Thanks to recently renewed financial support from Ascendium Education Group, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) is launching an opportunity for members to apply for the second round of grants for our Justice Fellows project. Grant applications are due May 8. This initiative helps NCAN members build their capacity to support students enrolled in postsecondary prison education programs and those re-entering their communities. This project is timely and important because Congress restored the ability of incarcerated learners to receive Pell Grants in July 2023 after a ban of almost 30 years.
“NCAN’s first cohort of Justice Fellows is already making an impact in their states, building relationships, receiving funding, and formalizing partnerships to improve outcomes for formerly incarcerated scholars,” NCAN CEO Kim Cook said. “As they gain experience and expertise in this field, their insights are laying the groundwork for other NCAN members to step into this space successfully.” For example:
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College Now Greater Cleveland signed a five-year agreement with Kent State University’s prison education program to provide transfer assistance, FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) completion support, and connect students with College Now scholarships.
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Goddard Riverside’s Options Center in New York City increased its capacity by hiring a justice-impacted Student Specialist and a justice-impacted Data Fellow, developed a prison education training/curriculum, and held two citywide convenings to help educate their partners on advising justice-impacted students.
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The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance began providing information to students who are incarcerated in understanding their options for paying for college and navigating the application process. They also contributed to a re-entry guide with Loyola University New Orleans that includes best practices and strategies for reaching justice-impacted students.
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The Michigan College Access Network, in partnership with the Michigan Consortium for Higher Education in Prison, is working to create set of partnerships throughout Michigan to support incarcerated people from their college education to parole to re-entry to employment, including nonprofit organizations, postsecondary education and training programs, college associations, re-entry programs, funders, and state government entities.
Through a competitive application process, NCAN will select up to 10 state higher education agencies or non-profit college access and success organizations that are new to the specialized prison education field to receive intensive technical assistance to develop support for justice impacted students. Selected NCAN members will receive the following:
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A two-year grant of $20,000 for staff time to engage in this work
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Year one: Monthly virtual community of practice sessions support for planning, training/technical assistance, and landscape development
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Year two: Monthly virtual community of practice sessions support for program implementation and capacity building
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Professional development opportunities to attend, network, and present at NCAN’s National Conference, Leadership Summit, and other relevant events
NCAN encourages you to consider whether your organization could be ready to pursue this work. Applications are now open - click here to apply.
For inspiration and ideas, check out related learnings and resources on NCAN’s Justice-Impacted Students page.