Ryan joins Hardy for LV talk on criminal justice
House Speaker Paul Ryan joined former U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy in Las Vegas for a panel discussion on criminal justice reform with participants in a program that Ryan says should be an example for the entire country.
The private discussion, held at the Las Vegas-based Hope for Prisoners office, included law enforcement officials and elected leaders such as Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske and former Nevada Gov. Robert List.
Ryan, R-wis., said the Hope for Prisoners model is proven and commended CEO Jon Ponder, who spent nearly four decades in and out of jail, for helping ex-offenders avoid returning to crime.
“What I’m so impressed with Hope for Prisoners is the fact that you do this in conjunction with local law enforcement, with the DA, with local elected officials,” Ryan said, sitting at a table flanked by Hardy and Ponder. “That, to me, is extremely impressive.”
Following opening remarks from Ryan and Hardy, the discussion was closed to reporters. Officials said that was to protect the identities of former prisoners.
Hope for Prisoners helps people adjust to life after incarceration through faithbased mentoring, classes and job placement services.
“We believe that we need to do more to redeem people in our communities and to help people get back on their feet and get back to redemption and to find great lives,” Ryan said, adding that Congress is working on legislation to advance federal criminal justice reform.
Hardy, a Republican who held the 4th Congressional District seat for one term before losing it in 2016, said before the event that “a lot of people make mistakes in
JUSTICE
employees, depending on whether a student enrolls at a community college, a state college or a university. The program is also geared toward degree completion.
“They will need to be enrolled or accepted into a certificate or degree program,” Reilly said. “We’re focusing on completion, not on taking random classes.”
Eligible MGM employees can enroll in courses beginning in fall 2019.
While the partnership is aimed at increasing the number of Nevadans who hold a post-secondary degree or certificate, it’s also an opportunity for NSHE schools to bolster the number of online degree programs available to students.
UNLV plans to create five new bachelor degree programs — fully online — by fall 2019, and two more by 2021.
The university currently offers two online bachelor degree programs — a degree in urban studies came online this summer — and more at the graduate and doctoral levels. Great Basin College in Elko offers 33 online degree programs, the most of any NSHE school.
“We need to really step it up on on our online education offerings at NSHE,” Reilly said. “This program, in the short time we’ve been discussing it, has generated additional online programs.”
Foster youth tuition waiver
Reilly will also go to the board next month to seek approval for a tuition waiver for foster youth in Nevada.
“Magically, at 18, they’re on their own,” Reilly said. “They have to navigate all of life, which includes living on their own, establishing a banking account, paying rent, and navigating relationships, on their own. Most
18-year-olds have families to rely on. These challenges really interfere with their ability to seek any type of higher education.”
The program would allow foster youth to use their Pell grant reimbursements for living and other expenses, and if approved, Nevada would be the 29th state to offer some form of tuition waiver for foster