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Wyoming Pathways From Prison Provides a Second Chance
In April, the U.S. government recognized Second Chance Month, a movement to acknowledge the importance of providing resources to and reintegrating formerly or currently incarcerated members of society. In a press release for this movement, the White House discussed the duty and importance of this endeavor.
“America is a nation of second chances, and it is critical that our criminal and juvenile justice systems provide meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation and redemption. It is also vital that we address both the root causes of crime and the underlying needs of returning citizens using resources devoted to prevention, diversion, reentry, trauma-informed care, culturally specific services and social support.”
One way the government attempts to fulfill this mission is through the Second Chance Pell Experiment, an initiative meant to expand access to federal Pell Grants for incarcerated individuals enrolled in participating programs. In the most recent round of these grants, the University of Wyoming’s Pathways from Prison program was selected as an approved recipient for this transformative project.
Wyoming Pathways from Prison
Wyoming Pathways from Prison is a collaboration between UW and the Wyoming Department of Corrections that seeks to provide high-quality college courses to incarcerated women and men at no cost through generous volunteer support provided by UW faculty, staff and students.
While Wyoming Pathways from Prison was formed and has been serving incarcerated members of the Wyoming community since 2016, this Second Chance Pell Grant will provide an opportunity for expansion of the program. Robert Colter, associate lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and co-executive director of Wyoming Pathways from Prison, says the grant will help the program develop a cohort of about 20 students at the Wyoming Women’s Center working to attain four-year bachelor’s degrees in general studies starting in fall 2022.
Beyond the specific objectives of the grant, Colter also spoke about the mission of Wyoming Pathways from Prison and UW’s obligation to provide opportunities like this.
“There are two ways to think about the benefits we provide. First, an institution like UW exists to serve our state. The people in our prison system are human beings. They deserve to be treated like human beings. We have an obligation to reach out to our most vulnerable and marginalized fellow citizens of Wyoming,” Colter says. “But beyond the moral obligation, there are also very practical benefits to programs like these that by themselves would make it worthwhile.”
One of the main benefits Colter refers to is that this access to education greatly improves the chance that individuals will not be incarcerated again after they are released. According to the Northwestern Prison Education Program, “about twothirds of released prisoners were rearrested within three years of release, and more than three-fourths were rearrested within five years.” However, “there is a 43 percent reduction in recidivism rates for those prisoners who participate in prison education programs.” These numbers continue to go down the more education that a person receives while incarcerated. On top of that, Colter states this is also a very efficient movement economically.
“One of the things we’ve learned is that the cost of prison education is far cheaper than recidivism costs. Most recent studies have shown that for every dollar we spend on prison education, we save 4 to 5 dollars on recidivism costs. I don’t know of anything that gives us a better bang for our buck.”
Looking To a Better Future
While Wyoming Pathways from Prison has already been a success, Colter and the rest of the program remain optimistic that there is potential for much more to be accomplished. For example, there are already more people interested in being a part of the program than there currently are spaces in it.
“As far as recruiting students goes, there’s no problem there. They are hungry. I recently taught a class on Zoom that had room for 12 students, and we had 30 applicants,” Colter says. “As we get better technology and solve some issues we’ve had so far, I can envision at some point having a graduating class of 30 students between men and women every year.”
Issues the program currently faces include access to technology in prisons as well as being able to provide ancillary, but necessary, materials to students such as textbooks, secure learning management systems and supplies.
While the Second Chance Pell Grants will help kickstart this process, a lot of work remains to be done to be able to fulfill the full potential of the program.
“The Pell Grant allows us to take Wyoming Pathways from Prison to a whole new level,” Colter says, “but it doesn’t solve everything. Still, I can’t emphasize enough how amazing this is for the university’s ability to serve our communities. I can’t think of anything that could have more impact.”
