The writer is a volunteer facilitator of Members of Modern American Society.
California is saddled with an estimated $20 billion budget shortfall and declining resources to pay for its already overpopulated prison system. To help tackle this problem a small organization at San Quentin is developing a new model for prison education that could reduce recidivism rates and help alleviate the stress on California’s prisons.
Members of Modern American Society (MOMAS) is a volunteer organization that teaches future parolees practical skills and financial literacy for life outside of prison. The program is uniquely positioned for success and acceptance by participants in prison because it is collaboration between inmates and outside instructors and supporters. The MOMAS curriculum is designed to help parolees find work, connect with job training and apprenticeship programs, manage their personal finances, and understand the basics of investment and business planning, skills that 80 percent of San Quentin inmates report they need. The goal of the course is to help inmates prepare to integrate back into the formal economy and become financially independent once they are released.
The California prison population has increased nearly 600 percent in 30 years and the state has long suffered from one of the highest recidivism rates in the nation – nearly seven out of 10 prisoners released in California return to prison within three years. Adding urgency to the situation, a federal court ruling that would mandate that California reduce its prison population by 40,000 is being challenged by the state and so is now being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. The prospect of thousands of additional inmates released in the coming years to comply with court orders makes providing inmates with the necessary knowledge to live on the outside, and reducing the chance they return, more critical than ever.
Evidence shows that training programs like MOMAS can help inmates achieve greater economic success and effectively reduce recidivism rates. For instance, a program in Texas, which combines education and employment training before and after release, reduced recidivism within one year of release by 15 percent and increased employment success by 33 percent. Yet, in California, education and training programs comprise only six percent of the state corrections (CDCR) budget and only 10 percent of inmates released in 2006 had participated in any vocational training during their incarceration.
UNIQUE MODEL
What may make MOMAS particularly successful, compared to other vocational training programs, is its unique collaborative model. MOMAS was conceived and is implemented by inmates for inmates.
The executive committee of inmates, inmate-teaching assistants (TAs) and outside volunteer coordinators work together in a co-mentoring and co-advising capacity. Everyone involved has a stake – and takes pride – in the program’s success.
This model is successful because the TAs themselves are graduates of the MOMAS program. Each year they work with the volunteer coordinators to help refine and develop the course material to meet the diverse needs of the students. Thus, MOMAS is a constantly evolving curriculum that is shaped by the experience of the inmates enrolled in the program to provide useful skills for a better life on the outside.
Programs like MOMAS could be critical to relieving pressure on California’s prison system by providing a cost-effective model for expanding prison education programs with proven results of reducing recidivism and increasing chances for employment.
According to CDCR, in 2009, education programs were available to only 16 percent of the prison population in the state and 23,000 prisoners were on waiting lists for education programs in California prisons.
FORWARD GOAL
Looking forward, a goal of the MOMAS program is to educate many more prisoners throughout the state by growing the program within San Quentin and expanding to other prisons. Also, MOMAS will work to improve by interfacing with similar programs elsewhere to compare training and develop best practices, and by increasing fundraising and community support.
Of course, the most important goal of the program is to improve the lives of its participants. When MOMAS graduates put their new-found skills to use for securing employment and achieving financial security, the program will be deemed a success.