Prison education program grants GEDs
Matt Clayton estimates that about 30% to 40% of people in the Butler County Prison do not have a high school diploma or equivalent.
As the reintegration program coordinator at the prison, Clayton works with inmates to help form a treatment plan to help reduce the potential for recidivism once their sentence is up. Education is one way to reduce that potential, he said.
“Employment is one of the biggest barriers to reducing recidivism. A lot of times you don't qualify for jobs without a GED,” he said. “The adult literacy program comes in twice a week. We put together a treatment plan where they can choose to take the plan or not.”
Barb Gade, grant director of Butler County Community College’s adult literacy program, said the school started a prison education program about four years ago. The program has college professors enter the prison to lead regular classes to help inmates earn their degrees.
She said it has been relatively popular with inmates.
“We have 19 going for a high school diploma outside of prison, 12 registered in prison,” Gade said. “Prisoners can choose to come to the program. People who get their GED in prison have less recidivism.”
The Community Reintegration Program is an offender program that was established in June 2012 for inmates serving a sentence of at least three months at the Butler County Prison, according to the Butler County website. The GED program is separate from the reintegration program but has similar benefits to its participants.
Clayton said teachers come to the prison four times a week to teach up to 20 inmates at a time, a schedule that started in October. He said the class sessions operate in a manner similar to typical high school classes.
“I monitor the class for security purposes, but the instructor and inmates are respectful to each other,” Clayton said. “It adds some structure to the day, and they look forward to it.”
Inmates can take classes for as long as they want while in the prison, and the GED test is available when they are ready.
“I put them through the GED test, and I proctor that for them,” Clayton said. “I test them when they feel like they're ready. We throw them a little bit of a graduation, we give them a diploma.”
The process of preparing for the exam is different for everyone, Clayton said, because people in the prison can have vastly different backgrounds and life experiences.
He said many have been out of school for a long time, so the teachers and other personnel in the reintegration program “have to be a support person” to people who want to learn.
Clayton said there are several benefits for people in taking GED classes while in prison, because it demonstrates their drive to improve while serving their sentence.
“We try very hard to get them through,” Clayton said. “It shows your judges and your treatment team you are taking the steps to improve your life.”
