Ray Gustafson’s staff has only a few days each month to instill the value of education at the county jail. The Zeeland GED program at the correctional facility caters to inmates expressing interest in their education or who want to do something more with their time. Still, the Zeeland Adult Education instructors continue striving to bring change to the inmates of the Ottawa County Correctional Facility.

“The purpose of the program is to reduce recidivism. One way you do that is by raising their education level,” said Gustafson, Adult Education director for Zeeland Public Schools.

Zeeland began their involvement with the jail in 2000, cooperatively with Grand Haven Area Public Schools. The correctional facility was in transition from the original site located in the Grand Haven Area School District, to a new county complex being built in the Zeeland School District. Under consortium rules and regulations in place at the time, Zeeland began offering their adult education services to inmates. Once the education facility was moved entirely to the new site, Zeeland administered the educational program for the adult section (over 18). Educational services for the Juvenile Correctional Center were provided by the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District.

The adult GED Program at Ottawa County Correctional Facility currently serves between 100 and 150 inmates annually and has two staff members providing five sections of GED courses weekly. Inmates who test below the 9th grade level are provided individual instructional services in reading and math until they are ready to attempt a GED test. By enrolling them in Basic Education services, they are being encouraged to succeed in earning a GED. However, the likelihood that the inmates will continue their education once released or paroled is an area of concern.

“When inmates are released from jail, they’re usually gone; many don’t care to continue,” Gustafson said. “The frustrating fact is that the inmates don’t realize
the value of what’s being offered to them and the long-term benefits of continuing
their education.”

In an average month, the program successfully tests between 10 and 20 male and female inmates for GED, he said. Of the number of individuals who actually test, a small percentage will complete their GED certificate while in the correctional facility.

“We have a lot of people who successfully pass a GED,” Gustafson said. “The program serves both sentenced and un-sentenced inmates. Un-sentenced inmates may be there for as little as one or two class periods. … But once sentenced, we know that they could be there for up to a year.”

Jail programs face different challenges than most, including funding uncertainty, room availability, the inability to track program success, and poor communication between involved groups. However, success lies just around the corner.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle Zeeland has been dealt has paved the way for its greatest accomplishment this year. After inconsistent communications between the GED program staff, officers in the probation office and the jail administration, Gustafson has strived to change the group’s understanding of the program and improve program relationships. He is also encouraged when the probation officers encourage the court to consider continuing education as a condition of the inmates’ release or parole.

Over the past year, Gustafson has been working closer with the probation process to ensure better communication between the groups. 

“We’re working with probation officers to ensure that inmates continue their education or seek employment services through Michigan Works!,” he said. “We don’t usually know when an inmate is likely to be released. Sometimes we’re the last to know, so we’re working to improve that process by having better communications.”

In addition, he has worked to improve the coordination of services with the juvenile program, training programs at Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, and job-seeking and post-secondary placement services with such entities as Grand Rapids Community College.  Gustafson has also increased involvement with the Michigan Prison Release Initiative, a development that has made Zeeland’s services not only more visible for the inmates exiting the county jail, but those also being released from prison.

For each challenge, Zeeland’s GED Program staff finds a noteworthy accomplishment and moves forward with the program. Their promotion of education in a place that many don’t reach out to may be the last bit of hope for a repeat offender. Education can reduce the number of incarcerations, and little by little, people like Ray Gustafson and his staff are making that impact.

If you are the director of a jail or prison education program, MACAE would like to know. Member or not, please send your contact information and the name of your program to editor@macae.org.