On June 26, 2016, the University of Baltimore (UBalt) was selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Second Chance Pell Grant Experimental Sites Initiative. UBalt was among 67 other colleges/universities selected nationwide to offer a post-secondary correctional education program through federal Pell Grant funding. The objective is to provide post-secondary education to incarcerated students prior to release, therefore reducing likelihood of recidivism, and improving outcomes for educational and employment success.
UBalt’s program is being offered at Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI), a maximum-security prison for men. As of the spring 2021 semester we have 48 students who will study toward a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services Administration degree. While taking courses at JCI students receive academic support from UBalt faculty and staff, community volunteers, and their incarcerated peers.
Through higher education and reentry support students are able to have a positive impact on their own lives, their families, and the Baltimore community. The Second Chance College Program works with students when they are released to continue their education on campus and find meaningful and sustainable employment. When released, students are also provided with reentry support services, tuition assistance, and receive mentoring from their peers who are successfully continuing their education on campus.
The Second Chance College Program director is Andrea Cantora, associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice.
Andrea Cantora is an associate professor in The University of Baltimore's School of Criminal Justice. Her primary research interests are focused on issues related to incarceration, prison reentry, and urban crime prevention. Since 2002, Cantora has conducted research in prisons, jails and community correction settings in New Jersey, New York and Maryland. Cantora previously worked as a research associate at John Jay’s Research and Evaluation Center, and the Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections. Her work has been published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology, Criminal Justice Studies and American Journal of Criminal Justice.
Latonya L. Epps has served as the reentry coordinator for the Second Chance Program since 2017. She is a proud alumna of The University of Baltimore where she earned her B.S. in Criminal Justice in 2016. Latonya obtained her M.S.W. from Morgan State University in 2021. Working with the men in the reentry program and learning more about their backgrounds and families has helped Latonya understand how mental health and generational traumas impact their lives and those around them. Latonya plans to use that knowledge and the skills she has to advocate for and incorporate mental health awareness into the reentry portion of the program.