It’s not simply about providing classes. It’s about reducing administrative barriers so incarcerated students can maintain momentum despite transfers, as well as feel supported after release so they can continue on their journeys to success and stability.

October 10th is World Mental Health Day. We’re spotlighting a few of our partners who’ve committed to making mental health services more widely available, particularly for underserved groups.  

An evaluation team at the Center for Complex Trauma is using a community-based participatory research approach to understand how the Center for Trauma Innovation in East Harlem implemented a unique trauma-informed program.

In East Harlem, the Center for Trauma Innovation is supporting the healing journeys of individuals impacted by the criminal legal system with unique strategies to build relationships, provide innovative services, and respond to community needs.  

Participatory research gives community stakeholders a voice in evaluating the programs designed to support them. It creates partnerships between them and evaluation staff to understand program implementation processes, identify challenges, and propose recommendations.  

Based in Brooklyn, Drive Change is connecting system-involved young people with career pathways in the food industry, while also seeking to change how that industry operates, representing a step forward and a model for the field.

College and Community Fellowship’s (CCF) Build-Out of Students Services (BOSS) project provided formerly incarcerated women in New York City with educational and employment services to help them overcome financial and, for some, caregiving obstacles.

For reentering individuals, the financial burden of pursuing and completing higher education programs begun in prison can be substantial and prohibitive. When surveyed, CIP students (N=114) identified several financial challenges that they anticipated would interfere with returning to school in the community.

Like other institutions of higher education, College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative (CIP) education providers were faced with shifting from in-person to fully remote coursework with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Although grateful for the opportunity to continue classes, students and faculty alike described remote coursework as inferior to in-person instruction.

In East Harlem, the Center for Trauma Innovation is building a learning community so organizations can exchange innovative practices, learn from each other, and tap into each others’ resources to better serve their community with trauma-informed, evidence-based practices.

After conducting a multiyear evaluation of the College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative (CIP), we outline recommendations for educational providers, corrections, and other stakeholders to consider how best to prepare for and carry out their missions to provide high-quality postsecondary education to students who are incarcerated.

CIP invested $7.3 million in postsecondary education in NYS correctional settings, ultimately serving 931 students through seven higher education institutions in 17 prisons statewide.