Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, has been educating about 1,000 inmates in state prisons in Indiana. Another 1,500 inmates have been in instructional programs offered by other universities in the state. But grants supporting the prison education program have been eliminated from the state budget, saving about $9 million.
Not only are the inmates losing their educational programs but up to 80 adjunct faculty members who taught in Ball State’s prison program will lose their positions.
Due to the fact that Blacks make up a disproportionate number of prison inmates, the elimination of these prison education programs undoubtedly will have a greater impact on African Americans.
I am disappointed about the cut in providing educational assistance to inmates in the Indiana prison system. I have been a psychologist in the prisons for over 6 years and many of the men I worked with were very excited and took their educational opportunity very seriously. Unless the actual graduation rate and return to prison of those who acquired the degrees were not above or below 50% respectively, it should not have been dropped. It really just pushed the problem back into another area of spending within our community on crime prevention, courts and jail and prison stays.