This SIG monitors activities on Capitol Hill and discusses current issues and trends that impact funding and legislative requirements for correctional education. http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/list.php?10 Sat, 25 May 2013 00:01:55 -0400 Phorum 5.2.7 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,2185,2185#msg-2185 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,2185,2185#msg-2185
In December, Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan hosted his monthly meeting with students by inviting students at Maryland’s Montgomery County Pre-Release Center to come to his office. Since the students are minimum security, they were able to take the DC Metro “out of state” for the visit. Dr. Stefan LoBuglio, Warden of PRC and his boss Art Wallenstein, Montgomery County Department of Corrections Director, both CEA members, enthusiastically approved their participation.

CEA Executive Director Steve Steurer believes, “This is just another indication of the high level of interest and support for correctional education.”

In late January, Office of Vocational and Adult Education Assistant Secretary Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier will be attending the winter meeting of the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) at the American Correctional Association (ACA) Conference in Houston to talk to the assembled state secretaries and commissioners of adult and juvenile corrections. According to Steve, “CEA has had a regular slot on the ASCA agenda for the past several years so we arranged a discussion with ASCA for the US Department of Education update. ASCA enthusiastically invited her to speak. . . I believe all this marks a high point in the national support of correctional education at the US Department of Education as well as with ASCA and ACA.”

Below are two excerpts from the latest Office of Vocational and Adult Education newsletter from the US Department of Education.

Senior Education Department Officials Learn from Students Involved with the Criminal Justice System
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and OVAE Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier have recently met with students involved with the criminal justice system not only to better understand their educational experiences, but also to inform work of the Department in the areas of correctional education and prisoner reentry. The Department’s blog for Dec. 10, 2012 carries a posting, about the Student Voices work, of which this was a part: [www.ed.gov].

. . . Starcia Ague — who was incarcerated from the ages of 15 to 21— met this December with OVAE staff to discuss how facility-based educational experiences shaped her development and enabled her to move into a successful adulthood. Ague is a passionate advocate for college opportunities within correctional facilities. Her autobiographical piece “Trouble to Triumph, Fighting for Education Equality as an Incarcerated Youth” was published this month in a special edition of the Harvard Educational Review “Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline.”

The First Social Impact Bond Program in the US Begins in New York City to Help Reduce Youth Crime and Recidivism
MDRC (formerly known as Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation), a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization dedicated to learning what works to improve programs and policies that affect the poor, recently announced its participation with New York City in the nation’s first Social Impact Bond Program. It is an innovative means to fund promising new programs at no cost to taxpayers until improved social outcomes are proven to have been achieved. The groundbreaking program, Adolescent Behavioral Learning Experience (ABLE), is a cognitive behavioral therapy program for 16- to 18-year-olds detained at Rikers Island. Nearly 50% of adolescents who leave Rikers return within one year. The principal goal of ABLE is to help these youths stay in school and/or find a job by emphasizing personal responsibility, education, training and counseling, thereby reducing the high recidivism rate.
This innovative funding structure was first initiated in Great Britain two years ago. It is an investment vehicle designed to encourage private investment in the scaling up of evidence-based program innovations that have demonstrated potential to return a positive benefit to the public sector. Once a third-party evaluation confirms that the services have delivered an agreed-upon outcome, the government reimburses the original investors. These programs are designed to find new ways to finance human services initiatives that might save governments money over the long term. As such, work from this new initiative and its outcomes may be particularly useful to service providers, including adult education and correctional education providers.

Working with the New York City Mayor’s Office and the Department of Correction, MDRC is designing and overseeing the program. They contracted with the Osborne Association and Friends of Island Academy to run the program. Goldman Sachs is providing financing and Bloomberg Philanthropies is providing grant support for the effort. The Vera Institute of Justice will conduct an independent evaluation and release the results in 2016.]]> Jerry Bednarowski Legislative Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:07:40 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1610,1610#msg-1610 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1610,1610#msg-1610
Steve Steurer, Executive Director of the Correctional Education Association, is making available the article below that was published in the American Correctional Association September, 2011 online newsletter. It is a terrific summary of the issues in correctional education and what the study hopes to accomplish. The CEA Leadership Forum in early April will have an update on the study with a more extensive report this summer at the CEA conference in St. Paul. Bill Sondervan, John Dowdell and Steve are on the advisory board for the two year project funded by The Bureau of Justice Assistance Second Chance Act. They are searching for best practices in any and all areas of correctional education at the prison level. If you have any questions you may contact Steve Steurer at ssteurer@ceanational.org .

New Study Will Examine Correctional Education in the US

In a workshop titled, “An Examination of Correctional Education in the U.S.,” presented at the 141st Congress of Correction in Kissimmee, Fla., Lois Davis, Ph.D., senior policy researcher for RAND Corp. outlined a new study of correctional education that is being funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) through the Second Chance Act. Joining Davis on the panel were Steve Steurer, Ph.D., executive director of the Correctional Education Association (CEA) and Bill Sondervan, Ph.D., professor and executive director of public safety outreach at University of Maryland University College. The panel was moderated by Carl Nink, executive director of Management and Training Corp.

Gary Dennis, senior policy advisor for corrections for BJA introduced the study by explaining that RAND will be receiving the second largest grant from the Second Chance Act, totaling $2.5 million over 18 months. The study will be conducted through a partnership between BJA, RAND and CEA on the premise that “The more education an offender receives when they’re in [prison], the less likely they are to recidivate,” Dennis said. He went on to explain that there are correctional education programs all over the country that have not been examined, and this study will give BJA the opportunity to identify the positive things that are happening in the field. These areas with known, yet unexamined programs are referred to as “pockets of excellence.” The findings of the study will be given to the attorney general, who will hopefully in turn pass it on to Congress in order to gain additional funding for correctional education programs across the country. The team that will be conducting the study is comprised of experts in corrections, education, reentry and vocational training in order to give a comprehensive overview of the field of correctional education, something Davis cited as one of the major strengths of the project.

“Over two-thirds of inmates are rearrested and half are incarcerated within three years of release,” Davis said. In addition, prison populations have nearly doubled in the last two decades, resulting in overcrowding. “We need to do everything we can to get inmates to return home and make sure they don’t come back,” Sondervan said. “This needs to be done by better @#$%& inmates’ needs and providing them with skills they need to survive when they leave.” Even if offenders manage not to reoffend after their release, many still struggle with reentry, which includes finding employment. Offenders enter the system with a wide variety of problems, including high illiteracy rates. “How can we expect people to go back home and get decent jobs and not recidivate if they can’t read and write?” Sondervan said.

Since the current evidence suggests that education is directly related to lower rates of recidivism, 90 percent of publicly operated institutions offer some form of correctional education. However, these programs can also be effective in helping offenders with reentry, as well as improve the overall prison environment. The new study will formally evaluate the current correctional education programs to determine if they work and how they can be improved. By doing this, the team hopes to identify which correctional education programs and practices are effective, and then implement those programs in other facilities across the country. “We have to focus our efforts on programs that we know work,” Sondervan said. “We’re not just examining the scientific research,” Davis said, adding, “We’re also really reaching out to states to identify those pockets of excellence.”

The study will help correctional education practitioners determine how to change their approaches to education in the future to keep up with industry standards. One example of a major change that the correctional education field will be adapting to in the next few years is the use of technology. Steurer indicated that in 2014, GED testing within prisons will move to computerized assessments. “As we see technological advances in education, we will see that reflected in prisons,” Steurer said. “The results of this study will help us know how to proceed.”

Another thing that correctional educators will need to consider in the future is the change in the job market. “In the future, we will have more specialized jobs, but less people with the skills to do those jobs,” Nink said. Nink emphasized the importance of providing inmates with the kinds of vocational training that will propel them into becoming “in-demand hires” through industry-related credentials to fill those jobs. “The more we can focus on the kinds of vocational education that will connect with employers, the better things will be in the future for offenders,” Nink said.

Davis indicated that the study will be conducted in six steps. The team will:
• Survey the correctional education landscape through telephone interviews and focus groups
• Review the current literature on correctional education by searching online databases and unpublished literature
• Perform a scientific review of correctional education programs by assembling a team of experts and applying scientific ratings to extant research and evaluations
• Perform a meta-analysis by identifying program components associated with positive outcomes
• Create a Promising Practices website in collaboration with a group of correctional education specialists to provide information and research-based recommendations for correctional education programs
• Identify case studies of effective and innovative programs by interviewing teachers and inmates and observing programs

RAND is currently in the scientific literature review phase of the project, which will @#$%& evidence of the impact of correctional education on things such as recidivism and employment. According to Sondervan, the findings will be available in 2012, and the team plans to present these findings at the 142nd Congress of Correction next summer. For more information about the study, contact Davis at lmdavis@rand.org.

by: Jenna Scafuri, Assistant Editor
American Correctional Association newsletter, On the Line]]> Jerry Bednarowski Legislative Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:22:04 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1166,1166#msg-1166 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1166,1166#msg-1166 murray ellison Legislative Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:12:18 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1154,1154#msg-1154 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1154,1154#msg-1154 murray ellison Legislative Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:56:36 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1120,1120#msg-1120 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1120,1120#msg-1120 * Adult might encompass Parenting, Transition & Re-Entry, Adult Research,
Post Secondary Education, Student Affiliations and Female Offenders.
* Youth might encompass Juvenile Education, Literacy, Arts, Special Education...
* Administrative might encompass state and school administrators, reaserch and
legislation.
Please provide feedback whether you are a SIG Chair or CEA Member. I will need to provide recommendations to the CEA Executive Board by June 15 and the President's Council at the upcoming July conference.
Also, please note a change in my home email to: bluemur@verizon.net
Thanks

Dr. Murray Ellison
CEA President's Council Chairman]]> murray ellison Legislative Wed, 12 May 2010 08:38:41 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1084,1084#msg-1084 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1084,1084#msg-1084


CEA continues to sign on to a large number of letters supporting legislation in both adult and juvenile areas. We gave a larger report to Murray Ellison for the President’s Council Special Interest Group Report.



The major pieces of national legislation during the last several months include the Workforce Investment Act (AEEG), National Criminal Justice Act, various pieces of juvenile justice legislation sponsored Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Coalition including the coalition ACT4JJ Working Group, the Appropriations Working Group, the Youth Promise Act and the Recidivism Reduction Act, among others.



As we have done for years the CEA Executive Office continues to network with important groups. CEA is a member of the National Coalition for Literacy and the Coalition for the Advancement of Adult Literacy and has been very involved with the re-authorization of the Workforce Investment Act. The Executive Director has worked behind the scenes with a number of legislative aides in the House and Senate helping with language to improve the post secondary grants for the incarcerated (formerly Grants for Youthful Offenders). In the Spring he met with Greg Darneider, President Obama’s College Access appointee to champion increased funding for adult and youth in the nation’s correctional facilities. At the invitation of the Neglected and Delinquent Technical Assistance Centers the Executive Director spoke at the 2009 NDTAC National Conference in June in Washington, DC emphasizing CEA’s strong role in juvenile justice. Most recently, CEA has become involved with the Office of the Vice President on correctional education bringing a group of correctional and educational leaders to talk about education and technology in corrections. In December, I met with the Under Secretary of Education, Martha Kanter, and the Assistant Secretary for OVAE, Brenda Dann-Messier, to talk about issues related to adult and juvenile education.



In the last four months CEA Executive Office has been trying to ascertain the situation for teachers in the California adult system. At the invitation of the SEIU union representing teachers and with their support I flew to Sacramento to testify to the legislature against the cuts. At this writing, about 800 teachers have lost their jobs, effective February 28, 2010. A lawsuit is pending that may re-instate some or all of them. We will give an update at the Board meeting.



Steve



Stephen J. Steurer, Ph.D.,

Executive Director

Correctional Education Association

8182 Lark Brown Road Suite 202

Elkridge, MD 21075

tel 443-459-3081

fax 443-459-3088

www.ceanational.org

"Transforming Lives Through Education"]]> murrayellison Legislative Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:51:25 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1051,1051#msg-1051 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,1051,1051#msg-1051 murrayellison Legislative Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:20:25 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,944,944#msg-944 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,944,944#msg-944 Thanks]]> murrayellison Legislative Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:28:45 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,937,937#msg-937 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,937,937#msg-937 Thanks
Murray Ellison
CEA President's Council Chairman
email: bluemur@comcast.net
and additional new email: mellison@edaff.com]]> murrayellison Legislative Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:18:09 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,897,897#msg-897 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,897,897#msg-897 murrayellison Legislative Tue, 05 May 2009 15:15:51 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,803,803#msg-803 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,803,803#msg-803 murrayellison Legislative Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:30:42 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,543,543#msg-543 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,543,543#msg-543


It is with great pleasure and relief that I inform you that the Higher Education Act has been signed by President Bush. All the changes to the Grants for Youthful Offenders are included. I have attached a White House announcement below. The signing was low key, probably because President Bush signed HEA reluctantly. There were a number of provisions that the White House did not favor so there was no public signing. None of the issues had anything to do with our amendments.



The US Department of Education will start working on HEA guidance. I have spoken at length with John Linton and it is not likely that any of the changes will take place until July 1, 2009 but John will send out announcements as the USDOE releases information. There will be more particulars coming out about the amendments themselves. Briefly the age cap has been changed from 25 to 35 years, eligibility from 5 to 7 years before release and tuition has been raised to a cap of $3000 per year. Also, it is not expected that funding will be increased at this time. That is the next step and CEA will advocate for more funding now that the inmate eligibility pool has been expanded and state correctional education agencies have more latitude in how to spend the funds.



This is a big victory, long time in coming. Remember we lost Pell Grants in the mid 1990s. Grants for Youthful Offenders were developed with the cooperation of Senators Kennedy and Specter and others to replace post secondary funding. After years of frustration and near misses we have finally succeeded. In the last year or so Congressman Danny Davis of Illinois has stepped forward on the House side. Thanks to all of you who have worked so hard over the years. If anybody asks, “What has CEA done for you lately?” You can respond, “It has worked successfully to rebuild post secondary education for our students!”



We have more work to do after the elections and we will be asking for your input and support.



Steve



Stephen J. Steurer, Ph.D.,

Executive Director

Correctional Education Association

8182 Lark Brown Road Suite 202

Elkridge, MD 21075

tel 443-459-3081

fax 443-459-3088

www.ceanational.org

"Transforming Lives Through Education"



President Bush Signs H.R. 4040, H.R. 4137, and H.R. 6432 Into Law

White House News
H.R. 4040, the "Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008," which reauthorizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission for FYs 2010-2014 and expands the Commission's role in ensuring the safety of consumer products, especially those designed for children;

H.R. 4137, the "Higher Education Opportunity Act," which reauthorizes and makes changes to higher education programs; and

H.R. 6432, the which reauthorizes through FY 2013 the Animal Drug User Fee Act and authorizes a new user fee program for animal generic drugs.

# # #]]> murrayellison Legislative Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:55:59 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,524,524#msg-524 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,524,524#msg-524


FINALLY – Congress has passed the Higher Education Act with significant changes to the Youth Grants provisions. Below I have cut and pasted language from the official summary published by the House Committee on Education and Labor. Basically the age limit will change from 25 to 35 years of age and the years of eligibility before release from 5 to 7. There are several smaller provisions as well that we will distribute later. Additionally, Congress is mandating a study of post secondary education in corrections. I am sure that John Linton will be sending out clarifications sometime soon. It looks like one of the most important events at this year’s CEA Leadership Forum will be USDOE training on the new regulations.



I cannot tell you how long and hard so many of us have fought to get these changes and to make post secondary funds available for a larger range of inmates. Thank all of you for your help. This year CEA was instrumental in two bills. It helped make the difference in the passage of the Second Chance Act. CEA members John Stewart and Susan McKee personally interceded with Senator Shelby to relate the bill for the Senate vote and it passed. Now all the work the CEA Executive Office and directors of correctional education have done to amend Youth Grant limitations has been passed by the House and Senate in The Higher Education Opportunity Act: Expanding College Access, Strengthening our Future. The only step left is for President Bush to sign the bill, something that he is expected to do with a week or two.



Here are the two summary paragraphs:



Higher Education Amendments of 1998 and 1992

The Conference agreement modifies the grants to states for workplace and community transition training

for incarcerated youth offenders to allow programs to serve offenders under the age of 35 and who will

be released within 7 years.



Issues in Higher Education

The Conference agreement also includes studies that examine issues facing higher education, including:

post-graduation employment, minority-male achievement, bias in standardized testing, postsecondary

education in correctional systems, teaching students with reading disabilities, and the capacity of nursing

schools to meet current demands



More good information to come soon.



Steve

Stephen Steurer Ph.D.,

Executive Director n Association

8182 Lark Brown Road Suite 202

Elkridge, MD 21075

Tel: 443-459-3080 x11

Fax: 443-459-3088

www.ceanational.org

"Transforming Lives Through Education"]]> murrayellison Legislative Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:13:06 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,517,517#msg-517 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,517,517#msg-517
I am seeing press reports today that Congress has settled on the final version of the Higher Ed Act and will actually vote on the final bill tomorrow. (This is the bill that authorizes our federal Youth Offender college grant funds.) While I am sure that many of you contacted your Senators and Delegates to encourage them to support the House's version of this bill (HR 4137), it appears that the compromise bill is more reflective of the original Senate version of this bill (S 1642). If the final version of this bill is passed tomorrow, there will be some significant changes to this program:

1. The age eligibility will be increased to age 35
2. The "time until release" criteria will be raised to 7 years
3. The "annual per-student cap" will be increased to $3,000 annually
4. Students will be able to take remedial courses for up to two years
5. Persons with "murder" or specific sex offense convictions will be ineligible for funding through this grant

I have spoken with John Linton re: how quickly we may need to consider making changes to our program, what specific offenses will be included (re: Item #5 above), and whether currently enrolled students with particular convictions can be "grandfathered in". John has advised that we should proceed with the Fall semester using the current criteria. When/if the new legislation passes, we will be receiving guidance from the USDOE re: when to begin operating under the new legislation and clarification on the new offense-type exclusions. Hopefully we will have some lead time in which we can thoughtfully plan changes to our current program due to the new guidelines.

I am pleased that the changes to age eligibility, release date criteria, and annual per-student spending cap will give us some of the flexibility we had hoped to gain from this legislation, though these changes will also mean making difficult decisions regarding student selection and funding allocation. I am chagrined by the new restrictions on students with particular types of offenses. There seems to be an ever-growing list of collateral consequences for persons with particular convictions - their punishment continues to be expanded beyond what was determined at their sentencing. Research on our college program demonstrated that students who participate recidivate less frequently, have increased post-release employment success, and are twice as likely to enroll in college after release. It is shortsighted that particular students with great potential will be denied access to such a clearly beneficial experience.

The funding for this program is determined in the Federal Budget Bill. It is unknown if these changes to the program will result in any increased funding to support the greatly increased number of students who will become eligible for grant funding under the new legislation.

There is no need for you to share this information with your students at this time, as this legislation has not yet passed. However, I wanted you to be aware of these pending changes as you may get questions as students become aware. I encourage you to reassure them that we won't know the impact of the new legislation until we receive guidance from the USDOE. At that time we will need to strategize how to inform students of changes that will impact their studies. I will also be asking for your assistance in determining how we want our programs to change in accordance with the new rules.

You are welcome to share this information with your college partners for which I don't have e-mail addresses (please check who's listed above). Please advise them that there is no need for any of us to start making plans or changes at this time - we will all need to be patient as we await further instruction.

Thanks,
Gwynne Cunningham
DCE Virginia Transitional Education Director]]> murrayellison Legislative Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:18:57 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,404,404#msg-404 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,404,404#msg-404 > President. At present,
> there is no funding allocation. Dear Colleague
> letters are circulating
> for signatures in Congress to influence funding
> appropriation. Dear
> Colleague letters are very helpful when
> appropriation decisions are
> made. The more signatures there are on Dear
> Colleague letters, the
> greater the likelihood for funding in the
> Congressional budget. CEA
> members are asked to contact their congressional
> delegation to urge
> their congressperson to sign-in to a Dear Colleague
> letter.
>
> Dr. Fran Tracy-Mumford
> CEA Legislative SIG
>]]> murrayellison Legislative Mon, 05 May 2008 08:39:32 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,361,361#msg-361 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,361,361#msg-361


I spoke with congressional aides on Friday and it looks like the House and Senate will try to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the higher education acts (HR 4137 and S1642) sometime this week. Our Senate friends are afraid that the much more liberal House version will scare off some fence sitting Senators because it eliminates all age and sentence restrictions for the current Youth Grants (Specter Grants) and, as a result, certain Senators may torpedo the entire grant program. The Senate version also tries to limit grants for that sex offenders and lifers are not eligible.



Based on discussions with the Council of Directors of Correctional Education we have instructed the conference aides that we most fear the restrictions on sex offenders and lifers because these restrictions are very difficult to administer, particularly for those who are sex offenders. Each state has its own definition. You may have seen recent items in the news about opposition to sex offenders in jails getting Pell grants. Jail inmates are still eligible for Pell grants. We do not want this discussion to spill over to Youth Grants.



Accordingly, priority number one is the elimination of the sex offender and life restrictions in S1642. We would be willing to accept an age cap of 35 years of age, if necessary, to drop these restrictions. Also, we are okay with the current 5 year before release eligibility provision and we hope that it could be negotiated a few years higher instead of no sentence restriction at all. Finally, both the House and Senate bills provide for much higher tuition allowances so that is not an issue with either bill.



You should continue to write to your Congressional delegation to support revisions to the Higher Education Act and that you support the HB 4137. I will let you know more as things develop.



Steve

Stephen Steurer Ph.D.,

Executive Director

Correctional Education Association

8182 Lark Brown Road Suite 202

Elkridge, MD 21075

Tel: 443-459-3081

Fax: 443-459-3088

www.ceanational.org

"Transforming Lives Through Education"]]> murrayellison Legislative Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:14:30 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,329,329#msg-329 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,329,329#msg-329


Yesterday the Second Chance Act passed Congress after Senator Shelby of Alabama released his hold on the bill. Senators have tremendous power, even on bills that have passed the House and have majority support of the Senate. During our visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday Gene Guerrero of the Open Society, who spearheaded this bill for the last two years, told our CEA delegation how crucial it was to get Shelby to release his hold. John Stewart and Susan Mckee went to Shelby’s office and had an impromptu face to face meeting with him. Magically, Senator Shelby took away his hold within the next hour or two.



Gene emailed everyone about this great news and I informed him about John and Susan’s meeting. Here is what Gene wrote back to me last night on his Blackberry, “Please thank your people from. Alabama. My guess is that their lobbying with Shelby made a big difference.”



If anyone has any doubts about the efficacy of CEA on the Hill please take note. John and Susan were there at the right moment. As far as I am concerned “you gotta be there” in order to make a difference. One never knows when the magic moment pops up.



Now we will go forward and, also, make a difference with the Higher Education Act amendments.



Thank you John and Susan, big time!]]> murrayellison Legislative Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:59:38 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,288,288#msg-288 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,288,288#msg-288


I have attached a pdf file that contains two important items in HR 3147 as passed by the House. Pages 792-793 contain authorization for a longitudinal study of the effects of correctional post secondary education and pages 851-857 contain the House amendments to grants for youthful offenders eliminating all age restrictions (now called Grants for Training for Incarcerated Individuals in the House bill).



According to Congressman Danny Davis’s staff we should contact the chairs and ranking minority members of the House and Senate education committees telling them we support the House version, not the Senate version of the Higher Education Act. The Senate version does not contain the study and the age change is from 25 to 35 years. The House version eliminates the age cap.



Of course, you should also contact your own senators and congressmen as well, even if they are not on the House and Senate education committees. You can check the education membership on the legislative websites. Go to www.us.senate.gov and www.us.house.gov and check out committee membership.



The Senate education chair is Senator Edward Kennedy and the ranking minority member is Senator Michael Enzi. On the House side the chair is Congressman George Miller and the ranking member is Congressman Howard McKeon. Please send each of them an email telling them to support the House version in the conference committee meeting on the Higher Education Act.



I don’t know when the conference committee will meet but we have been told to send emails NOW. So please make this a priority. Thanks for your help. Let’s not lose this opportunity.



Steve

Stephen Steurer Ph.D.,

Executive Director

Correctional Education Association

8182 Lark Brown Road Suite 202

Elkridge, MD 21075

Tel: 443-459-3081

Fax: 443-459-3088

www.ceanational.org

"Transforming Lives Through Education"



Senate and House Contacts for HR 4137 College Affordability and Accessibility

US Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions

Website: [help.senate.gov]

Committee Email: help_comments@help.senate.gov

Chair: Senator Edward Kennedy’s website: www.kennedy.senate.gov

Ranking Minority: Senator Michael Enzi’s website: www.enzi.senate.gov



House Committee on Education and Labor

Chair: Congressman George Miller’s Website: [georgemiller.house.gov]

Ranking Minority: Congressman Howard McKeon’s Website: [mckeon.house.gov]]]> murrayellison Legislative Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:06:32 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,260,260#msg-260 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,260,260#msg-260


Heather and I have also gone over the Forum schedule and are posting more specific information about Tuesday March 11th. We will begin the day with a brunch and an update on legislative issues in preparation for a meeting on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Office of Congressman Danny Davis. The C-Tech DC Express bus will leave the hotel at about 10 am, arriving at Rayburn House Office Building. From 11 am to 12:30 pm we will gather in a meeting room (to be determined) and discuss the various positions that are important for adult correctional and juvenile education. We will invite House and Senate aides to hear our “platform” and to share with us the best way to make our positions known. From 12:30 pm until 3:30 pm each of you should visit your state Representative and Senate offices. To maximize your impact it would be good to call and make an appointment with the aide who handles educational and/or justice issues. The C-Tech DC Express bus will leave promptly at 3:30 pm and return to Annapolis, making a stop at Baltimore-Washington International Airport for those who have to catch a plane. For those who must leave earlier to make a connection we can arrange to have the bus run back and forth to Union Station to take a train to BWI.



Let me know if you have any questions about the schedule, but, if you have not done so already, please go the CEA website and register for the Forum]]> murrayellison Legislative Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:46:30 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,186,186#msg-186 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,186,186#msg-186
On December 19, the U.S. Congress passed an Omnibus spending resolution that combines the 11 unfinished appropriations bills, including the Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, into one catch-all measure.

The Omnibus package shaved roughly $22 billion from the individual spending bills delivering across-the-board cuts to almost all domestic programs. The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act, which authorizes the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program, was initially slated to receive $10 million in both House and Senate CJS Appropriations bills. The Omnibus spending measure includes $6.5 million for the program, a $1.5 million increase over FY 06 and FY 07 funding levels.

Other criminal justice programs in the Omnibus package include the Justice Assistance Grant program (JAG), which will receive $170 million and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which will receive $400 million. Additionally the Byrne Discretionary Grant program will receive $187.5 million. The full text of the omnibus package is available here.

The spending package will now be sent to the President. It is unclear if the President will sign or veto the bill. (more)

[consensusproject.org]

Forwarded from Consensus Project]]> BJ Berquist Legislative Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:38:41 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,163,163#msg-163 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,163,163#msg-163
I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and the New Year will be prosperous for, you, your family and students. Just before Thanksgiving the House and Senate agreed on a set of amendments to the so-called Grants for Youthful Offenders. The amendments were filed as House Bill 4137. The current changes to Youth Grants were worked out in the House Education and Labor Committee. Previously, the Senate had approved its own set of changes that are somewhat different. While the Senate Education Committee changed the age limit from 25 to 35 years of age and increased per student tuition limits from $1500 to $3000, HB 4137 went even further. The House eliminated all age and sentence restrictions and included a provision to make inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons eligible for these grants. The House has also pledged to seek additional funding to cover the potentially much larger pool of eligible inmates. Currently, Congress authorizes about $23,000,000 per year and the House would like to double that amount. At the time of this writing I have every reason to believe HB 4137 or something very similar will receive final support of both the Senate and House when it votes on the entire Higher Education Act. The big question is whether Congress will complete action on the Higher Education Act during this session of Congress. Then, of course, the President must sign the bill too make it effective. Say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed. We have never gotten this far before with amendments the Youth Grants.

During the last few weeks before Thanksgiving I had been in continuous phone and email communication with House and Senate legislative aides. The whole process took many days, evenings and even a couple of weekends. I must commend the Congressional Black Caucus, particularly the staff of Congressman Danny Davis of Chicago, not only for all their hard work but for including CEA on the development of every word in this bill. You need to know that our man in the US Department of Education, John Linton, was kept aware of all the changes, although he was not allowed to communicate with Congressional staff without permission from the USDOE. As usual John was able to provide lots of key research information during this process. There are a number of other folks from non-profit organizations who were involved with the development of this bill. There was major support from many correctional and educational organizations as well. CEA’s role was central, but this was a real team effort and indicates how important CEA has become to the Congressional legislative process.

Please remember that last year at the CEA 2007 Leadership Forum the directors of juvenile justice and adult correctional education assembled at the CEA Forum to develop key position for juvenile justice, adult prisons and jail education. The Senate and House education committees depend on CEA positions to start their deliberations on amendments and legislation. I can’t overemphasize how important the annual Forum is for developing our message and advocacy efforts on behalf of adult corrections, juvenile justice and jail education.

During this session, in addition to HB 4137, CEA has worked with the House Education and Labor Committee on issues of juvenile justice.. The CEA position developed at the Leadership Forum was used by the House to proposed change to No Child Left Behind. Drs. Jim Keeley and John Stewars were key contacts involved in conversations with House legislative aides. CEA also assisted in the development of a future study by the US Secretary of Education on the problems of implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in juvenile justice facilities.

We need all juvenile and adult directors to join us this year again as we review the legislative positions and plan for the future. In this edition of News and Notes you will find registration information on the CEA 2008 Leadership Forum in Annapolis from March 9-11. This year the theme is current research. We will feature research in adult correctional and juvenile justice. Please join us at the Forum. CEA can be most effective if we get support from as many directors of education as possible. See you in Annapolis.]]> murrayellison Legislative Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:58:17 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,142,142#msg-142 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,142,142#msg-142


I am attaching a copy of House Bill 4137,an amendment to Youth Grants in the Higher Education Act, that was worked out last week in the House Education and Labor Committee. Previously the Senate had approved a version that contains different changes. I believe that the Senate will agree to the changes in the attached House bill. While the Senate Education Committee approved changing the age limit to 35 years and increasing tuition to $3000, the House bill goes even farther. The House bill eliminates all age and sentence restrictions and includes a provision to make the Federal Bureau of Prisons eligible for these grants. The House has pledged to seek additional funding to cover the much larger pool of eligible inmates. We have every reason to believe this bill will pass both the Senate and House since both sets of committees have already concluded their deliberations. With strong Republican and Democratic support we are hopeful the President will ultimately sign the bill.



During the last few weeks I have been in constant phone and email communication with House legislative aides. The whole process has taken place day and evening, and even weekends. I must commend the Congressional Black Caucus, particularly the staff of Congressman Danny Davis of Chicago, not only for all their hard work but for including CEA on the development of every word in this bill. You need to know that John Linton was aware of all the changes, although he was not allowed to communicate with Congress without permission from the USDOE. As usual John was able to provide lots of key research information during this process. There are a number of other folks from non-profit organizations who have been involved with the development of this bill. There is major support from many correctional and educational organizations as well. All together this was a real team effort.



Finally, please remember that last year the adult directors of correctional education supported the key points that were considered and passed by the Senate Education Committee. The CEA Leadership Forum is where all this started last year. I can’t overemphasize how important this annual meeting is for developing our message and advocacy efforts on behalf of adult corrections, juvenile justice and jail education. We need all of you to join us this year again as we review the legislative victories and plan for the future. I have also attached a copy of the CEA 2008 Leadership Forum registration for March 9-11. This year the theme is research. We will feature research in adult correctional and juvenile justice. Please note that we are also seeking proposals for research workshops. While we are going to feature selected current research projects we are seeking proposals for the rest of the program. The deadline for proposals is January 6, 2008.



At CEA we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and look forward to hearing from you soon.



Steve

Stephen Steurer Ph.D.,

Executive Director

Correctional Education Association

8182 Lark Brown Road Suite 202

Elkridge, MD 21075

Tel: 443-459-3081

Fax: 443-459-3088

www.ceanational.org

"Transforming Lives Through Education]]> murrayellison Legislative Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:26:43 -0500 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,129,129#msg-129 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,129,129#msg-129 consensusproject.org] Sign up for the newsletter!
BJ

Congress Introduces the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act

This week U.S. Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Pete Domenici (R-NM), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Arlen Specter (R-PA), and U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Randy Forbes (R-VA) introduced the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act.

This legislation, which has received bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, will reauthorize the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act or MIOTCRA (Public Law 108-414). Enacted in 2004, MIOTCRA created the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Grant Program (JMHCP) designed to help states and counties design and implement collaborative efforts between criminal justice and mental health systems. Through appropriated funds, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) within the Department of Justice has awarded 53 communities in 35 states with additional resources to plan and implement collaborative efforts between criminal justice and mental health systems.

"Far too often, mentally ill individuals encounter the criminal justice system when what is really needed is treatment and support..." Senator Kennedy said. "With this bill, Congress can provide significant support to improve and expand cooperation between law enforcement and mental health experts in order to improve our nation's public safety."

This new bill will raise the authorization level of MIOTCRA from $50 million per year to $75 million per year and will extend the authorization through 2013. The bill will also reauthorize the Mental Health Courts grant program (Public Law 106-515), and require that a study be completed on the prevalence of mental illness in prisons and jails.

"This legislation will impact states across the United States, including Virginia where sixteen percent of all inmates in Virginia jails are estimated to have a mental illness. We have a significant way to go in Virginia to better diagnose and treat mental illnesses in our jails and this legislation is a step in the right direction," said Rep. Forbes. "I am pleased that Congressman Scott and I could join together and introduce legislation that will have a much-needed impact on our criminal justice system and make our communities safer."

The bill, which is scheduled for consideration in the full House Judiciary Committee on November 7, 2007, passed the Crime Subcommittee on November 1. The Senate sponsors intend to move the bill before Congress breaks for recess.


New Report Analyzes Fiscal Impact of Three Pennsylvania Diversion Programs

The Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee voted on October 3 to release a research summary report showing that programs that divert people with mental illnesses from the criminal justice system into community-based treatment can save money, increase public safety, and link people with the treatment they need to succeed in the community. The report, co-written by staff from the Committee and the Council of State Governments Justice Center, summarizes studies conducted by independent researchers in Chester County, Allegheny County, and Philadelphia County.

The report was commissioned by Senate Resolution 125 in 2003, under the leadership of the late Senator Robert Thompson. The resolution instructed the Committee and the Justice Center to facilitate fiscal impact evaluations of three diversion programs and determine whether they warranted replication across the state.

The studies, which were completed in December 2006, found that such programs can be cost-neutral at the very least and have the potential to be cost-effective. Depending on aspects of program design, such as the clinical and legal eligibility criteria for program participation, costs associated with administering these programs can be less than the expenses that local and state governments incur for traditional case processing in the criminal justice system, without jeopardizing public safety objectives.


Florida Policymakers Host Workshop on Reinvestment Grant Program

Criminal justice and mental health leaders in Florida held a workshop this month to help counties prepare for a new statewide grant program. The Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant Program will provide funds to counties to plan, implement, or expand initiatives that increase public safety, avert increased spending on criminal justice, and improve the effectiveness of treatment services for individuals with mental illnesses, substance use disorders, or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in contact with the criminal justice system.

Florida Partners in Crisis, a statewide advocacy organization, and the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Technical Assistance Center at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, sponsored the free event on October 4 in Orlando.

National and state experts gave presentations on a variety of issues:

Dr. Henry Steadman, director of the National GAINS Center, and Michael Thompson, director of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, provided examples of effective cross-system collaboration, strategies for system change, and the use of best practices in criminal justice diversion efforts.


The Honorable Steven Leifman, special advisor on criminal justice and mental heath to the Florida Supreme Court, and Ellen Piekalkiewicz, executive director of the Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation, provided an overview of the many initiatives in Florida, including the grant program and the work of the Florida Supreme Court’s Mental Health Subcommittee.


John Petrila, director of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, spoke about common myths surrounding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), data collection, and information sharing.
In the afternoon, issue experts led breakout sessions to discuss specific strategies for cross-system collaboration. Topics included

Police-based strategies
Jail-based strategies
Court-based strategies
Community care
Please visit the Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation website for more information about the grant program.


Justice Center Releases State Briefs on Justice Reinvestment Policies Enacted in Kansas and Texas

The Council of State Governments Justice Center recently released two new briefs describing how bipartisan groups of policymakers in Texas and Kansas employed a data-driven strategy called justice reinvestment during the 2007 legislative session to avert the projected growth in their state's prison population and increase public safety.

In Kansas, policymakers enacted legislation to reduce recidivism rates, including a 60-day credit for those in prison completing risk reduction programs and a grant program for local community corrections agencies to increase success rates by 20 percent among those under supervision.

To avert further growth in the Texas prison population, the state legislature enacted legislation to improve success rates for people on community supervision, expand the capacity of treatment and diversion programs, and enhance the use of parole for low-risk offenders. By implementing these policies, the state reduced expenses for the next fiscal biennium by $210.5 million.

The Justice Center provided intensive technical assistance to policymakers in both states with funding support from the Public Safety Performance Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Center on the States and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice.

To download the Texas and Kansas briefs or for more information about the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, please visit www.justicereinvestment.org.]]> BJ Berquist Legislative Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:54:46 -0400 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,87,87#msg-87 http://www.ceanational.org/phorum/read.php?10,87,87#msg-87 Execuative Director CEA
In the last month or so CEA has worked closely with the US House Education Committee to rewrite language in the No Child Left Behind law to better define highly qualified teacher and annual yearly progress. We have not seen the final bill language but House legislative aides have been seeking input from various education groups. When we see the new language we will make it available.

Also, CEA has helped the US House Education Committee to write a section in NCLB that mandates a study by the US Secretary of Education for the purpose of reviewing current law on the highly qualified teacher, annual yearly progress, record transfer from local school districts to juvenile justice education agencies and special education implementation with the purpose of recommending future changes and additions to NCLB law.

We are also encouraged that the Senate has already agreed upon the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act. The bill contains all the changes CEA has recommended in the current Grants for Youthful Offenders regulations such as changing the age cap to 35 and raising tuition levels to $3000 per year. CEA is currently working with House aides to make sure the same language is in the House version of the Higher Education Act. Remember that last year CEA tried to get this same language in the Second Chance Act which was not passed in the last section. We remain hopeful that this may be the year our recommendations finally pass.]]> murrayellison Legislative Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:04:22 -0400