Reentry course for ex- offenders
Chapman University and an Orange County nonprofit are teaming up to provide courses to formerly incarcerated people to reduce the likelihood of their returning to jail.
The course is part of Underground GRIT’s reentry program. The Orangebased nonprofit, founded in 2019, seeks to help people reenter the community by providing education, vocational training, mental health support services and advocacy.
The eight- week certificate course could be an important piece of the nonprofit’s mission because correctional education programs have been shown to reduce recidivism by 43%, according to a Rand Corp. study.
“The reality is that when you are released and you are on terms like probation or parole, then there’s a lot of restriction on the things you can do, and violating any of those terms, even if it’s like violating an 8 p. m. curfew, can lead you back in jail,” said Sharon Tang, program manager of Underground GRIT. “It’s like tiptoeing through a landmine field.”
The class is taught by Victoria Carty, an associate professor of sociology at Chapman. Her research has focused on social movements, immigration and criminal justice reform.
Carty’s f irst eight- week course, which will end this month, is attended by 13 students who have served time in jail, prison or juvenile hall.
The program focuses on adults in their early 20s, many of whom faced difficulties in the education system.
“A lot of them say things like, ‘ You know, growing up I always thought college was for other kids, not me,’ ” Carty said. “‘ Not for poor people, not for brown people, not for Black people ... that’s for somebody else, not me.’ … So let’s reimagine how we can do education in a different way. And they’re young enough to be receptive to that.”
The class addresses social stratification, largely centering on class and race issues, and Carty encourages students to apply sociological concepts to their own experiences with the justice system.
Although students learn the basic skills needed for college, the assignments hold the same rigor as any other Chapman class.
The course offers a certificate upon completion, but Tang said the nonprofit is aiming to offer course credit once it can attain adequate funding.
“Education is a right, not a privilege,” Tang said. “Fair treatment within the education system is not something that only some people get as a treat, it’s something that all people should have.”
Carty said she is hoping to offer a new course each semester and for the 13 current students to continue with the classes. She said Chapman has agreed to pay for the students to receive college credit once the school is out of the f inancial slump caused by the pandemic.
“The certificate course is not the plan at all,” Carty said. “It’s for them to have a legitimate transcript saying, ‘ I completed a college course.’ We just can’t do that right now.”