Incarcerated Youth Literacy Project
Project Overview
The Brainstorming Process
Two central interests that inform a good deal of my academic and personal pursuits are criminal justice and education reform. I was very excited when I was able to use research and discussions on the Michigan Student Caucus website to develop this project, which merged together these two passions. This website tells the story of this journey, along with promoting a space for further discussion of the issues. The blog component of this webpage will track this discourse more specifically.
Project Description
The Incarcerated Youth Literacy Project (IYLP) was created in response to the dismal quality of education available to incarcerated youth in the state of Michigan. The policy bases for the IYLP is MCL 791.262d. Under this state law, the state is required to provide for the "development of rehabilitative programs [and] programming" for incarcerated youth up to the age of 22 (MCL 791.262d). There is little clarity after this fact. or strict guidelines for required programs. This lack of clarity, paired with the fact that despite 2/3 of youth in custody expressing interest in pursuing higher education, less than 40% return to school after being released (OJJDP Survey of Youth in Residential Placement). Much of this discrepancy is attributed to lack of quality education for incarcerated youth, which leaves them exceptionally behind in school, dissuading their continuation, and which in turn, increases their chances of recidivism (State of Opportunity Report published by Michigan Radio). To say this raises a concerning issue would be a vast understatement. The goal of the IYLP is to advocate for quality education for Michigan's incarcerated youth population through adding more specific provisions to MCL 791.262d, with a measurement of the success of such being advanced literacy within this population.
Another way in which this project has been informed is through my Social Work Internship with Ypsilanti Community High School. Several of the students one whose cases I have worked, have been in and out of detention centers and jails. Most of these students have difficulties returning to the YCHS, and more than half of these students end up either dropping out or being expelled. In my discussion with social workers at YCHS, it seems that one of the major agents involved in the situation is often times the parents. Parents who have been in prison or jail themselves seem less able to offer help, and their students will are often introduced to the criminal justice system earlier and more intensely than their peers. In addition, those students with higher anxiety or depression, or other mental health issues also seem to be at higher risk of incarceration, based off my experience working with Ypsilanti High School students,
There are many complicated dynamics and myriad agents involved in this dire situation, and it is important to consider all of these as the IYLP continues to work towards accomplishing its mission of advocating for high quality education for incarcerated youth in the state of Michigan.
Problems and Solutions
One of the major problems faced by the goals of the IYLP is the issue of funding. There is an argument to be made that prisons, and the government, simply cannot afford providing high-quality education to incarcerated youth. That is not, however an opinion that holds much water in light of the following solution:
Take the $7,000-$9,000 per student/youth that would have gone to a public school had the student not become incarcerated, and put that towards funding education programming in custody for these individuals.
This will allow for the necessary programs to be funded. As such, it will aid in the successful reentry of youth to schools after being incarcerated, which will decrease recidivism, and increase access to higher education for this population of Michigan youth.
“Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages.”
Angela Davis
Contact Me
If you are interested in learning more about the IYLP, or want to get involved, please contact me!