NJ Prison Officials Unclear About Inmates' Education Levels
New York, NY —
New Jersey lawmakers are angry that state prison officials can't detail how many inmates have high school diplomas.
At today's Corrections Department's proposed Budget, lawmakers say knowing whether inmates have a diploma is vital in helping them avoid returning to jail and staying free of gang activity and other problems.
New Jersey has about 27,000 inmates and spends about 40-thousand dollars annually on each one.
Assistant Corrections Commissioner Patty Friend says the state began checking whether inmates had diplomas last summer. Friend says ten-thousand inmates won't answer the question, but lawmakers said officials must do more to get the information.
This is another one of those days where the rest of the news will come in later – so can I send you heads later?
