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Michigan’s bleak 2025 budget includes one bright spot, thanks in part to Mackinac Center recommendations that will save taxpayer funds and enhance public safety.
Two years ago, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy received a two-year grant to study the best practices in education and workforce training in prisons. Ex-offenders who are employed after leaving prison are less likely to commit additional crimes, studies have shown. Inspired by a 2019 visit to the Michigan Department of Corrections’ Vocational Village in Ionia, we built upon research about how to equip returning convicts for the workplace.
Our first report asked, “Are Education Programs in Prison Worth It?” The answer was a definite yes.
All methods of education and vocational training offered in prisons – adult basic education, high school equivalency, workforce training and college – produced positive results. Ex-offenders had higher employment rates, higher quarterly earnings and less recidivism. The report also produced the first statistically significant estimates of return on investment: Every dollar that states invest in prison education returns between $1.60 and $3.10 in reduced future incarceration costs and employment benefits.
A longer version of our report appeared in the American Journal of Criminal Justice last October. That article has been mentioned in 90 news outlets thus far and quickly rocketed to the top 1% of almost 370,000 academic journal articles tracked by Altmetric. Our researchers conducted the largest meta-analysis ever, reviewing 750 research papers published over the course of four decades before winnowing them to the 78 with the most rigorous methodology.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections requested $3.9 million in one-time funds to convert the Thumb Correctional Facility into the Thumb Educational Center — the first American prison dedicated entirely to education and vocational programming. The State Budget Office cited the academic article containing our research. In one silver lining to an otherwise dismal FY 2025 state budget, the Legislature provided that funding.
Our research has also built legislative momentum for restoring productivity credits (earned time) to Michigan prisoners. If lawmakers approve, prisoners who participate in and complete programs proven to reduce recidivism (such as education or vocational training) could receive up to 20% credit toward their earliest parole date. Upcoming Mackinac research shows that inmates are 14.4% more likely to opt for this programming in states with such incentives.
In June, I testified in support of the package (Senate bills 861-864) before the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee. We are optimistic that the bills will reach the governor’s desk for her signature before year’s end.
