Securus Technologies Seeks to Support Incarcerated Individuals in Reshaping their Futures With Expanded Access to Educational Programs Available Through Tablet Technology

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Nov 12, 2024, 15:00 ET

Spending time on education and skill-building while incarcerated promotes stronger re-entry outcomes

DALLAS, Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past five years, Securus Technologies has expanded opportunities for incarcerated individuals to access and benefit from education resources that promote stronger reentry outcomes. As an Aventiv Technologies company and the leading provider of connections between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, Securus offers free and premium access to educational, vocational, and rehabilitative curricula. The company also enables connections to scholarships and mentorship through ScholarCHIPS, a nonprofit supporting children of incarcerated parents. By investing more than $600 million to deploy technology, including 600,000 tablets in correctional facilities nationwide, Securus aims to close the education gap affecting justice-impacted families.

According to the Prison Policy Institute, formerly incarcerated individuals are nearly twice as likely to lack a high school credential and eight times less likely to complete college than the general public. Yet, according to the Vera Institute, incarcerated individuals who participate in educational programs are 52 percent more likely to remain in their communities, demonstrating that education is a critical factor in breaking the cycle of recidivism.

"Technology offers a scaled solution to connect incarcerated individuals to educational and job training resources that help break the recidivism cycle," said Kevin Elder, President, Securus Technologies. "More than 600,000 Securus tablets available in corrections facilities nationwide offer free and premium content that encourage learning and skill building. Our offerings from 22 colleges and universities have connected more than 17,000 incarcerated learners to post-secondary education equating to more than 300,000 credit hours, positively impacting the trajectory of their own lives, and those of their families and communities."

Securus remains committed to using technology to help bridge the digital divide, connecting justice-impacted individuals to high-quality content and resources, to help them plan their path to reentry starting on day one:

With Edovo, a tech nonprofit providing free educational and vocational curricula, Securus connects incarcerated learners to free skill-building programs via a cloud-based platform. To date, using Securus devices, Edovo has delivered over 3.27 million educational hours to more than 500,000 incarcerated individuals in more than 550 corrections facilities nationwide
Securus has a partnership with Essential Education, a platform that provides incarcerated individuals access to premium education and reentry programming, including GED prep, HiSET prep, computer competency, and financial literacy, among other offerings. The platform brings flexibility for self-paced, adaptive lessons to corrections tablets, supplementing classroom-specific instruction. More than 2,700 students have accessed Essential Education on Securus devices, logging 400 plus study hours in preparation for a high school equivalency exam
Via a partnership with JSTOR, a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources, incarcerated individuals in the Florida Department of Corrections can access a digital academic research library, providing access to millions of journal articles, books, and images, spanning hundreds of disciplines at no cost. JSTOR is coming to Securus tablets in the Missouri Department of Corrections and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Re-Entry
In May 2024, Securus partnered with Tooling U, a workforce development organization that produces software, certifications, and content for the manufacturing industry for free for incarcerated individuals. To date, 21 students completed the program, of which,12 earned their Certified Manufacturing Associate's certification and eight returned home to secure employment

Securus recognizes that the education gap affects more than just those within correctional facilities. Nationally, 2.7 million children—about the population of Mississippi—have an incarcerated parent. These children may encounter barriers to academic success, including higher rates of special education placement, reduced school retention, and increased delinquency. Securus's partnership with ScholarCHIPS, a nonprofit providing scholarships and mentorship to children of incarcerated parents, can help correct this critical challenge by connecting youth impacted by the justice system to resources that allow them to pursue their education.

"All too often, the children of incarcerated individuals face significant challenges in pursuing their academic and career dreams, reducing their chance to create change within themselves, their families, and their communities," said Yasmine Arrington Brooks, Founder and Executive Director of ScholarCHIPS. "Growing up as a justice-impacted individual, I searched for ways to bridge the financial gap so I could complete my college education and then founded ScholarCHIPS to provide justice-impacted youth with opportunities to pursue higher education and break out of cycles of poverty and incarceration."

Since its inception, ScholarCHIPS has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships to 100 young people, including more than 2,500 hours of mentorship. To date, ScholarCHIPS has seen 45 scholars through to college graduation, and ninety percent of scholars are on track to graduate from college within the next five years. In 2024, Securus made the ScholarCHIPS application and award process available across its 600,000 tablets nationwide, resulting in a 900 percent increase in scholarship applications across 27 states. As a result of this work, ScholarCHIPS has been selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences as a finalist for The Anthem Awards in several categories.

"National Education Month is a time to celebrate the power of learning, recognizing children of incarcerated parents can face entirely different obstacles when navigating the educational system," said Anye Young, a ScholarCHIPS recipient and current Community Engagement Intern at Aventiv. "Thanks to ScholarCHIPS, I attended the University of Southern California, earned my degree, and now work for Aventiv in a community engagement role where I am helping identify programming and partnerships that allow justice-impacted families to feel supported, connected, and empowered."

Education provides incarcerated individuals with hope and purpose. Securus is committed to expanding access to education across correctional facilities nationwide, so incarcerated individuals have the opportunity and tools to succeed.

About Securus Technologies
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Securus Technologies® (Securus) is an Aventiv Technologies company that serves more than 1,800 public safety, law enforcement, and corrections agencies as well as over 1,000,000 incarcerated individuals across North America. Founded in 1986, Securus offers innovative solutions like phone and video connections and e-messaging, which connect family and friends to their incarcerated loved ones. Their secure monitoring and investigative solutions aid law enforcement and correctional facility staff in their operations and efforts to maintain public safety in communities nationwide. As the pioneers of tablet technology, Securus introduced the first corrections-grade tablet in 2011, revolutionizing how communication, entertainment, reentry, and educational resources are deployed in complex corrections environments, elevating efficiency in operations and stronger reentry outcomes. For more information, please visit https://www.aventiv.com/securus-technologies/ or follow us on social media on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.

About Edovo
At Edovo, we are committed to making a real difference in the lives of incarcerated individuals. We believe that education is a powerful tool for transformation, and we have seen firsthand how our programming can help incarcerated learners build skills, improve their outlook, and prepare for a successful reentry into society. Our story began in 2012 when our founder, Brian Hill, recognized a need for better educational opportunities in correctional facilities. Since then, we have grown from a small startup to a national leader within correctional education and rehabilitation, establishing partnerships with some of the most respected organizations in the field of corrections, education and rehabilitation while serving hundreds of correctional facilities and tens of thousands of incarcerated learners across the country. To learn more about Edovo, please visit us here: https://www.edovo.org/

About Essential Education
Since 2002, Essential Education has empowered over 4.5 million adults to achieve their life goals through their award-winning online learning system and print materials. Their innovative solutions have revolutionized adult education by providing an array of programs that cater to the diverse needs of adult learners. From comprehensive low-level adult basic education to high school equivalency test preparation and essential workforce readiness skills, they have reshaped the landscape of adult education. Their programs are thoughtfully designed to assist educators in achieving their desired success, offering a guided pathway for each student that seamlessly supports both traditional classrooms and virtual learning environments.

About ScholarCHIPS
ScholarCHIPS, Inc. is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that provides college scholarships, mentoring, and peer support to children of incarcerated parents, inspiring them to complete their college education. To learn more, visit https://www.scholarchipsfund.org/, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Securus Technologies