ABSTRACT
Incarcerated women have access to fewer vocational opportunities than incarcerated men. Despite the growing number of women in prison, they are the most underserved segment of the incarcerated population, especially as relates to educational opportunities. When subjecting women to draconian prison regimes that only further harm their families and hinder their economic opportunities, perhaps offering them “a nice outfit” to wear home is insufficient. According to a report from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), of the “most significant accomplishments” of one women’s prison in fiscal year 2016 was the “opening of the ‘Out in a Week Boutique,’” a program that ensures “the offender is able to wear a nice outfit home”. According to the IDOC, they “provide a managed system of support and services for the female offender to reestablish and strengthen the relationship with their children. Since the elimination of the Pell Grants in the mid-1990s, college in both men’s and women’s prisons has continued to decline.
