Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2008, $223,587)
The Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program (Byrne Discretionary Program) helps local communities improve the capacity of local justice systems and provides for national support efforts. This project is authorized and funded through a line item in the FY 08 Congressional Budget. Funds should be used for purposes recommended by Congress.
Donnelly College began the Associate Degree Program at Lansing Correctional Facility in 2001. To date, 18 men have graduated from the program with associate degrees, and 208 have completed classes. A total of 66 inmates (or 31.7% of the students) have been released, and only one returned to the prison system, indicating that 98.5% remain in good standing. In comparison, a 2002 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that 53% of all males released from state prisons recidivate within 3 years.
This project will ensure that additional inmates will earn associate degrees and be less likely to return to the criminal system once released. Grant funds will support personnel and supplies. Donnelly College will make the program available to any prisoner who: has a high school diploma or a GED; will be in the prison throughout the course of a semester; and, is able to pay one-third of the cost of tuition.
NCA/NCF