• There is a need for programs to help incarcerated people upgrade their skills. People who have criminal records are perceived to be high risk and it is difficult for tutors to go to their homes; at the same time it is difficult for these clients to come in for upgrading at a college or tutoring program because they are ashamed.

• One instructor at a correctional facility told us there was an initiative to put schools in all the jails. Currently, there are four in Prince George, Kamloops, Nanaimo, and Victoria. They are seen as being an important stepping stone out of jail. The educator is seen as someone from the outside – unlike the guards and other inmates – and can convey a sense of opportunity and reality.

• At one of the prisons, the educator works with counselors and psychologists to assess clients using an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach. Based on this assessment process, the educator develops an individual program. Every one of the inmates – and there are 400 students a year – is at a different level and is following a unique plan. Inmates get paid to go to school so as to motivate them and to prevent embarrassment and stigma.

• At one of the prisons, we were told that 85% of inmates claim to have grade 10 or less but most are at grade 6-7. Of the other 15%, they likely only have half the education they claim to. Most are in their early twenties and in on 3-6 month drug- or alcohol-related charges. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is reported to be present in some 20%-40%. Learning disabilities affect 85% and while these can be identified, there is no treatment. Interestingly, only 11% are First Nations whereas the provincial average is 18%.

• With their computer equipment, security and technical support are issues. So also are the high turnover of students and the expense and difficulty of obtaining and tracking books.

• There needs to be a more seamless bond between the schools in jail and the education institutions on the outside. However, we were told that political issues exist around whether inmates should be directed toward education or employment when they are released.

First Nations Programming…

“We’re in the fish farming business. Numbers are a must, as is reading of policies and regulations. We have a lot of First Nations employees who need to gain the basics, so we invest in them and they stay. It’s a very positive thing. It’s good to advance knowledge.” – Employer in Supplemental Business/Labour Telephone Survey

• The needs of First Nations are different from those of non-aboriginal people. Many aboriginal people had traumatic residential school experiences and now, as parents, are not as involved or supportive of their own children’s education. In one community, 65% of the children infoster care are First Nations – even though First Nations accounts for only 6%-8% of the population. There is also a high teen pregnancy rate in the First Nation community – with aboriginal children comprising 50% of the high school daycare in one community.