Education slows crime

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Oct 15, 2009 - Page: 10A

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Of all the factors that put children in the “pipeline to prison,” dropping out of high school is the biggest, a policy director for the national Children’s Defense Fund said Wednesday.

Aside from having greater health needs and a higher likelihood of living on welfare, high school dropouts are three and a half times more likely to be incarcerated, said Bert L’Homme, lead coordinator for the group’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline campaign.

“If they don’t graduate from high school, they really are resigned to second-class citizenship,” L’Homme said before opening a two-day summit at which state and nonprofit leaders would discuss problems in Louisiana’s education, health-care and juvenile justice systems.

The summit continues today at 7:30 a.m. at the Catholic Life Center on South Acadian Thruway.

The “Cradle to Prison Pipeline” is the concept that certain factors children face from birth, such as inadequate health care and lack of early childhood education, can lead them into the criminal justice system.

More than 60 speakers on various panels will cover topics today including racial disparities and poverty, building neighborhoods, community intervention in schools, youth violence prevention, health care coverage, and parenting.

L’Homme said the goal is to identify areas where policy improvements are needed, such as minimizing school suspensions, which can lead to dropping out of school.

Mary Joseph, executive director of the Louisiana Children’s Defense Fund, said more community groups supporting education and health services can help keep youth from slipping into incarceration.

She said her organization is working with eight schools in New Orleans by going to the homes of students to connect with the family.

One panel of black males talked Wednesday about using community groups to close the achievement gap for minority males when they fall behind their peers in academic success.

Brandon Shelvin, a city councilman in Lafayette, said he grew up in a household that statistically should have led him to jail, death or drugs. But his mother, grandmother and the director of his Boys and Girls Club made sure he did not see any of those outcomes, he said.

When asked for input, many of the 60 people in the room reported on the good work done by their organizations and the problems they encountered.

There should be more programs for incarcerated men returning to their families and for children who are at risk of entering the juvenile justice system, some people suggested. Others talked about the need for role models and mentoring programs.