparison, cut it’s prison population by almost 3 percent.

It is time to change the way we think about the Department of Corrections. It is unfeasible to think you can warehouse inmates and ignore the problem, especially when more that 95 percent of those inmates will be re-entering society someday. The single most beneficial tool we have to lower crime rates, reduce recidivism and ensure the success of inmates re-entering society is education. There is absolutely no benefit for anyone in cutting educational funding to prisoners and eliminating the bachelor’s degree opportunity to inmates.

By
Randy Miller #154124
Indiana State Prison
August 6, 2011

If you know that incarceration makes youth worse…

If you know that youth incarceration is ineffective, costly and counterproductive…

If you know that there is a better way to address the needs of youth in trouble with the law…

Then now is the time to WAKE UP and SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW TO BE TRUE.

On September 8th, Governor Pat Quinn announced that he would recommend closing IYC-Murphysboro this fiscal year. This will save the state $3.1 million in just FY12. This is a good start and we believe that many more youth prisons can and should be closed too. For specific information about IYC-Murphysboro, click here.

We have the opportunity in Illinois to mobilize to educate the public and push our legislators to close youth prisons. Betsy Clarke, director of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, put it best in a recent column:

Illinois currently runs eight separate far-flung juvenile facilities to house an average of less than 1,200 youth. These eight facilities are costly. The average annual cost per bed has rapidly risen from $70,915 five years ago to an estimate of more than $90,000 this year. The per bed cost at the Murphysboro youth prison, which the governor plans to close, is far above average and climbed to $142,342 per bed in FY10. Operation of each facility entails significant administrative costs as does collective oversight and management of the eight separate facilities.

If each of the eight facilities ran quality programming with successful results, there might be justification for continuing their operation. The facts, however, are dismally opposite. Reports document a juvenile prison system that is ineffective, with over half the youth returning to juvenile prisons within three years. Most facilities struggle to maintain minimal educational programming, let alone adequate mental health treatment, recreation or vocational classes.

According to an analysis of state records by the Juvenile Justice Initiative the average daily population for youth prisons in the state was 1,113 in fiscal year 2011, down from 1,603 in fiscal year 2005 and 1,192 in fiscal year 2011. The same analysis estimates operation costs for the facilities as $92,257 per bed for fiscal year 2011.

This is where we are in Illinois. On both humanitarian and fiscal grounds, the status quo is unsustainable. Just today, I read that the forces of the opposition are mobilizing to resist closing IYC-Murphysboro. I am extremely sympathetic to those who would lose their jobs with the closing of this facility. However, I agree strongly with Betsy Clarke who is quoted as saying: “Funding for juvenile justice is a limited amount of money, and we want to use it in the best way possible. Your jobs should not be built on the back of human misery. That should not be our job development plan.”

Here’s what you can do to add your voice in support of the Governor’s decision to close IYC-Murphysboro if you live in Illinois:

1. Sign this Change.org Petition telling Governor Pat Quinn to stand firm in closing Murphysboro Youth Prison.

2. Call Governor Quinn’s office and let him know that you support his decision to close IYC-Murphysboro. Let him also know that Illinois can afford to close even more youth prisons and that you would support that too. Call the Governor at 217-782-0244 or 312-814-2121. Tell all of your friends and family to call too. Locking young people up does not make us safer and in fact make us all less safe.

3. You can also write letters to the Governor. If you work with youth, have them write letters to the Governor telling him that they support his decision:

Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

or

Office of the Governor
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, 16-100
Chicago, IL 60601

4. If you live in Illinois, attend a Teach-In on Closing Illinois Youth Prisons scheduled for October 29th from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

5. Visit the new "Closing Illinois Youth Prisons" which includes resources, information, and ways to take action.

I thought that some readers would find it interesting to know just how much stuff costs at Illinois prison commissaries.

Prisoners who do not have a job currently receive up to $10.00 “state pay” each month. This amount has not been increased in many years. Additionally, Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) usually deducts 3-4% from the $10.00 to cover housing costs. And sometimes the “state pay” is not in fact paid. The “state pay” is used to cover other costs the prisoner has that are not covered by the IDOC. For example:

* Deodorant-$2-4.00 on commissary. None supplied.
* Toothpaste-$2-4.00 on commissary. Not supplied on a consistent basis or at all.
* Toothbrushes-$0.50 on commissary. Very rarely supplied by IDOC.
* Soap- small (1″ by 2″) bars-nondeoderant, provided to each inmate each week. $0.40 per bar at commissary.
* Shampoo. $1-3.00 at commissary. None provided
* Laundry detergent-$4-5.00 at commissary. None provided.
* Lotions-$2-4.00 on commissary. None provided
* Shaving Equipment-one single edge razor provided at most once per week. Usually, 2-3 times per month.
* Shaving equipment-electric razor or trimmer combs purchased from $10-50.00 from commissary.
* Fans-cell houses have no air conditioning. General population cells have no windows. Fan costs $25.00 from commissary.
* Legal services-copies of legal decisions and other similar materials at $0.05 per Pages.
* Food-IDOC provides three meals a day (quality questionable). Additional food, coffee, condiments, etc., must be purchased from commissary.
* Clothing-currently, inmates are fortunate if they receive two pairs of boxers, socks, twoT-shirts, one blue shirt, one pair of pants from IDOC. Due to budget cuts, this happens only once per year. Formerly, an inmate would receive these items four times per year. Inmates do not receive boots, even during winter months, other than slipper-type shoes. Regular shoes must be purchased from commissary. Costs range from $12-66.00.
* A towel and washcloth may be given 1-2 times per year.
* All electronics must be purchased from commissary. Extension cords, cable cords, headphones, TV’s, radios, splitters, lights, light bulbs, batteries, razors, etc.
* Cold/allergy/pain relievers are purchased from commissary. The nurses/med techs formerly provided the at the cost of the $2.00 co-pay, but don’t have them anymore.
* Envelopes/paper/pens to write to family, friends are not provided and must be purchased from commissary. An envelope with stamp currently costs $0.53.

(H/T to the Illinois Institute for Community Law and Affairs for this information)

Note: No sooner had I posted this was I reminded that the vast majority of the items listed above are not full sized but travel sized items. Thanks Dan for the reminder.

We have an opportunity to decrease youth incarceration in Illinois. House Bill 83 is currently sitting on Governor Quinn’s Desk and we need to insist that he sign this bill before July 16th. Below is a template of a letter that you can and should send to the Governor’s office on this matter. You can also download the letter HERE.

If you would like to call the Governor’s office instead, please do so at 217-782-0244 and tell him to sign HB83. It will take only a few minutes to make your voice heard on this. Please call or write to the Governor.

The Honorable Pat Quinn
Governor of Illinois
Room 207, State Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706

RE: House Bill 83

Dear Governor Quinn:

We respectfully request that you sign House Bill 83 into law.

House Bill 83 (Yarbrough-Gabel, Hernandez, Soto and D. Smith/A. Collins-Steans) amends the Juvenile Court Act to encourage courts to explore community alternatives prior to sentencing youth to incarceration in the state Department of Juvenile Justice. This bill is expected to save the state money by encouraging the use of less expensive – and more effective – community alternatives to state funded incarceration. The bill is also expected to help Illinois recoup federal Title IV E funding for youth who need residential placement.

House Bill 83 passed the Senate unanimously, and has no known opposition.

This bill addresses the concerns of impacted community members that sentencing a youth to state juvenile confinement be a last resort, following a well informed and deliberative review of all available community based alternatives. Research has established that youth are least likely to repeat offend if they are given community based treatment and interventions. In light of the poor outcomes for youth committed to the state Department of Juvenile Justice, expanding the use of community-based alternatives is critical. This bill will encourage the use of community-based alternatives.

The bonus is that not only is encouraging community alternatives better policy – it is cheaper, far less costly, than confinement. Thus, by encouraging courts to make all reasonable efforts to keep youth at home, this bill will help the state save money, while reducing repeat offending by juveniles. Further, the reasonable efforts review is required in order to access federal IV E dollars for juveniles who need residential placement.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Respectfully submitted,

By age 17, one in four African-American youth has a father who has been sent to prison. Source: Western, 2011

I’ve been wanting to post this here for a couple of weeks but didn’t get to it. Kudos to Brave New Films and The Cuentame Campaign for Spearheading this campaign!

Once again, the New York Times comes through for me with data visualization:

Last week, I went to Cook County Jail to visit a young man who is currently being detained there. I absolutely hate that place but that is a story for another day. Anyway, as I was meeting with this young man, I noticed an older black inmate who was talking with a younger woman. This man looked to be at least 65 years old and I just felt sad.

by Billy Dee

I have previously written about the plight of elderly prisoners on this blog. Today another interesting article about this topic was published in Corrections Magazine.

The following paragraphs are the most interesting parts of the piece to me:

As of 2010, 13% of inmates in our prison system were over 55 years old.(1) This number is predicted to increase between four and seven times in the next 20 years, becoming the fastest growing prisoner age group.(2) By 2030, it is estimated that 1/3 of the entire US prison population – currently estimated at 1.6M – will be 55 years or older.(2)

In addition, studies have found incarceration accelerates the aging process by an average of 11.5 years.(3) Compared to younger prisoners; older inmates have higher rates of mild and serious health conditions. Due to deteriorating health, aging inmates have special needs. These needs range from medication and special diets to round the clock nursing, driving costs of managing an elderly prisoner to an estimated $70,000 annually – this is 3x the cost of regular inmates.(4)

These are staggering numbers.

Note: The illustration in this post is from a new zine called “the PIC Is” which can be downloaded for free here.

There are times when words are very limiting. This is one of those times. I am incredibly proud to have been part of a team that has created a wonderful publication titled “The PIC Is.”

Over the past few months, I have previewed the zine on this blog by offering my thoughts about the importance of popular education in the movement to dismantle the PIC. I have also written often about my belief in the power of art to foster and sustain social change.

Before going any further however, a word about my friend, the amazing and super talented Billy Dee. Billy illustrated and designed “the PIC Is” zine. As an artist, activist, and person, Billy is generous in spirit and always open to collaborate. A self-described “enthusiast,” I can tell you that it is a true joy to work with Billy on anything and I (and the organization that I founded) have been blessed to be the beneficiaries on more than one occasion of the product of Billy’s artistic talents. Thank you Billy for all that you do and are. I am certain that every single person who looks at this zine will be moved by your illustrations and compelled to ask themselves: “How can I contribute to the movement to dismantle the inhumane PIC?”

The Chicago PIC Teaching Collective spearheaded this project. I am indebted to all of its members. Thank you for participating in this journey.

My friends Lisa and Teresa at the Jane Addams Hull House Museum also provided a critical eye for this work. Special thanks to the Museum for covering the printing costs for a first-run of the zine. We will now be able to distribute some hard copies of the publication throughout Chicago and to some prisoners as a result.

Finally a few words about what I hope happens to this zine now that we have released it into the world….

This publication is offered as a gift. The topic is tragic and deadly serious. However those of us who worked collaboratively to create this zine envisioned it as a crie de coeur and as something to be shared. We expect that those who care about issues of justice, equality, and humanity will use it as a teaching tool and as an organizing tool. We invite you to reproduce it as often as you would like. We invite you to forward the PDF version to everyone you know. We invite you to use the images in your outreach, education, and organizing efforts [if you need higher resolution images please let us know]. This is intended as a strictly non-commercial endeavor and we ask that those who use the publication adhere to the same spirit.

More important for us though, this zine is meant to be passed along to people in your life who may not think that they care about prisons or feel that they are not impacted by the PIC. You can help by passing it along to one other person in your life who you think might be open to learning more about how the PIC operates in 21st century America. Then I hope that you will engage that person in a conversation about the nature and impact of the PIC. If you are an educator, please feel free to use this publication with your students and share it with your colleagues. If you think of creative ways to incorporate it into your curriculum, please contact us at chipicteach@gmail.com to let us know about it. We would love to post it on our site and share it with others.

I have no doubt that someone, somewhere will find something to criticize about this publication. That is fine. It is not offered as THE definitive document for understanding the PIC. That is not its intent. Ta-Nehisi Coates recently wrote that “creation is the ultimate critique.” He was likely inspired by Michelangelo who wrote “Critique by creating.” I completely co-sign this idea. I’ll end with a few more words from Mr. Coates in response to the inevitable criticisms or complaints about omissions etc… If you don’t like this publication, “Make another one. Make a better one. Start now.” And I will add: Send us a copy too!

You can download the zine from the Chicago PIC Teaching Collective’s site HERE. It is offered in peace and solidarity.

NOTE: If you are in Chicago next week on May 12th, join us at the juvenile justice zine release party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hull House Museum, 800 S. Halsted St (Resident’s Dining Hall). Guests will receive a hard copy of the “PIC Is” zine as well as two others (one about the School to Prison Pipeline and a Know Your Rights zine created by Models for Change).

Three other juvenile justice-focused zines (History of Juvenile Justice in Illinois, Youth Stories of the Incarcerated, and Girls in the System) will be released online at the end of May.

I am not going to offer any additional comments on this but I came across a blog post by someone named Liam Denning at the Wall Street Journal today. Denning was discussing the private prison industry and how investors should trade the stocks of these entities (Geo Group and CCA). You can read the full post here.

The most striking parts of the post are quoted below:

By 2020, the U.S. adult population should increase by roughly 22 million, according to the World Bank. At the current incarceration rate, there will be another 160,000 federal and state prisoners by 2020. Say average overcrowding is cut from 109% to 105%—by building more beds—and the private operators win 35% share of all new beds, in line with the average for 2005-09. The result would be 76,000 new private beds across the decade, or a healthy growth rate of 4.5% a year. Privatization of existing public facilities would add to this.

There is a chance America’s appetite for imprisonment weakens, but this would require a major shift in attitudes. More importantly, as long as taxpayers are looking for ways to cut costs while still keeping their neighborhoods safe, the private prison operators should be able to lock in long-term growth.

This is what we are up against…