Community Partnerships

Dana- Grace College and Seminary Prison Extension Program

Dan-  Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute Partnership, Discussion for Ivy Tech

Amanda- Paper format, Intro, Discussion/Suggestions for Grace

Dana Sharp commented on Groups 1 and 2
Dan Royer commented on Groups 3 and 4
Amanda Cruser commented on Groups 1 and 2

Community Partnerships

Amanda Cruser, Dan Royer, Dana Sharp

Ball State University

Introduction

            Building community partnerships are becoming an ever important aspect of all newly developed adult education programs.  The importance of this partnership, as has been defined by Crist and Escandon-Dominguez (2003) a “reciprocal and interactional collaboration between the researcher [educators] and the community” cannot be overlooked in the program planning process of community education programs.  This concept of partnership allows for improved relations, both interpersonal and cultural, within the community; a stronger community voice, and the feeling of success of achieving shared goals from the collaborative effort all parties put into the program (Crist & Escandon-Dominguez, 2003).  Personal involvement with community and adult education programs can be helpful in improving an individual’s way of life and overall well being, but not only the individual will benefit from their action to involve themselves with education and community development programs.

            As a whole, the development of a community partnership should follow some basic ground work in order to appeal the community at-large and allow itself the opportunity of being fully accepted by the community members, through the act of assimilation, as well as through putting the community first, in the lead positions, of the program planning as its main stakeholders.  The desired result of any community partnership is for there to be easily seen an “empowerment for both the community and the…researcher [educator]” (Crist & Escandon-Dominguez, 2003).  This outcome is best achieved and surmised in Crist and Escandon-Dominguez’s 2003 article:

Community program directions must be shaped and managed by skills and resources within the community to maintain continued effort ‘organized primarily by the individuals, groups, and organizations from within the community to attain and then sustain community improvements and/or new opportunities.

This is a vital aspect of community partnerships, keep the community at the forefront of the program and moving the program forward from within opposed to creating a forced environment of change and/or conformity to a new way of life.

            The programs have been chosen in this paper as representatives of two significant aspects of community education.  In the first case, the program presented describes the practice of correctional education.  In this case a private not for profit organization which is affiliated with a faith based institution is operating a program designed to serve inmates by providing them with educational opportunities.

            In the second case we have included the case of a community partnership in which a publicly operated animal shelter is partnering with a community college to address needs for both institutions.  In this case the community college and the animal shelter are able to address their identified needs through this partnership.

Case Studies: Community Partnership

Grace College and Seminary Prison Extension Program

The Indiana Department of Corrections reports that 34% of the adult prison population is illiterate.  Ongoing research within the department found that ex-offenders who are gainfully employed are less likely to re-offend.  Increasing educational attainment while incarcerated holds the promise of increasing employment opportunities at living wages (Indiana, 2014).

In 2011, Lawmakers barred offenders from receiving state scholarships which cut off the primary source of funding for the Indiana Department of Corrections education program (Stokes, 2012).  Until this point, Indiana had been a leader in the nation for post-secondary education in the prison system.  Research shows that educating inmates not only provides them with basic reading, writing, and math skills with the possibility of a diploma, it provides them with the critical thinking skills  needed to cope in the real world, even if the offender has a trade (Stokes, 2012).

Grace College and Seminary is an evangelical Christian College located in the historical town of Winona Lake, just outside of Warsaw, Indiana.  Grace College offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and applies biblical values to its studies.  In 2012, Grace College inherited Ivy Tech Community College’s role in managing the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) education program for the Northern half of the state (College, 2014).

The Prison Extension Program is part of Grace College’s School of Adult and Community Education.  It operates as a contractor with the State of Indiana’s Department of Corrections (IDOC).  This program provides primary, secondary, and some post-secondary education to qualified offenders.  The instructors are employed by Grace College and paid through Grace College, which receives funding through the IDOC for this purpose (D. Duncan, personal communication, March 28, 2014).  Degrees offered through this program are the GED, an Associate of Science in Biblical Studies, an Associate of Science in Organizational Leadership, and a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management.  Admission is granted to qualified offenders who are currently in the state’s prison system. The school operates year round within the prisons and doesn’t always follow the same parameters as the main campus due to the unique circumstances of the program.  Classes meet in the prisons once per week in the fall and spring semesters and twice per week during the summer.  Only the prisons in Michigan City and Wabash Valley have computer labs; otherwise, use of computers is forbidden by IDOC unless it’s a computer course (College, 2014).

            The main stakeholders of this program are Indiana tax payers, Grace College employees, especially employees involved with this program, the state of Indiana Department of Corrections, corrections officers, and Grace College students who are able to see the outreach of this program through their school.

In speaking with the Director of Indiana Correctional Education Denny Duncan, I found out that Grace College shares the duty of this program with Oakland College, which runs the Southern half of the state (D. Duncan, personal communication, March 28, 2014).

Mr. Duncan stated that this program collaborates mostly with IDOC, but also collaborates some with Indiana’s Department of Education.  He has monthly meetings where he collaborates with the Indiana Department of Correction Education Chief, the co-director in charge of the southern part of the state, and his site directors, who serve in a manner similar to a school principal (D. Duncan, personal communication, March 28, 2014).

            When asked what the outreach process is for the inmates, he stated that the program is entirely voluntary and the inmates must qualify, but there is a “carrot” for the inmates.  By taking courses, they can have time reduced from their sentences.  For example, once an inmate completes the ninth grade level, he/she is rewarded with six months taken off of their sentence.  Completing a GED will be rewarded with one entire year and completing an advanced degree will be rewarded with more than one year off the sentence (D. Duncan, personal communication, March 28, 2014).

            The teachers are certified teachers and teach on-site, much like any public school.  The program is unique in that the program is individualized for each student.  He stated that many students begin the program reading at a pre-kindergarten level.  The program is designed to take the students from the level they’re at starting the program through the GED and beyond, if the inmate desires.  Grace College also offers vocational programs, such as business, cooking, horticulture, and construction (D. Duncan, personal communication, March 28, 2014).

            In wrapping up the interview, Mr. Duncan stated that Grace College sees this program as a ministry.  He is proud that this program models for the traditional students a way to reach out and give back to their community (D. Duncan, personal communication, March 28, 2014).

Ivy Tech Partnership for Animal Welfare and Educational Development

            Ivy Tech Community College Wabash Valley region announced plans to engage in a community partnership with the Terre Haute Humane Society to develop a co-location initiative (http://www.ivytech.edu/wabashvalley/THHS/).  This partnership is being developed in order to address several issues.  This project is being pursued for reasons which include the Terre Haute Humane Society’s need to engage a capital campaign to obtain space and improved facilities for the animals, and to provide future veterinary technician programming at the Ivy Tech Wabash Valley campus which would serve the community and provide additional job opportunities for Ivy Tech students, according to Dr. Ann M. Valentine, Chancellor (Ivy Tech (n.d.), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZzTvk5SgI#t=266). 

The stakeholders which have been identified in this case include the Terre Haute Humane Society, Ivy Tech Community College, Ivy Tech students, animals which have been abandoned as well as community members.  The purpose of this arrangement combine efforts of the partners to produce a synergetic solution to identified community needs.  The Terre Haute Humane Society will obtain improved facilities which will provide additional room, improved and expanded treatment, housing, exercise and play areas for the animals.  Ivy Tech will benefit by being able to offer additional programs to its students to train locally, rather than to travel over 60 miles to the nearest alternative location.  Ivy Tech students and the community will both benefit through the expanded training opportunities and preparation for a career field in a period of growth (Ivy Tech Community College, http://www.ivytech.edu/wabashvalley/THHS/).

Laughlin (2013) reported that the relationship between Ivy Tech and Terre Haute Humane Society has been more clearly defined through a formal partnership and lease agreement providing for additional fundraising, while spelling out that this was not a merger or acquisition of the Terre Haute Humane Society by Ivy Tech.  Additionally, Ivy Tech has expressed a desire to have local veterinarians participate in an advisory capacity to ensure the educational program is performing properly as intended.

In this case Chancellor Ann Valentine identified the need through an article she read in the Terre Haute newspaper which described the Humane Society’s need to relocate and improve facilities (Ivy Tech (n.d.), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZzTvk5SgI#t=266).  The need is also identified on the joint website in a listing of the needs which include the Humane Society taking in approximately 3,000 animals a year, but only having 100 cages and six kennels to house these animals, as well as being inadequate for the isolation of sick animals (Ivy Tech (n. d.), http://www.ivytech.edu/wabashvalley/THHS/we-save-animals.html).   As a result of this awareness, Ivy Tech and the Humane Society began to explore the potential of this option, hiring American City Bureau, Inc. to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether the projected fundraising goal and community support adequately supported this partnership (Ivy Tech (n. d. ) http://www.ivytech.edu/wabashvalley/THHS/).  The favorable analysis provided by American City Bureau has allowed the project to move forward into the fundraising stage, and Ivy Tech has announced the addition of the Veterinary programs in the fall of 2014 (WTWO 2). 

            This collaborative project has been undertaken through a number of ways.  Initially, the evaluation of the proposal has been undertaken in a cooperative manner which includes the cooperative hiring of a firm to evaluate the potential of such a partnership by the partners.  Following this evaluation, the partners have initiated a campaign within the community beginning with gaining the support of Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett.  The mayor authored a statement of support to be included within a campaign brochure (Laughlin, 2013).

            The participation in the project has been promoted through the websites of both Ivy Tech and the Terre Haute Humane Society.  Additionally, as has been noted above there have been several stories about the project utilizing local media which have also publicized the partnership.  Additionally, the contributions of local groups to the effort have been publicized, such as 100+ Women Who Care who recently donated $18,000 to the project (Foulkes, 2014 March 7).  The publicity generated by this gift and others like it, help to keep the story of the partnership in the mind of the public, encouraging other potential supporters.

            Perhaps the most interesting approach was engaging the students at Ivy Tech to participate in a letter writing campaign to celebrity Ellen DeGeneres.  This effort was designed to raise awareness and did not seek a donation from the comedienne, rather sought to raise the level of awareness about the need (Laughlin, 2013 March 21).  These activities, along with the video, print and other electronic means have generated awareness about the project and increased potential for future donors.

Discussion

Grace College and Seminary Prison Extension Program lends some insight into the roles and struggles a community has, within itself, to make an impact on lives of the members.  As the case study states, it has been found by the Indiana Department of Corrections (2014) that 34% of adult inmates are illiterate and unemployed or under-employed thus putting them at risk to become repeat offenders.  Although it has been noted funding to educational scholarships for inmates was cut in 2011, this affords a direct opportunity for the community to rise up and fulfill an identified need in order to improve the health of the community overall.  Grace College and Seminar as stepped into this community partnership role in order to improve academic levels and employability of inmates, as well as to advocate for this population to serve their community as active, educated participants.

When working with the main stakeholders of the program; Grace, IDOC, tax payers, etc; the case can be made of this program acting as a Community Development Corporation (CDC).  As defined by the National Congress for Community and Economic Development (2001) a CDC “is a non-profit organization that is created to revitalize a low- or moderate-income community.”  While this program may not fit the mold of a traditional CDC, comparison can be made.   While CDC’s are most easily identified by their involvement in tangible community development; affordable housing, job creation, business loans, etc (What is a CDC?, 2001); the program lead by Grace is providing the opportunity for similar growth, only in a much less tangible and visible manner. 

Grace, through the stakeholder involvement of the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) and tax payers, is essentially providing loans for educators to be able to be compensated for providing this needed academic service to an underdeveloped population.  There are also similarities to be found in a CDC providing life knowledge counseling and creating jobs and of Grace providing academic counseling and remediation in order to propel the population of inmates being served to lead better lives through supporting their finding of jobs and therefore lessening the odds of those graduates to become repeat offenders. However, in contrast to these loans being monetary, the loans given through the Grace CDC are that of reduced sentences for the inmates. 

With tax payers being such a huge stakeholder in the success and continuation of the program although they may have very limited access to this information or understand the importance of the program, should this knowledge and subsequent studies released be able to demonstrate a correlation between reduced sentences and this academic program, thus reducing tax payer cost for housing inmates indefinitely, the argument could be made for shifting tax payer involvement, and their opinions, toward actual, successful remediation while incarcerated.  This would give the stakeholder a sense of where they investment is going and there is an actual payoff, not only for them directly, but for their community as a whole knowing the inmates are coming out in a better position to find jobs, becoming assets to economic development, and integrate themselves into the tax payer system to fund the program for their successors.  There may also be an avenue for these graduates to give back to the program and begin developing their own community partnerships by mentoring new graduates, who have become job seekers, through the networking and securing of gainful employment.

            With the Ivy Tech and Terre Haute Humane Society partnership, a significant problem has been identified in which the Humane Society lacks the resources because of governmental funding limitations.  It is also recognized that while these limitations are real and significant, the cooperation of Ivy Tech with the community partners allows it to provide the services needed within the community which also advanced the educational goals of students and prepare them for a developing and advancing career path.

            In the case of this program it can be suggested that the student participation in the Humane Society could be classified as a form of service learning.  However, the environment is contained within the Ivy Tech campus.  This program identifies a public need which is the aging facilities the Humane Society currently uses.  The potential for an alternative is identified through an analysis of the power of synergetic cooperation between Ivy Tech and the Humane Society.

            As in the previous case, the problems which have been identified may best be solved not in an individualistic fashion, but rather through the functioning of a partnership.  This partnership is dynamic and fluid and allows the partners and the stakeholders (Ivy Tech students and community members) to interact with the model, each contributing input and providing support.  It also provides benefits across the board to all participants.

            In this case one suggestion might be to have a section of the website dedicated to the fundraising goal and identify the degree of success the campaign has achieved, highlighting the stories of students and contributors.  Another suggestion might be to host information sessions within the community to promote the development to community members, identifying ways in which the partnership is mutually beneficial to both the educators and then students.

References

Crist, J. & Escandon-Dominguez, S. (2003). Identifying and recruiting mexican american partners and sustaining community partnerships. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 14(3), 266-271. doi: 10.1177/1043659603253758

College, G. (2014). Grace College and Seminary. Retrieved from Grace College and Seminary: http://www.grace.edu/

Foulkes, A.  (2014, March 7).  New animal shelter gets welcome boost.  Retrieved from http://www.tribstar.com/local/x334193851/New-animal-shelter-gets-welcome-boost.  Accessed 3/29/2014.

Indiana, S. o. (2014). Indiana Department of Corrections. Retrieved from Indiana Department of Corrections: http://www.in.gov/idoc/2799.htm

Ivy Tech Community College.  (n.d.)  A partnership for animal welfare and educational development. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZzTvk5SgI#t=266.

Ivy Tech Community College.  (n.d.)  A partnership for animal welfare and educational development.  Retreived from http://www.ivytech.edu/wabashvalley/THHS/. Accessed 3/29/2014.

Ivy Tech Community College (n.d.).  We save animals.  Retrieved from http://www.ivytech.edu/wabashvalley/THHS/we-save-animals.html. Accessed 3/29/2014.

Laughlin, S.  (2013, March 21).  Humane society, Ivy Tech plan new shelter.  Retrieved from http://www.tribstar.com/news/x765742539/Humane-Society-Ivy-Tech-plan-new-shelter.

Stokes, K. (2012). What Indiana Will Miss with the State Prison's College Program Gone. Retrieved from Indiana Public Media: http://indianapublicmedia.org

What is a CDC? (2001). National Congress for Community Economic Development. Retrieved from course resources.

WTWO2. (2013,October 2).  Ivy Tech adds programs to connect with community.  Retreived from http://www.mywabashvalley.com/story/ivy-tech-adds-progams-to-connect-with-community/d/story/XTR3hFliTU66IKig7TyBWw

 

	Partnership Case 1	Partnership Case 2	Partnership Case 3 (Optional)
Main Stakeholders and Purpose	*Indiana tax payers  *Grace College employees, especially employees involved with this program  *state of Indiana Department of Corrections *corrections officers  *Grace College students	*Ivy Tech Community College *Terre Haute Humane Society *Ivy Tech Students in the Wabash Valley region *Members of the community.
Strategies /tools/methods used for identifying and establishing partnerships and collaborating with partners	*IDOC: They need Grace College to teach the inmates *IDOE: They help to guide the educators about state educational standards	*Form a partnership/ leasing agreement to define roles *Involve partners in the decision making process
Strategies/tools for engaging participants	*Inmates rewarded for completion of educational goals	*Widespread use of public media and network media
Main ideas you have learned (Check discussion)	*Program is a necessity in order to attempt to make an impact within on overlooked community. *Education has correlation to repeat offenses and can be used to better the outcomes of inmates. *Funding structure flows from IDOC collections from tax payers in order to pay Grace staff to services. *Program is similar to that of a CDC in its building up of inmates and improving community outcomes and relations.	*Program will help Ivy Tech to continue into the future and explore a developing growth trend in Veterinary practice programs. *Additional programs will assist students in their preparation for a career field while giving them access to some elements of service learning. *This program operates to serve the needs of the community and provide the community with improved services and with fully trained individuals who are ready to participate in their profession.
Suggestions for practitioners (check discussion)	*Release more information and studies to demonstrate the success of the program; potential growth if all stakeholders are on board and acceptable to the terms of the funding. *There is little discussion on how the community partners were involved in the development of the program. With more critical awareness and discussion, there may be an increased interest from the community that would further the program and available funding. *Create awareness of success for community to grasp importance of program. *Involve successful graduates in the mission by developing a mentor program following release.	*Section of the website dedicated to recognizing contribution goals and how actual fundraising compares to this amount. *Hosting information sessions to promote the developmental function of the project to the community. *Suggest that the students interaction with the animals in the shelter be viewed as a service learning project.

Table 1. Summary of the Community Partnership