Securus expands educational access for incarcerated individuals and justice-impacted families

Securus Technologies, a provider of technology for correctional facilities, has expanded access to educational resources for incarcerated individuals over the past five years. 

As part of Aventiv Technologies, Securus provides free and premium educational, vocational, and rehabilitative content, investing over $600 million to deploy 600,000 tablets in correctional facilities across the United States.

Acknowledging the educational challenges faced by justice-impacted individuals, Securus collaborates with organizations like Edovo and Essential Education to deliver a range of educational services. The Prison Policy Institute reports that formerly incarcerated individuals are almost twice as likely to lack a high school diploma and eight times less likely to have a college degree compared to the general population. 

Research by the Vera Institute shows that incarcerated individuals who engage in educational programs are 52% more likely to remain in their communities post-release, demonstrating the role of education in reducing recidivism.

Kevin Elder, President of Securus Technologies, stated:

“Technology offers a scaled solution to connect incarcerated individuals to educational and job training resources that help break the recidivism cycle. More than 600,000 Securus tablets available in corrections facilities nationwide offer free and premium content that encourage learning and skill building. 

“Our offerings from 22 colleges and universities have connected more than 17,000 incarcerated learners to post-secondary education equating to more than 300,000 credit hours, positively impacting the trajectory of their own lives, and those of their families and communities.”

Securus partners with Edovo to provide skill-building programs on a cloud-based platform, offering educational content to over 500,000 incarcerated individuals in 550 facilities. Essential Education provides GED preparation, computer literacy, and financial education programs on Securus devices. Over 2,700 students have accessed Essential Education through these tablets, logging more than 400 hours toward high school equivalency preparation.

Securus also works to support children of incarcerated individuals, recognizing that 2.7 million children in the United States have an incarcerated parent. In collaboration with ScholarCHIPS, a nonprofit supporting children of incarcerated parents, Securus provides these young people with resources to pursue educational opportunities. 

Yasmine Arrington Brooks, Founder and Executive Director of ScholarCHIPS, commented:

“Children of incarcerated individuals face significant challenges in pursuing their academic and career dreams, reducing their chance to create change within themselves, their families, and their communities. 

“Growing up as a justice-impacted individual, I searched for ways to bridge the financial gap so I could complete my college education and then founded ScholarCHIPS to provide justice-impacted youth with opportunities to pursue higher education and break out of cycles of poverty and incarceration.”