U.S. Senator joins HCC in roundtable discussion on Correctional Education
Oct 9, 2015
Houston Community College has been successfully educating inmates and probationers for more than 40 years and serves as a model throughout the country for other county jail systems. As a result of the success, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) chose an HCC training site at the Houston Food Bank to host a roundtable discussion on Prison Reform and how the HCC Correctional Education Program fits into the new bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act.
“This legislation is modeled after successful Texas reforms that have rehabilitated prisoners, reduced crime rates, and saved taxpayer dollars,” said Cornyn.
One of the key provisions of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act requires the Department of Justice to conduct risk assessments to classify all federal inmates and to use the results to assign inmates to appropriate recidivism reduction programs, including work and education programs.
The HCC Correctional Education Program was the first county jail system accredited in the country. Within that program is a longstanding partnership with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, and the Houston Food Bank where currently students are trained in Logistics and Culinary Arts. More than 3,500 students go through the Correctional Education Program each year; and more than 80,000 have been educated since it began in 1973.
“I have personally witnessed the impact of the Correctional Education Program on the lives of students,” said Robert Sims, director. “It’s simple, the more education a person has the less likely they are to go or return to jail.”
Statistics show that 60% of individuals released from prison return within three years, but according to a 2013 RAND Corporation study, inmates who participate in education programs are more than 40% less likely to return to jail— a savings of up to $5 for each dollar spent.
David Sims, II is one of the success stories to come out of the program. He was released from prison in 2008 and learned basic office work.
“I believe education is the key to helping with recidivism,” said Sims. “So to prepare myself, I made sure I took all the courses I could take at HCC to land a job or own my own business one day.”
Today Sims, II is a manager at A Rocket Moving and Storage.
“Education helps give you a change of mind set and gets you focused on your thinking and makes you think about other things other than being in trouble,” he said. “HCC was the beginning of my change in mindset and the hunger I had to better myself.”
At 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 13, Senator Cornyn will join HCC Chancellor Dr. Cesar Maldonado, Brian Green, CEO of the Houston Food Bank, and other community leaders at The Houston Food Bank to discuss education and its impact on Prison Reform.
The HCC Correctional Education Program currently offers vocational education programs in 17 areas ranging from manufacturing to auto body and information technology, as well as GED classes. For more information visit hccs.edu.