University System of Maryland helps expand state's prison education program

BALTIMORE -- Behind the walls of the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, two incarcerated women wore caps and gowns to officially mark their achievement of earning a degree from Goucher College.

The state's new effort is to expand this opportunity to others behind bars.

Moving the tassel from right to left, Janet Johnson became a proud college graduate with honors. She earned her Bachelor's degree in American Studies.

Rather than taking classes on the campus of Goucher College, Johnson did the coursework behind bars.

"To be supported by my peers is awesome," Johnson said. "Because sometimes I didn't think I was going to make it."

Johnson was incarcerated at 18 years old. And for the past 18 years behind bars, she took the time to reflect on herself, the hardships she faced growing up in East Baltimore and the death of her mother before her graduation.

"I come from a family of addiction," Johnson said. "And to see my mother get clean and be proud of the person I am makes me even more proud of the person she was."

A new partnership in Maryland hopes to inspire more people to aim higher.

The Division of Corrections is partnering with the University System of Maryland to expand its prison education program to more than a dozen colleges.

According to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, this effort is the first in the nation to formalize a Memorandum of Understanding between a Division of Corrections and an entire state University System.

"It is game-changing for us," DPSCS Secretary Carolyn Scruggs said. "This is the first in the country for something like this to happen. For an entire university system to come behind the walls with the Division of Corrections."

More than 15,000 people are behind bars with the Maryland Department of Corrections, Scruggs said, and about 8,000 of them are now eligible to apply to a college and pursue a bachelor's degree.

"Sometimes people make bad choices," Scruggs said. "That does not mean they are a bad person. They just didn't know how to get those opportunities."

To apply, they need to have a GED or high school diploma and have no infractions while in prison for six months.

It's a chance for incarcerated individuals to walk away with a degree and step out into the world with a new purpose.

"If we can reduce the incident of an individual reoffending, it's a win-win situation for society," Co-Director of Bowie State Education Program Charles Adams said.

According to the Vera Institute of Justice, people in these programs are 48 percent less likely to return to prison.

Bowie State University was one of the first few state colleges to offer this program.

Adams said the benefits outweigh the cost.

State lawmakers last year said the average total cost per inmate, including overhead, was $4,970 per month.

"It really impacts our bottom line," Adams said. "And those individuals come back into the community and guess what they are productive citizens and they are contributing to our tax base."

Johnson said no matter how long a sentence is, that's valuable time that could be life-changing.

"The easiest way to stay out of trouble is to stay busy," she said. "You're too tired to argue. You're too tired to be disrespectful. So, work yourself towards a positive goal."

Johnson is now planning to aim even higher and has her eyes set on earning a master's degree next.

Five colleges already have this program in place: University of Baltimore, Bowie State, Goucher College, Georgetown University and Wor–Wic Community College.

But now nine other state colleges are undergoing an approval process so they can offer it. Scruggs said it can take anywhere between six months to a year to complete the process.

Scruggs says the goal is to have the expanded program up and running across the state by May of next year.