WOMEN ARISE — PROVE PROJECT (MI)

Program Description
In 1977, a group of women prisoners in Michigan filed suit in federal court, claiming that the state failed to provide education and training for them comparable to that received by men prisoners. This case, Glover vs. Johnson, 478 F. Supp. 1075 (ED Michigan 1979), wound its way through numerous appeals and related suits, until U.S. District Court Judge John Feikens issued a landmark ruling in 1999 in favor of the women, ordering reform. In 2000, Feikens fined the Michigan Department of Corrections for noncompliance with that decision and earlier court orders, awarding punitive damages to the women. After careful research into community-based programs, Judge Feikens turned over the resulting fund to Women ARISE. Post-Release Opportunities for Vocational Education (PROVE) is the groundbreaking program created by Women ARISE with this fund in the fall of 2000.

Prior to enrollment, PROVE participants (women who were formerly incarcerated) are assessed to determine their educational/vocational capabilities. Career choices have included business, veterinary science, auto mechanics, cosmetology, nursing, and mental health counseling. To date, PROVE has served more than one hundred women from Michigan Department of Corrections facilities. Most women learn about PROVE while they are incarcerated, either through written information or through a prerelease orientation discussing Women ARISE and its programming. Upon release, women become involved with PROVE primarily for educational support. Many of them had a pre-prison history of attending college and several had defaulted on student loans, which interfered with their ability to continue their education once released from prison. Many women use PROVE to bridge their education financing gap. The program provides funds to pay for the balance of tuition after grant monies are applied. PROVE also provides participants with assistance in purchasing books and, perhaps most important, the program pays on defaulted loans. In addition to financial support, PROVE also conducts monthly peer meetings and provides counseling, parenting classes, tutoring, grade monitoring, educational advice, and application assistance.

Program Goals
The primary goal of PROVE is to provide women who have been released from Michigan State Prisons with an opportunity for post-release education and vocational training, including support and guidance in finding employment, in order to help them reintegrate back into their communities.

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration

The organization has developed a solid nexus with a variety of agencies and institutions of higher learning, including: Women In Community Service, Michigan Legal Services , Michigan Department of Corrections, St. Vincent DePaul, Haven (Domestic Violence Shelter), Detroit Department of Community Justice, My Sister's Place (Domestic Violence Shelter), University of Detroit, Wayne State University, Oakland University, Wayne County Community College, Davenport University, Washtenaw Community College, Oakland Community College, Henry Ford Community College, Cornerstone University, Madonna University, Sienna Heights College, Schoolcraft College, Eastern Michigan University, Virginia Farrell Beauty School, Women On the Move-College as an Option (The University of Michigan, Dearborn), TWW and Associates, FAST Track, Detroit Recording Institute, and Americorps.

Outcomes
Professors from Wayne State University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania conducted an external evaluation of the PROVE program in July 2002. These professors, in collaboration with others from The University of Michigan, collected data to assess the program. Using a sample size of 20 from a total of 84 PROVE participants, the researchers concluded that overall, the program has a positive
influence on the women and does assist them in continuing their educations. However, the researchers acknowledged that the small sample size prevented them from establishing any causal link between participation in the program and participant success. They recommended that the program be reevaluated in future years using a larger sample size.

Click here for a PDF of all Employment Sample Programs (220k)