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Allegany County Detention Center Program (Annual)

How Well: Number of incarcerated parents passing one or more sections of their GED exam while incarcerated (Annual)

Current Value

0

FY 2024

Definition

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Story Behind the Curve

Second Half FY20:  Total # students enrolled: 10; # of Students that took subject tests on GED official 1/30/20: 2; # of test passed on GED official: 3; Subjects passed: Reading/Language Arts, Social Studies, Science; # of students attendance hours in January: 80; February: 72.5; March: 28.75; # of attendance hours for GED tester 1: 26.75; GED tester 2: 29.75; Ethnic breakdown of enrolled: Asian 1 (tested), Hispanic 1 (tested), African American: 6, Caucasian 2.  Note: There were three (3) students scheduled to take 2 GED tests, however technical difficulties prohibited the third student from testing. 

Even though GED classes had been offered in the detention center previous to this program, testing within the center was not.  Testing for the GED was converted to online computer-based in 2014.  Although online testing was possible within the detention center (with many security modifications), previous administration was not supportive of allowing the computer based access.  Since a change in administration in December 2018, support for incarcerated individuals to be able to access the GED test online is now possible and the process has begun.  This process includes coordinating between the technology departments of the County offices and the Allegany College of Maryland to communicate the intricate needs to prepare licensing and system requirements to allow for secure testing within a secured detention center.  While this process is being worked on, other preparations have been completed to arrange for testing (GED licensing and proctoring).  Classes and testing have been arranged to be accomplished in the detention center’s library classroom. 

In addition to the non-classroom challenges, there are challenges within the classroom that delay the process of preparation, instruction and testing.  In order to take the GED test, each student is required to receive forty (40) hours of instruction.  In this environment, obtaining a total of forty (40) hours is difficult.  First, each student needs to be pre-tested, to determine the appropriate lessons that are needed to focus on their specific needs.  Secondly, each incarcerated individual only has three (3) hours per week available for classroom instruction.  These three (3) hours are often times reduced due to visits, illness, lateness, or temporary disciplinary detention.  Barring no reduction in the three (3) available hours, the individual would need almost fourteen weeks of instruction before being tested.  Since the beginning of the grant period, there have been twenty-two (22) weeks of instruction, which would equate to sixty-six (66) hours of instruction.  Thus far, there have not been any students participating in the class for a consistent length of time.  The student achieving the greatest number of instruction hours is twenty-six and a half (26.5). 

It is important to understand that educational efforts within a county detention center are different from a state or federal correctional institution.  Individuals incarcerated within a county facility often experience a more temporary status while awaiting sentencing and/or are serving for shorter time spans.  In any correctional facility, adult education operates with more restrictions to align with the protocols of security within the institution.  For our class at the detention center, it means that we have to limit class size (6-8 individuals) for safety and security reasons.  In addition to limited class sizes, we have limited access to technology.  A total of 33 individuals have been enrolled in the GED classes (12 self-declared they are parents of children ages 0-14).  Each student comes to us with varying levels of academic experience which means not everyone is immediately ready to take the GED tests.  The team conducts class 2 days per week for 2 hours each day and each individual’s preparation time to test varies by educational level.  Individuals are enrolled based on date of their request and the length of their incarceration at the facility, education level is not a factor for enrollment.

Having one person earn their Maryland High School Diploma while incarcerated at the detention center is a significant achievement considering we have had ZERO graduates since 2007.  It should be recognized that establishing the detention center as a GED testing site is also a significant outcome and achievement.  

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