DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) is partnering with the Polk County Sheriff's Office to launch I.G.N.I.T.E. (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education), a program that offers education and life-skills opportunities to people in jail.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office announced the initiative during a Sept. 21 press conference, making Polk County the first location in Iowa to emrace the program, and the 42nd in the nation.
I.G.N.I.T.E., offered through the National Sheriff's Association, is designed to reduce recidivism by helping people leave short-term incarceration with more skills, knowledge and support than they had when they entered. Sheriff Kevin Schneider said he and his leadership team visited the original program at the Genesee County Jail in Flint, Michigan, before committing to bring it to Polk County.
"By providing access to education, skills training, career exploration and credentials, we are helping to create pathways to employment, self-sufficiency and long-term success," said Erica Spiller, DMACC Vice President of Student Affairs, as she represented the College at the County's news conference.
DMACC’s Role
Planning for I.G.N.I.T.E. recently began and builds on earlier and ongoing conversations about how to restore DMACC’s partnership to provide educational services at the Polk County Jail, particularly onsite HiSET instruction and testing, which have not been available since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption, explained Jess Frederickson, Executive Director of DMACC’s Higher Education in Prison and Adult Education and Literacy.
DMACC is currently working with the Polk County Sheriff's Office to figure out the logistics of I.G.N.I.T.E. and has partnered with the county for support in applying for a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant.
If the grant is funded, DMACC's vision for the program includes:
- Reestablishing the high school equivalency pathway (onsite HiSET instruction and testing) at the jail.
- Foundational skills education such as digital literacy, financial literacy and workforce-readiness courses.
- Short-term, stackable credentials aligned with local employment opportunities, potentially including ServSafe, CDL preparation or bridge programming, and other industry-recognized credentials.
- Hiring or assigning an inside/outside navigator who would begin working with students while they are incarcerated and continue supporting them after release, connecting them with DMACC programs, workforce services, employers, and community resources so their education is not interrupted.
- Graduation and completion celebrations, as recognizing educational milestones is an important part of the I.G.N.I.T.E. model.
Final decisions about staffing, schedules, credentials, technology, participant eligibility and other operating details would be made collaboratively, Frederickson said.
I.G.N.I.T.E. is separate from DMACC's existing Prison Education Program, which serves students who generally have longer and more predictable periods of incarceration, making traditional academic terms possible. The county jail environment is different — people inside may be serving shorter sentences, awaiting trial, or released or transferred with little notice.
“The Polk County model will therefore need to be more flexible, modular and immediately accessible,” Frederickson said.
Because many students will need to complete their pathways in the community, the inside/outside navigator will be especially important, she added.
"Our goal is education without interruption," Frederickson said. "We want students to begin building a pathway while they are inside the Polk County Jail and have the same support to help them continue that pathway after they return to the community."
Since the 2021-2022 academic year, the program, which is offered at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women and the Newton Correctional Facility, has helped more than 500 students earn their high school equivalency diplomas, and 40 students have graduated with an associate degree in Liberal Arts while incarcerated. DMACC’s Prison Education Program serves students that generally have longer and more predictable periods of incarceration, making it possible to organize traditional academic terms.
More than a collection of classes
I.G.N.I.T.E. is a broader culture-change initiative, not just a set of courses, Frederickson said. DMACC and its partners are focusing on three outcomes: student learning, institutional safety, and successful reentry.
A study conducted by researchers with the Health Inequality Lab at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard University found I.G.N.I.T.E participation reduced jail misconduct and recidivism by 24% for three months after release and 15% for one year after release.
"Accountability and opportunity don't have to be opposites," said Meghan Beal, Director of I.G.N.I.T.E. "This is about recognizing that if someone is going to return to our community, we have an opportunity to help that person return with more than they had when they came through the door. More education, skills, confidence, and purpose."
Media Contact:
Savannah Eadens, Public Relations & Communications Specialist
515-675-3275; sjeadens@dmacc.edu