admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:36:16 +0000

EJP Student William Wells

Get Involved!

If you believe you’d like to become involved in our work, please take a few minutes to fill out the form below and provide some information about yourself and your interests.
On-site recruitment will begin in the fall, but we accept Interest Forms throughout the year.
Education Justice Interest Form

What We Do

We offer education programs to students incarcerated at Danville Correctional Center; host activities for their family members in Chicago; and produce critical scholarship about our work.

EJP Mission Statement

The mission of the Education Justice project is to build a model college-in-prison program that demonstrates the positive impacts of higher education upon incarcerated people, their families, the communities from which they come, and society as a whole.

You can Make a Difference

Higher education in prison reduces recidivism, saves the state money, creates safer prison environments for staff and incarcerated people alike, and promotes public safety. It also improves life prospects for the families of incarcerated people and restores hope. All contributions, from the smallest to the largest, will help.

Please send your donations to:
Education Justice Project
University of Illinois
805 W. Pennsylvania Ave. MC-057
Urbana, IL 61801

Or contact us by email at info@educationjustice.net

EJP Scholarship

Fall 2011 Applications Closed

The Education Justice Project’s college scholarship awards one $500 scholarship to a family member of DCC staff, and one $500 scholarship to a family member of an EJP student. Fall 2011 applications are now closed.
Stay tuned for next year’s EJP Scholarship deadlines.

To learn more about the scholarship, feel free to look over Fall 2011 applications:

Application for family member of EJP student (DOC | PDF)
Application for family member of DCC staff (DOC | PDF)
*Applications are now closed for Fall 2011*

Why Higher Education in Prison?

Research is clear. College-in-prison programs reduce arrest, conviction, and reincarceration rates among released prisoners. Evidence has also linked the presence of college-in-prison programs to fewer disciplinary incidents within prison, finding that such programs produce safer environments for prisoners and staff alike. College-prison programs also have benefits for inmates’ families and, hence, their communities. The strongest predictor of whether a given person will attend college is whether her or his parents did. When an incarcerated person receives a college education, whether or not s/he is eventually released, his or her children are more likely to pursue their own educations. In spite of these significant benefits, there has been a precipitous drop in college-in-prison programs around the country. There were over seven hundred degree-granting programs at their height, in the early 1990s. In 1994 the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act eliminated the use of Pell Grants for prisoners, and most prison college programs closed, including Illinois’ BA-granting programs. Bachelor degrees have not been offered in Illinois prisons since 2002.

Ways You Can Become Involved

If you would like to work with the Education Justice Project at Danville prison in Fall 2012, please be aware that applications are are due Monday, March 05, 2012. We also accept general interest forms year-round. Click here for more information.
If you would like more information about EJP projects, please contact us.
To join our mailing list, contact webmaster@educationjustice.net
For press inquiries, please contact Rebecca Ginsburg, EJP Director, at info@educationjustice.net or 217-244-3344