A Pause for Reflection

Over the course of the semester Kelly and I have learned a lot about bureaucracy and red-tape within the government and system of higher education.   I highly underestimated the difficultly associated with getting a study approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) particularly when it comes to at risk populations, like inmates. Today that red-tape reared its ugly head again as it is postponing the start of the study for another week or two.  

Having the week off from teaching allowed me to take some time to reflect about the barriers social workers face in changing the landscape of the criminal justice system. As a student at the Brown School, for the majority of my day I operate in super supportive circles that understand the importance of addressing things like the overpopulation and disparities within our criminal justice system.  I interact with people see the overlapping issues between untreated health concerns, low paying jobs, lack of paid leave, the educational system, and the list goes on.  Sometimes I forget that not everybody lives and breathes social problems and possible remedies.  However; the more time I spend outside of the Brown School, the more I run into people that simply do not understand. 

If the criminal justice system is not directly affecting you, why would you care? As a person working with an inmate population, you would think that I would have a bullet proof answer as to why interventions like TEP and mentors post-release are necessary, but the fact is that I don't--besides the fact it is colossal waste of money.  While some may find the argument of money to suffice, I don't see convincing people that the criminal justice system is a waste of money as success. I want something that tugs peoples heart-strings, that prompts action, I want to to humanize people in the criminal justice system and prove that they are worthy, preferably in 90 seconds or less.  The problem is, how do you consolidate the history of a slave-based economy, segregation, medical abuse and experimentation, and the implications of poverty when the barriers today are seemingly gone?  It is exhausting and overwhelming and some people simply do not want to see.  

While I still am working on my elevator speech as to why every American should care about decreasing the size of the criminal justice system and addressing the overwhelming racial disparities, I am getting closer. This week I watched an excellent presentation given by some fellow classmates and they referred to this quote:

"You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, "you are free to compete with all the others." and still justly believe you have been complete fair..." Lyndon B Johnson

While President Johnson wasn't referring to the criminal justice system during this particular speech, I think it can be applied to the importance of investing in programming for inmates pre and post release.  After reading this quote it seems a bit silly that we expect anything other than failure from the current model. 

Until next time,

E & K

Jump into opportunity

Our first TEP group officially ended last Friday, and we've gotten lots of great feedback. Word is spreading throughout the jail, and one of the guards told us that guys have been asking if they can be in our group. It's incredibly fulfilling to know that our students appreciate what we did and to know that they feel motivated and more prepared to enter the job market when they are released.

One of our group members shared some keen insight when we were broken up into small groups on our last day. We were talking about overcoming stereotypes during job interviews, and he said, "Jump into opportunity as quickly as you jump to conclusions." I was speechless for a moment before I realized that I should probably grab a pen and write it down.

I think that's the best possible advice that we could give not only our group, but also anyone reading our blog and to our friends and colleagues. It's such a wise quote. In fact, I hereby dub it Quote of Wisdom. Yesterday I was thinking about how the QOW applies to recent arguments surrounding minimum wage.

It seems like people in general draw certain conclusions—based in stereotypes—about certain minimum wage positions. Jobs like a fast food employee, factory worker, and cashier have certain connotations. I'll throw out some that I've heard: "unskilled," "low life," "low class," "high school," "dirty." Some believe that minimum wage positions should remain that way because the workers fit into the categories and descriptors I just listed. The real danger here is that when people make these judgments, they are not just speaking in confidence to friends about it; they're protesting and posting on the Internet. And if those "low life" workers hear those negative stereotypes enough, they will start to believe them.

Additionally, people applying for minimum wage positions might jump to conclusions themselves, and instead of jumping into the opportunity a job could offer them, they might feel averse to it because of what other people will think. And in the case of our students, unemployment means higher risk for recidivism. Even if our students do get a minimum wage job, the current minimum wage is not enough for them to find safe housing and support their families, which again leads to recidivism.

I think it's pretty clear what my own opinions are regarding the current minimum wage, but the basic point I'm trying to make is that we shouldn't pass judgment on someone because of his or her job title. We should not assume that someone does not deserve to get paid more because of his or her place of employment. I've seen a lot of protestors asking for $15 per hour, which is a ton of money and likely unrealistic, but I do think that minimum wage workers deserve more.

It's easy to think that this doesn't affect you, but let's take an example from our population again (I'm sticking with inmates here because it's what I know best and because I've been working closely with inmates and employment). Let's say one of our students is released. Because of our program (yay!), he has the skills he needs to apply for and obtain a job as a cashier at McDonald's. He is excited to work so that he can take care of his wife/girlfriend and young child. But he soon discovers that, even if he works overtime, the money is simply not enough to buy all of the essentials, pay the bills, rent an adequate apartment in a decent area, and sent his child to school. He can take advantage of upward mobility within the restaurant, but he will not be able to get promoted soon enough to solve these problems as quickly as they need to be solved. He begins to feel hopeless and in despair, returns to drugs, and begins stealing for himself and his family. He gets caught, arrested, and sent to jail again. Who pays for his jail stay?

YOU do. Your tax dollars do.

If we all stopped thinking of ourselves as "better than" and sought to collaborate instead to bolster our country's minimum wage workers as much as possible, we (and our wallets) would live much more happily.

I want to return to the stereotypes I had heard describing those individuals in minimum wage positions. None of those descriptions were particularly flattering or positive, so I'd like to offer some alternatives: "trying," "learning," "gaining skills," "beginning," "hard working," "mobility," "motivated."

We know we are sending our students out into a society that is generally unreceptive to them and into a market that is hesitant to hire them. We hope that through sharing our experiences with them and our views that we can inspire you to jump into the opportunity to help them. It could be something as simple as ceasing condescending speech based in judgment, or it could be as involved as petitioning to increase the pay of your employees or colleagues.

Whatever you choose to do, it is helpful to remain cognizant of the fact that these issues affect everyone. Ellie and I work very closely with the issue of employment and minimum wage, so we can see the connections very clearly, and hopefully we've helped you to see the connections and the widespread impact of this issue.

Until next time,

E & K

The Final Stretch

Time is flying and I cannot believe that I have logged over 200 hours at the City Justice Center and Medium Security Institution getting the TEP program off the ground. It is safe to say that I never expected to spend this much time within a correctional institution, but this is really just the beginning of the study.

This group we have had for our trial has been beyond incredible.  I have learned so much from each of them and it is going to be really hard to see them go next week knowing that my professional boundaries will prohibit me from maintaining contact with any of them.  I never say myself working with clients due to me being a macro thinker, and because of that my attention to techniques we learned in our Practice 1 course, like closing a group session, pretty much went in one ear and out the other (shh).  Little did I know that at the end of week three I would be trying to find a way to maintain contact with out students, because it seems like we are cutting the cord WAY too soon.  I think closing the session is going to be the hardest thing we have done yet.  I want to know if they are going to job fairs, using the resource book, writing thank-you letters like we taught them, and eating citrus fruits that they missed so much.  Unfortunately this is not my role, but there will be another person there to help them on the other side.  Or at least this is how I have to think in order not to get too upset.

In today's class Kelly and I focused on interviewing.  The guys laughed about wearing pinky rings and tennis-shoes into interviews as obvious no-nos.  After going over basic interview attire, we chose to do an activity that we di as students during orientation to the Brown School.  It was a stereotype activity.  Around the room we had six posters which were titled, "Black man driving a Benz," "Latino man," "Asian man," "Black man with dreads," "Blonde woman wearing a skirt," and "Father holding a child's hand."  We gave the participants a marker and asked them to go around to each poster and write stereotypes or things they believe about these people on the poster.  If there were any characteristics that were written by another participant that they had also heard or agreed with, we asked them to put a dot next to that comment.  It was a welcome addition to have movement, hear laughter, and conversation in the room while Kelly and I sat back and watched.  By the end of the activity, the posters were full of comments.  It was clear this activity got them thinking, especially when a participant identified with the stereotype on the poster (which we did intentionally).  One particular participant with dreads saw stereotypes about himself being "locked up" and a "thug" and seemed super dejected about seeing the stereotypes in writing, which was hard to watch.  It was painful to see young black men writing disproportionately negative stereotypes about themselves and know how much they will be up against when apply for jobs.  In the end we came back as a group and asked them why we weer talking about stereotypes and interviewing in the same session.  They were not fools and knew how much weight these stereotypes have and we as facilitators know how this plays out (in the City of Saint Louis the unemployment rate for Whites is 8.3% and for African Americans 23.3%).  We wanted to be realistic with participants, but also empower them to break these ideas for themselves and others.  We encourage you to think about how stereotypes impact your life and how you can be a part of reducing the weight of negative ones.

Until next time,

E & K

Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginning's End

We started on time (ish...baby steps) again today, AND we got to be in the classroom because GED class was canceled. Woohoo!

Today we started out class with a check in. We asked the group members to share one thing they learned from last class, and we also asked them to share any other programming that they attended at the jail as well as what additional programming they want/need.

Sadly, none of the guys participates in any other programming (which is mostly religious, by the way. Eighty percent of programming at the jails is faith-based). Their interest in programming, however, was high. Most of the guys said they wanted more physical activities, and some mentioned wanting art classes or a nutritional program.

Their frustration with the lack of options was evident. Ellie and I want to work to consolidate a lot of the religious programming to make room for more in-demand and evidence-based programs. Our group also seemed as frustrated as we are with the chain of command necessary to get anything done, and the miscommunication and wasted time that comes along with it.

This week we continued to break up into two smaller groups headed by each of us. This seems to be the most successful thing we've done. There are a couple of guys in class who are somewhat shy and hesitant to speak up, but when we work with them in a smaller group, they light up and are eager to share in a more intimate environment. Especially in a jail or prison setting, we definitely recommend this approach, as we have seen the best results from it. The guys talk more, retain more information, and are more actively involved in their own learning processes.

As we were working in small groups, I began to realize just how much I'm going to miss these guys. We work hard, but we also have moments where we just need to blow off some steam and joke around, or just spend a minute talking about something other than TEP. Today we talked about some of the guys' tattoos and what they meant to them, and we also told some funny stories from previous jobs. I noticed that after we took those little breaks (even if it was just 30 seconds to crack a joke or say something witty), they were so much more focused on the material when we got back to it.

Those little moments mean so much to me, because it gives me a glimpse into their lives. Almost all of the guys in our class are fathers, and it makes me so happy to hear about how they care for their children and enjoy the responsibility; family seems to be a huge motivating factor for them. I also love hearing all of their insights, because it reminds me to stay humble—I'm not above my students. They are such smart, articulate, funny, nice guys who made a mistake (or, sometimes, several mistakes) that landed them in corrections. We hope that we can bolster their motivation and help them see that they have all of these wonderful characteristics that can help them succeed in life if they keep working hard.

Another thing we've realized is how much the guys like being introspective and learning about themselves. Like I said, they're already intelligent. They know about job applications and resumes and cover letters and all that boring stuff (it's disappointing sometimes to realize just how remedial employment programming is). What they seem to really benefit from are things like a learning style (VARK) test or a discussion about their weaknesses and least favorite jobs. From this, they can learn what work environment and supervision style is best for them and how they can succeed and overcome barriers. We are going to incorporate several more "quiz" and discussion-provoking activities in the rest of the trial as well as during the study groups once they begin.

To send our guys off on a fun note, we are going to give each group member an envelope on the last day of class and have everyone write notes to each other. I was inspired by the senior send off in my high school choir. Every year, we would make bags for the seniors and decorate them and leave them notes about how they inspired us, or write down a favorite memory, or wish them luck. I thought it might be nice to do something similar for our group. It totally sucks that we can't follow up with them at all after the program or once they're released, so having something to remember us, each other, and their time in the group by could be a nice keepsake and a pick-me-up later on.

This activity will be a part of our closing. In any helping profession, when you are getting near the end of your time with a client, you want to take some time to talk to them about how you're both feeling about letting go. It's also vital to leave the client with confidence. I truly have all the confidence in the world in our guys, and we are going to take the time to tell them that and write them notes as well. I so wish that we could follow our little cubs out into the world, but unfortunately we have to let them go. And, more than all of our frustrations and set backs, that will be the hardest thing to do.

Until next time,

E & K

Today’s Lesson: Hair Politics

ü  Arrive 30 minutes early

ü  Give participant list to guards 20 minutes early

ü  Set up classroom by preparing white-board, posters, and hand out activities

ü  Participants arrive at 9:15

ü  Obnoxious disrupting conversation in the hallway outside of the classroom for entirety of class

For the first time since we started TEP we had our class start on time!  Copious amounts of e-mails, conversations, and clarifications have been paying off. We are finally getting the true hour and 15 minutes we should have with our participants. While everyone was there on time, we did have a complicating factor of noise outside the classroom. The door of the classroom is always left open (which I understand is for our safety) but the noise it lets in constantly interrupts the flow of the class.  In addition to the noise I am starting to feel frustrated by the bare-bones with which we are provided to teach.  As I am coming to learn the TEP curriculum better, I keep finding materials I want to bring into the classroom.  Even something like a simple YouTube video would be impossible because not only is there no Wi-Fi, but we cannot bring in laptops or cellphones.

I’m starting to feel like I’ve been at MSI much longer than 2 weeks and I feel much more protective of my students than I ever expected.  Today we talked about handling stress that comes along with the job search.  Our group brought up discrimination as bring a stressor, (this is something we will be touching more on when we go over interviews) but, specifically discrimination due to his dreads and black hairstyles.  As a white woman with crazy curly hair I understand the feeling of needing to straighten and “control” it, but I’ve never been worried about not getting a job because my hair can be unruly. Comparatively, I am privileged.  One young man explained to me that he is expected to shave his dreads in order to get a job and attributed his hair as being the reason to never making it to the final round of an interview.  I was pretty shocked and wasn’t sure if this was just an excuse.  This particular young man has beautiful dreaded hair that even in jail he keeps braided away from his face in what appears to me as a professional and respectable way.

Upon getting back to CJC I checked up on this dread stuff.  I don’t know if I just didn’t want to believe that hair has this much power, but I underestimated my privilege in this particular arena. A prominent story I came across was about a young African American man, George, pursing his MBA Thurgood Marshall College (a HBC).  In November of 2014, George was banned from a conference that provides 500 of the nation’s top HBC students with leadership training and networking opportunities with Fortune 500 companies.  His admittance to the conference was contingent upon his hair removal. My student was absolutely right.  It kills me to think that it is 2015 and this shit is still happening.  Looking to George, who is not only an exemplary student, but who was also the president of the Graduate Student Association at the time makes me worried sick about the young men I am teaching.  Can you overcome dreads and a criminal record? Are dreads even something to “overcome”?? As part of employment training do I need to explicitly say, “All African American men must shave their head to obtain employment.” I will not.  I can’t imagine that if I decided to dread my hair that that my invitation to a conference would be revoked.  

Until next time

E & K