“Setting Down Roots”—Developing Formerly Incarcerated Student Programs Through Advocacy and Network Building

ABSTRACT

This study examines formerly incarcerated student programming from practitioner perspectives at California community colleges. The following research questions guide the study: 1) How has the pandemic and concurrent sociopolitical contexts influence the way staff, faculty, and administrators approach their work? 2) How do practitioners describe their experiences supporting formerly incarcerated students? 3) How are challenges and opportunities toward sustaining their programs described? I used a basic qualitative approach to collect interview data with 15 staff, faculty, and administrators. Once data were transcribed, I engaged in open and axial coding to capture participants’ words, which developed into categories and emergent themes. Faculty and staff expressed profound care for students and their programs and acted on this care by challenging deficit-perspectives and advocating for students’ needs. Despite many programs’ funding concerns, participants shared how they gain support for currently and formerly incarcerated students by developing webs of support toward a more inclusive campus environment. Findings reveal how practitioners respond to and meet students’ personal and academic needs by allocating and sharing relevant resources like housing support and advising services. Staff often assume a case management role for students and advocate for their programs’ needs such as funding and physical meeting spaces. Findings affirm the need for colleges to expand their support for formerly incarcerated students and develop intentional spaces toward empowerment and desistance.

SUMMARY

This study has contributions and implications with practitioners, policymakers, and society writ large in mind. For education practitioners, this work offers tangible ways to support formerly incarcerated students. These suggestions stem from practitioners who participated in this study and include reflections to address implicit and explicit biases held toward formerly incarcerated people, developing professional development training with formerly incarcerated students, assuming more active roles on campus, allocating funding to develop more comprehensive programs, and collaborating with campus and district leaders to meet students’ needs. Meanwhile, policymakers gain a more nuanced perspective of formerly incarcerated students and the grassroots efforts of college students and practitioners who have worked to develop the programs that are the focus of this paper. California Assembly Bill 417 is included to highlight the possibilities of higher education accessibility as policymakers passed a statewide commitment supporting currently and formerly incarcerated students. Bills like that of AB-417 can increase access and opportunity for students who have long been marginalized. Finally, society writ large can consider how to become more reflexive and supportive of currently and formerly incarcerated people. Since “formerly incarcerated” is an invisible identity, it is important to think about the needs of others that are much larger than our own and how systemic barriers prevent their upward mobility and self-determined goals. In action, individuals can consider how to play a role in opening the doors of opportunity for others.

Acknowledgments

I wish to extend my gratitude to Xueli Wang for her compassion and incredible feedback throughout the writing stages. Her guidance helped me shape this paper into its current form. I would also like to thank Rachelle Winkle-Wagner for her support in this study’s beginning stages, and Brian Burt and Mollie McQuillan for their thoughtful feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).