According to the Sentencing Project, as a result of new laws, tougher penalties, and “barriers to reentry that uniquely affect women,” since the 1980s, incarceration rates for women and girls have increased sevenfold. However, access to vocational and educational programs that assist incarcerated people and their families in living sustainable lives post incarceration hasn’t kept pace. This conversation among formerly incarcerated women and education administrators will help us to understand why and to learn how we can advocate for greater educational access for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women.
The Petey Greene Program seeks to develop justice-oriented citizens—those who understand the root causes of injustice—by providing college students and community members with the opportunity to tutor, and educating volunteers on the need and opportunity to effect systemic change in the criminal legal system. To that end, we offer the Justice Education Series, which is designed to raise volunteers’ and public awareness of the policies and and practices that create mass incarceration and produce the educational experiences of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated learners that we support.