Transforming Lives Behind Bars
For inmates at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York, Nebraska, life
has new hope and a new direction, thanks to the Second Chance Education Program offered by York University.
Over the span of three years, these women have the opportunity to earn an associate of arts degree, providing them with increased job readiness and a drastically reduced rate of recidivism.
The Nebraska Correctional Center for Women is home to more than 300 inmates. According to the Bureau of Justice, the U.S. has over two million incarcerated. Of those, only about 13 percent have completed any kind of postsecondary education. Some college education reduces recidivism (rate of return to prison by former inmates) by 30-50 percent, while an associate’s degree reduces recidivism by almost two-thirds. An investment today of time and love opens a door of hope, answering the call for God’s work in inmates who are looking for a way up.
Over the span of three years, these women have the opportunity to earn an associate of arts degree, providing them with increased job readiness and a drastically reduced rate of recidivism.
The Nebraska Correctional Center for Women is home to more than 300 inmates. According to the Bureau of Justice, the U.S. has over two million incarcerated. Of those, only about 13 percent have completed any kind of postsecondary education. Some college education reduces recidivism (rate of return to prison by former inmates) by 30-50 percent, while an associate’s degree reduces recidivism by almost two-thirds. An investment today of time and love opens a door of hope, answering the call for God’s work in inmates who are looking for a way up.