Giving Compass' Take:

• In this video and post (via Ford Foundation) Douglas Wood, Former Program Officer at Global Grants, reports on a recent panel discussion regarding the positive ripple effect for educating incarcerated people.

• In what ways can donors support more education programs within the criminal justice system to decrease recidivism rates and strengthen communities?

• Here's more on why education is key to redeeming lives in prison.

Despite similar crime rates, the US incarceration rate is more than five times that of comparable countries. Out of every 100,000 Americans, 693 are in prison—a number that has multiplied in the past four decades. With both incarceration and recidivism rates at shockingly high levels, many wonder, What can be done?

Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, former dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, explores one option in her new book, Liberating Minds: The Case for College in Prison. Langemann argues that educating people in prison is actually part of building a democracy. When incarcerated people have access to education, the benefits — including increased levels of hope, decreased recidivism rates, increased employment opportunities, giving back to communities, and stronger relationships with family members — ripple widely both inside and outside correctional facilities.

Recently, Lagemann — along with Anthony Annucci, acting commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections, and Dorell Smallwood, graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative and youth advocate at Brooklyn Defender Services — took part in a panel discussion at the Ford Foundation about the critical role of education in the incarcerated community.

Read the full article about education in prison by Douglas Wood at the Ford Foundation.