Students Participate in Statewide Correctional Conference

Members of the Pennsylvania College of Technology Collegiate Association for County Correctional Education recently attended the annual statewide conference of the Correctional Education Association of Pennsylvania, traveling to the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona to participate in the three-day event.

The conference consisted of more than 400 teachers and administrators who are employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections or who work in the field of correctional education. The students attended several seminar sessions: Drug Awareness and Concealment, Gang Influence and Indicators, and Pennsylvania Supremacy Groups.

The Penn College CACCE was recently appointed as a postsecondary, special interest group of the Correctional Education Association. During the conference, CACCE members met with Stephen J. Steurer, executive director of the Correctional Educational Association. Steurer and the CACCE members discussed future plans regarding the relationship between the CEA and the CACCE.

"This is a win-win for students and CEA," Steurer said. "Correctional education and its immense impact on the reduction of recidivism is not fully appreciated. We need to get the message out."

Steurer is a leading researcher in the field of correctional education. He is noted for his groundbreaking "Three State Recidivism Study," which received national attention and was published in The New York Times. The study followed more than 3,600 released inmates over a three-year period and showed a direct relationship between correctional education and lower recidivism.

The Penn College CACCE is the first student organization in the nation with a mission of enhancing educational opportunities for those incarcerated in county facilities. The CACCE has been featured twice in American Jails magazine, has garnered support from corrections officials and administrators, and received the 2008-09 award of outstanding service from the Penn College Student Government Association.

The Correctional Education Association is a leading professional association in juvenile justice and adult correctional education, both nationally and internationally, providing leadership, direction and services to correctional educators and programs and representing juvenile justice and adult correctional education to broader educational, political and social agencies.

For more information on becoming involved with the CACCE or the CEA, contact Brandon J. Close, of Williamsport, CACCE president and a student majoring in business administration: marketing concentration. E-mail him or call 570-320-2400, ext 7951.

For general information about Penn College, visit online , e-mail or call toll-free 800-367-9222.