Agency: State Board of Education

Line Item: Education Contracts

Function

Education Contracts represents costs of educating students in state custody. Two primary programs represent the costs covered by this line item:

• The Youth Center in Provo provides services to students at the State Hospital; and

• Corrections Institutions provides services to inmates in the state's correctional facilities.

Intent Language

The Legislature intends that the USOE address the notional cost differentials per inmate at the state prisons in comparison with county jails and assess whether any potential savings exist.

Related Material

Education Contracts

Funding Detail

Revenue to support the Education Contracts program comes entirely from the Education Fund.

Program: Youth Center

Function

The State Hospital provides mental health services. The Utah State Board of Education contracts with Provo School District to provide an educational program to all school-age children at the State Hospital in Provo.

Mountain Brook Elementary and East Wood High School are self-contained schools providing specialized educational services to the students at the State Hospital. In addition to general education services, the Youth Center provides additional personnel for specialized services, such as interveners, speech/language pathologists, counselors, and psychologists.

There are two primary units at the Youth Center--the Children's Unit and the Adolescent Unit. Together, these two programs serve approximately 75 to 100 school-age students.

The Children's Unit (Mountain Brook) serves youth ranging from age 6 to age 13. The Adolescent Unit (East Wood) serves youth ages 13 to 18 years. Both units are usually at or near capacity.

Statutory Authority

The Education Contracts--Youth Center program has the following statutory requirements:

• UCA 53A-1-403 -- Places the direct responsibility for the education of persons under the age of 21 years in the custody of the Department of Human Services, or a juvenile detention agency with the State Board of Education.

Funding Detail

The entire budget amount represents costs associated with educating the handicapped students. Program funds are passed through to Provo School District.

Program: Corrections Institutions

Function

The recidivism reduction program used by the State is a nine-component program designed to enhance the education and job skills of inmates. These nine components include: Inmate Assessment, Cognitive Problem Solving Skills, Basic Literacy Skills, Career Skills, Job Placement, Post Release Support, Research and Evaluation, Family Involvement, and Multi-agency Collaboration.

School districts, applied technology centers, colleges, and universities that have correctional facilities within their boundaries may provide educational services for inmates. The primary recipients of contract funds are the Jordan and South Sanpete school districts. In addition to traditional education strategies, such as testing/assessment, basic literacy, ESL, high school completion/GED, and occupational training, emphasis is placed on cognitive restructuring and transition assistance.

Statutory Authority

Statute details the education program for persons in the custody of the Department of Corrections:

• UCA 53A-1-403.5 -- Provides that, subject to Legislative appropriation, the State Board of Education and the Department of Corrections, are responsible for providing educational services for persons in custody of the Department of Corrections. In addition, statute directs the boards to develop a recidivism reduction plan and provides components of the plan.

Performance

The Corrections Institutions considers cost-benefit ratios of recidivism and outcome measures such as diplomas, GEDs, credits earned, and level gains as indicative of its success. The following charts contains the outcome measurements of the latter four. Overall, diplomas, GEDs, and level gains have generally declined from their 2009 peak. On the other hand, credits earned are up by 1,158 for jails and prisons when compared to 2012 figures.

Funding Detail

Program funding provides for the education of inmates in the State's correctional facilities. Program funds are passed through to the service providers, which are districts with jails/prisons. Expenditures by school districts largely comprise part-time personnel costs and some material costs.

The following compares the cost per enrollee across jail/prison. The costs vary by year according to programs offered and number of inmates. The prisons are generally more expensive, with an average cost in 2013 of about $1,200 per enrollee, while jails cost about $236 per enrollee in 2013.

The following is a scatterplot of cost per enrollee by jail/prison and number of diplomas by jail/prison (a measure of performance). In general, the two are not related, although there is a slight downward trend of lower cost prisons/jail producing more diplomas per enrollee. Further analysis connecting costs with performance is available from the Office.