There is a Correlation Between Education and Incarceration

By Charles Fisher and Randy Fisher @HHSYC

Education is the gateway to success and the key to public safety.  8 out of 10 in prison are high school dropouts and almost 67% return after they are released.  There is a “correlation between education and incarceration.”  We must focus on improving our daycare centers and schools if we truly want to put an end to the “Daycare to Prison Pipeline.”

Educating our children starts with early childhood development and if our daycare centers are compromised, so will the education and lives of our children.  It is our hope that our elected officials will be working very closely with ACS, who also controls the NYC Juvenile Justice System, to provide our incarcerated youth with the skills to become productive citizens.  In addition, they must also make sure that the children they service through daycare never have to see the inside of a prison cell because of academic failure and a lack of quality childhood development programs because if they can’t read by the fourth grade they are building a prison cell for your child.

Last month NYC Comptroller John C. Liu gave Congress some marching orders regarding the rise of federally subsidized student loan rates and the impact on NYC and individuals who are in debt from student loans.

“Our City needs Congress to get back together right away and craft a fix that will cancel the doubling of federally subsidized student-loan rates.  The rise in rates on new loans will hurt many struggling young New Yorkers.  Our analysis, based on federal data, shows that about 912,000 New York City residents owe an average of $29,800 in student loans. Assuming a third of new student loans are federally subsidized, a permanent rise in interest rates could cost City borrowers roughly $40 million in the first year.  “With higher rates, that amount will rise rapidly – further constricting disposable incomes in a City that is a magnet for the country’s college graduates,” ended NYC Comptroller John Liu.

Notes: Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show that, even at the lower interest rate, Many New Yorkers are struggling to keep up with their student loan payments.

What Can We Do About the Daycare to Prison Pipeline?

A solution to the student loan problem has been reached.  The voice of the people has been heard and it is our hope that we can come up with an even better long-term plan to ensure that a good college education remains an affordable option in this country, not just for those that are rich and free, but also for the incarcerated.  Let’s keep it real; if we don’t properly prepare inmates with the tools they need to survive, we are doing this country a disservice because we all know that most will resort back to a life of crime and violence upon their release.  This should not be the mentality of a civilized “God Fearing” society.

It seems we have accepted the losing number of 67% as the norm for the percentage of people that go back to prison upon release and just part of doing business in this country.  How did that happen?  Since when did we decide to become a nation of losers?  Is anyone paying attention to the data?  There is no CEO of any company, profit or non-profit, that could keep his or her job with those numbers.  Why is the Department of Corrections so special?  What secrets do they have on our elected officials that would allow them to re-fund a broken system without question year after year with no real solution in sight?  I guess it will again be left up to the people to come up with a plan to get those numbers down because 67% is unacceptable in the greatest country on earth.  We are too smart to let this crime continue.  Wake up America!

We have to change our way of thinking when it comes to education and properly preparing inmates for their re-entry into society.  If you want to save taxpayers money while improving public safety, we must come up with a better long overdue plan to address recidivism in this country.  So far all have failed and that is another reason why this generation is on track to being the first to live a shorter life and be less productive than their parents.

John Liu Steps Up to the Plate

Stated John Liu “The Congressional compromise to tie federal student loan interest rates to the U.S. Treasury 10-year borrowing rate and to set a cap for the new rates is good news for undergraduates starting college this fall.  On July 1, rates for new subsided Stafford loans doubled from 3.4% to 6.8%.  Under this new deal, undergraduates will be able to borrow at a rate of 3.9%.  In the near future, borrowing interest rates will undoubtedly increase as the economy improves, but they will be capped at 8.25% – a critical component of the legislation. However, any meaningful strategy to help New Yorkers attend college must address rising college costs and stagnant incomes.  Lowering borrowing interest rates is important, but the benefit is wiped out if tuition and fees keep rising and income is stagnant or declining.”

Now that we have solved the tuition problem let’s address recidivism and the “Daycare to Prison Pipeline.”  Who is up for the challenge? If you are hit us up at hiphopsyc@aol.com.

Next Week: The impact that Gangsta Rap and Ratchet Music is having on our Children, Youth and Young Adults!