Do you know 30% of prisoners go back to prison? Do you think offering education programs to prisoners will help them to change? When a society is filled with educated people, there is a high probability that that society will thrive and be more stable than societies that are not intellectually viable. Every State in the United States should provide education through at least the twelfth grade. But nothing much can be done in this society with a high school diploma. That is why many people tend to go to college to acquire more knowledge and so have a better career. For the case of prisoners, that is not possible because their liberty to move around has been temporarily taken away. Therefore, prison counselors need to know that free college education for prisoners in Ohio is necessary because education will be an excellent way to improve their lives after prison sentence by reducing recidivism in the society, they will be able to work and not use government assistance and will be able to provide for their families. Some of the prisoners go back to their lousy pass since they feel they cannot positively impact society due to a lack of careers. One will see that free education is a way that will have the prisoners connect back to the community that there had not actively been part of for a while.
Governments should focus on providing free education to prisoners in order to reduce recidivism. According to a study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), nearly half of all individuals released from federal prisons end up going back to jail within eight years of their release, and around half of those rearrested are sent back to jail (Kathleen,2018). Individuals who did not complete high school were rearrested at the highest rate—60.4 percent—while those who had a college degree were rearrested at a rate of 19.1 percent. While incarcerated, they will gain a lot from free education, thereby reducing their chances of being rearrested after jail and reducing crime wave. For instance, prisons that offer education programs to inmates have less violence among incarcerated individuals, and this helps to create a safer environment for both prison staff and incarcerated individuals. Prison education is considered a cost-effective way of reducing crime rates by enhancing personal income for prisoners, lower unemployment, improve health outcomes, as well as creating greater political engagement.
Moreover, prisoners with low levels of education often find themselves without the financial resources or social support systems they need. As a result, they get neglected by their families and society. With the help of free educational programs, they will be able to work and provide for their families and also reintegrate into society. Imprisonment negatively impacts families, and communities acquiring free education will build self-esteem and confidence to get back to the society and look for jobs to provide for their families, thereby reducing psychosocial and developmental effects on children with a parent in prison. Inmates who participate in education programs realize that they can complete something worthwhile, develop the ability to set goals, and plan for the future; this helps to improve their self-esteem. Prison education also helps the inmates to renew their confidence by discovering that they are more intelligent than they had previously viewed themselves. Education makes them feel they are able to set good examples in their communities. While investing in prison education programs seems too demanding, the long-term economic benefits for states and localities are beneficial (Kathleen, 2018).
When prisoners are released from prison, most of them seek government assistance. However, with free education offered to them, prisoners will be able to work and take care of their needs, thereby reducing government expenditure and an increase in the growth in the economy. Also, for every dollar spent on prison education, taxpayers are estimated to save four to five dollars that would have been spent on incarceration. Putting more money back into consumers’ pockets and providing previously incarcerated individuals the necessary tools to be competitive in the job market will spur economic activity and productivity.
Finally, it is essential to offer free education to prisoners in Ohio because they will be an improvement in lifestyle after a prison sentence. The government will save money rather than assisting the freed prisoners who are jobless. The prisoners will be able to work and support their families. This will prevent them from going back to a bad lifestyle. Society will be intellectually viable with educated people who will be working towards the betterment of all individuals in a less crime zone, thereby reducing the workload on the government and money being saved in the country’s coffers.