treatment program. The instructor received permission from the WCDOC Warden and the drug treatment facility to allow this student to continue with the class via Zoom. Since the majority of drug treatment facilities do not allow patients to have their phones and/or access to the Internet, it was necessary for the instructor to develop a strong working relationship with the drug treatment administration. Since the student was released four days prior to the next class, the instructor needed to work quickly. Once permission was obtained from the drug treatment facility administrators, the instructor worked with the student’s drug counselor, who would help to facilitate work assignments and exams. The counselor was very supportive of this process and saw it as a positive step toward more prosocial behavior. The instructor would email the counselor assignments, who would then provide those assignments to the student. Once the student completed those assignments, the counselor would email them back to the instructor. The counselor would also provide a computer with Internet access for the student to Zoom into the classes at the jail. Besides a few technical issues with connectivity, this student completed all classes and earned an A in the course.

The second female student was released shortly before the college class began but was given permission by both Pace University and the WCDOC to Zoom into the class. Besides being released, she also relocated eight hours away to a southern state to remain closer to her parents as she raised her two younger children with her husband. Although she struggled with time management, in terms of her responsibility to her aging parents and her small children, in addition to trying to meet and complete her mandates for probation and obtain visitation with her two older children, she also completed the class successfully and earned an A. This student struggled initially with obtaining proper equipment to meet the requirements for the class, such as a computer that could support Zoom and its bandwidth.

helped them to have better insight into their own behaviors:

Yes, I have a better understanding of myself and others who commit crime. Hopefully, I won’t make the same mistakes and if I do I know the consequences at least.

Both releasees felt classes, such as these, made their time at the jail easier to handle, which could be important for supporting other prosocial behaviors, such as reducing disciplinary infractions while incarcerated. The class was something they could look forward to attending and it helped to keep them “busy”. This was a common theme also expressed by other Inside students. For the other releasee, feeling cared about made her time in jail a bit easier:

[The instructor] definitely made my time in jail easier. Right away you can tell that [she] truly cares about what is happening in our jails and her students. Having a teacher like her is what makes the true difference in class.

Although most students are typically nervous before the start of class, the nervousness typically dissipates after the first class when they have the chance to get to know one another. This proves true for both the Inside and Outside students. One releasee really enjoyed the experience of engaging with the Pace University students and said:

It was an honor and privilege.

The other releasee, who was initially concerned about being judged, felt very comfortable sharing:

Again, for me, it is all about fear of judgment. Of course, I started the first class off wondering who was going to judge me. But by the end of the class, I felt comfortable with the students and really didn’t have any issues being open and honest about my story.

All Inside and Outside students said they would recommend this class to other students. The same held true of the two releasees. As one releasee noted:

Yes, this class and others like it will hopefully allow the inside students to see that they have potential to get back on the right track and make a difference in not only their lives, but the lives of others.

Facilities have reasonable and justifiable concerns in regard to allowing Internet services inside secure parts of the institution; there is concern that its availability could be abused by both residents (i.e., contacting victims or committing new crimes) and staff (i.e., using it for non-work-related activities) (Jewkes & Johnston, 2009; Tolbert et al., 2015). Although allowing such technology into the facility may be uncomfortable initially, the use of technology for residents is becoming more routine as more facilities utilize tablets to provide their residents with various services (i.e., educational programming, email, videos, music, sick call requests, law library, etc.) (Mitchell, 2017; Nabers, 2017; Stewart, 2017). This technology is managed safely and effectively by numerous institutions across the country. Moreover, the WCDOC has been utilizing internet-based technology without issue for multiple programs and service providers for the past three years without issue. In fact, another program housed at the WCDOC—Parenting, Prison & Pups, which is an evidence-based parenting curriculum integrated with animal-assisted therapy—allowed a newly released woman this past Fall to participate in the remainder of her parenting classes via Zoom so that she could earn her parenting certificate. The opportunity to expand overall education to the incarcerated and then to allow the continuity of education to support new releasees is unending.

Of course, there can be disadvantages to employing this technology, which include the costs associated with the implementation and maintenance of the equipment, costs to train staff, or costs associated with software licensing. There is also the issue of making sure the newly released have computer and Internet access. However, the benefits, which include expansion of programming, the reduction in time for processing, clearing and escorting visitors, transportation and time savings for educators, the ability to support returning citizens, etc., far outweigh the disadvantages. With security oversight, facilities can safely expand their current programming by cultivating solid partnerships with outside agencies who might be unable to travel to the facility but are more than willing to provide multiple services, often free to the facility, via remote-based technology. Since more facilities are already using some form of outside technology (i.e., tablets, video visitation, etc.), allowing remote-based educational services is the next logical step (Collica-Cox, 2021). “Correctional facilities should begin to consider how the use of technology can expand service opportunities for the incarcerated without jeopardizing security,” especially when such services can assist the newly released to become a more stable part of their community (Collica-Cox, 2021, p.45).

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Dr. Kimberly Collica-Cox is a Professor in the Criminal Justice and Security Department at PACE University. Prior to teaching, Dr. Collica-Cox worked for a women’s correctional facility in NYS, coordinating an HIV prison-based peer education program and for a NY jail supervising their jail-based transitional services unit. She trains professionals in HIV and COVID-related issues and is a certified ACA and PREA Auditor. She is the Director of Parenting, Prison & Pups, and has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. Her research has focused on incarcerated women, rehabilitation, corrections-based programming, and female correctional executives. She can be reached at (212) 346-1862 or via email at kcollixacox@pace.edu.