Scores of policymakers, corrections officials, nonprofit advocates, and others converged on Chaminade’s campus for a summit focused on fostering pathways to meaningful employment for those who have been impacted by the justice system, including formerly incarcerated individuals.
The June 25 Pathways to Meaningful Work Symposium, organized by Chaminade and made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, included a panel of formerly incarcerated people who shared the barriers they faced to employment and the support and resources that made all the difference.
Janet Davidson, Ph.D, vice provost for Academic Affairs, said the event was designed to bring together a diversity of stakeholders on a critical issue.
The summit comes as Chaminade prepares to welcome a third cohort to its prison education program at Halawa Correctional Facility.
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Participants of the program earn an associate’s degree in Business Administration.
Davidson said the prison education initiative has prompted questions at the University and beyond about “what’s next.”
She continued, “Once someone earns a degree, how are we helping them transition to meaningful employment?” And that’s what the summit was meant to explore.
Ved Price, executive director of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, spoke at the conference and said it’s critical to generate more conversation about how to transition people out of prison and ensure they can build successful lives following incarceration.
“We want the community to understand that education is one of our most powerful interventions that we have for incarceration,” Price said. “It’s important to get as many people to the table as possible, meaning the business community, corrections, policymakers, all in the same room.”
Since the launch of Chaminade’s prison education program, 17 people have earned their associate’s degree while incarcerated.
Davidson said in addition to welcoming a new cohort this fall, the University plans to offer bachelor’s degree courses to previous AA graduates. Chaminade also has plans to expand the program to other correctional facilities.