Fact Sheet

Document Tag: Fact Sheet

A Monumental Shift: Restoring Access to Pell Grants for Incarcerated Students

In December 2020, Congress lifted a 26-year ban on Pell Grants for incarcerated students. The ban, enacted amid a slew of “tough-on-crime” policies in the 1990s, stripped people in prison of access to this federal financial aid. Incarcerated people earn pennies per hour for the work they do in prison, making it next to impossible for them to afford postsecondary education without financial support. Under the ban, the number of prison education programs shrank drastically, from 772 programs in the early 1990s to only eight in 1997. The FAFSA Simplification Act, which restores access to Pell Grants for people in prison, will make it possible once again for thousands to pursue postsecondary education.

Programs That Support Jails

This document provides a series of brief descriptions of Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) programs that have the purpose of supporting jails and criminal justice through funding, training and technical assistance (TTA), and other methods. Each program listed includes a brief scope note and links to relevant websites.

Programs That Support Behavioral Health

This document provides a listing of 19 Bureau of Justice Assistance programs that support behavioral health initiatives, and includes descriptive paragraphs and links to relevant websites.

Programs That Support Tribes

This document provides a series of brief descriptions of Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) programs that have the purpose of supporting initiatives for tribes through funding, training and technical assistance (TTA), and other methods. Each program listed includes a brief scope note and links to relevant websites.

Programs That Support Corrections

This document provides a series of brief descriptions of Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) programs that have the purpose of supporting correctional facilities and programming through funding, training and technical assistance (TTA), and other methods. Each program listed includes a brief scope note and links to relevant websites.