ALBANY – Prisoners incarcerated
in eight area state correctional facilities are eligible for college-level
education and training funded by the Manhattan District Attorney’s
Office Criminal Justice Investment initiative.
A total of 2,500 inmates in 17 state prisons will be eligible for the
educational programming and reentry services program over the next five
years.
Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson will provide educational services
for inmates at Taconic, Coxsackie, Eastern, Fishkill, Green Haven and
Woodbourne correctional services.
Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry will work with prisoners in Sing Sing Correctional
Facility and New York University will provide educational services to
inmates at Wallkill Correctional Facility.
A study by The Rand Corporation in 2013 found that individuals who participate
in prison education programs are 43 percent less likely to recidivate
and return to prison and 13 percent more likely to obtain employment after
their release.
To qualify for the new program, inmates must have no more than five years
remaining on their prison sentence.
