News

California Prison Industry Authority Loses $24 Million in Last Two Years but Reduces Recidivism

By Prison Legal News In January 2013, California’s Prison Industry Board (PIB) submitted its annual report to the state legislature regarding the activities and financial status of the California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA), the agency it is charged with overseeing. CALPIA operates industry programs that employ approximately 7,000 prisoners annually in “manufacturing, service, and consumable factories”

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Phillips State Prison: Inmate Education Program

By Christopher Zoukis

Phillips State Prison has fostered various academic programs that lead to a general education diploma.  Historically, this prison’s programs have included remedial literacy, special education, and basic adult education.  It has recently moved beyond the high school education arena, however, to provide college level courses.  Located in Buford, Georgia, Phillips State Prison is the site of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) Leavell College Extension Center that is geared to “prepare students for current ministry within the Georgia State prison system by providing offenders in prison and beyond incarceration opportunities to obtain AA and BA degrees in Christian Ministry,” according to a document posted by the Georgia Department of Corrections (dcor.state.ga.us/pdf/NOBTS.pdf).  Image courtesy facebook.com

The Program

According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, “The Extension Center will offer thirty inmates from the state of Georgia a two-year, seventy-six semester hour Associate degree in Christian Ministry and a four-year, 126-semester hour Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry.” The degrees are accredited and the coursework has been designed for inmates who want to engage study for the ministry.  Sponsored by the Georgia Baptist Convention, the program at the Leavell College Extension Center is modeled after the NOBTS programs at Louisiana’s Angola State Penitentiary. 

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