U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced today the U.S. Department of Education is inviting a new cohort of 67 schools to participate in its Second Chance Pell experiment, creating more education opportunities for incarcerated students. This action expands on the Trump Administration's commitment to offer incarcerated individuals a second chance upon their re-entry to society, helping to reduce rates of recidivism. "I've had the pleasure of visiting several Second Ch

Elizabeth Hardison - April 28, 2020 Dozens of people hoping to have their lengthy sentences cut short will have to wait indefinitely to plead their cases before Pennsylvania’s Board of Pardons, whose members have decided not to conduct interviews or cast votes remotely until the COVID-19 pandemic abates. Lt. Gov John Fetterman, the board’s chairman, said Tuesday that the public hearings the panel had scheduled for June will be delayed until the state Capitol reopens — a day t

The Internal Revenue Service today issued a special alert for Supplemental Security Income and Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiaries to act by May 5 if they didn’t file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 and have dependents so they can quickly receive the full amount of their Economic Impact Payment. Their $1,200 payments will be issued soon and, in order to add the $500 per eligible child amount to these payments, the IRS needs the dependent information before the payments

After the coronavirus erupted behind bars in late March, U.S. Attorney General William Barr ordered officials running federal prisons to “immediately maximize” the release of prisoners to home confinement to prevent the spread of the virus. In a much-publicized letter, Barr urged them to focus on the most medically vulnerable in facilities with COVID-19 deaths. But in the three weeks after Barr’s urgent April 3 memo, the Federal Bureau of Prison’s results are modest: the numb

Like millions of other small business owners facing the financial weight of the coronavirus pandemic, Vincent Bragg saw the federal government's Payroll Protection Program as a potential lifeline. But the fifth question on the loan application immediately disqualified Bragg from securing a loan to help pay the salaries of the nine people on the company payroll: "Is the Applicant ... subject to an indictment ... or presently incarcerated, or on probation or parole?" Bragg, who

Christian Hetrick - April 27, 2020 Hundreds of Philadelphians may be locked out of their bank accounts and could lose their federal coronavirus stimulus checks to creditors and debt collectors, cutting them off from funds they may need to pay rent and buy groceries during the pandemic. In the three months before the coronavirus crisis closed courthouses, the city’s Municipal Court judges issued more than 400 so-called garnishment orders, which allow people and businesses to c

As community-based criminal justice practitioners navigate the new world of COVID-19, a majority of them are already halting the essential services they provide to help people returning from prison or jail reenter successfully. A survey of community-based service providers conducted by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center this month showed that just 30 percent of 126 providers report no changes in services since the rise of the pandemic. Meanwhile, significan

Juliana Feliciano Reyes - April 22, 2020 Three unions that represent thousands of workers at Philadelphia jails have taken the unusual step of calling for judges to reduce the jail population during the coronavirus pandemic. The unions — which in total represent about 2,500 corrections officers, subcontracted healthcare workers, and social workers — say that releasing incarcerated individuals from jail is a “common sense” measure to help protect workers and the broader commun

In order to facilitate the growth and global competitiveness of America’s growing minority business enterprise (MBE) community, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is seeking to fund innovative projects – to support formerly incarcerated individuals – with entrepreneurship assistance including (but not limited to): (1) educational programs and workshops; (2) entrepreneurial training; and (3) coaching assistance. Eligibility: Applicants may be for-profit entities (

The coronavirus has imposed widespread isolation — an experience that is deeply familiar to incarcerated people, who confront unique challenges in jail and prison. As part of their art and advocacy work with formerly incarcerated women, the People’s Paper Co-op (PPC) recently asked eight people in its program to give advice on how to cope. They share tips for getting through, including how to deal with loneliness, what to do when you lack control over your daily schedule, and