PrintED Gives Hope to Incarcerated

December 2008

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“Regardless of the length of their sentences, these inmates can't go on every day without a sense of hope,” Donohew explained. “If inmates do get their sentences reduced and are released, their hope and our hope is that they're prepared to be productive citizens.”

 “We applaud John Phillips on his PrintED achievement and his efforts to further his career even while incarcerated. We also commend the WV Department of Education and their prison educational programming staff for going the extra mile in securing such opportunities for their inmates,” said Ralph J. Nappi, GAERF president.

In 2003, the Northern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility became the first PrintED-accredited correctional facility in the state of West Virginia, and this milestone shows it is continuing to set the bar on how prison career training programs can—and should—operate. Studies have shown that educational programs create a more positive prison environment and can lead to lower rates of recidivism. There are currently nine PrintED-accredited prison programs in the country.

About the Northern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility
The 15-year-old Northern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility houses approximately 250 inmates serving a range of sentences, from one to five years to life without mercy. It operates two career/technical training programs, a carpentry/building constructions program and the graphic communications program.

About PrintED®
PrintED, administered by the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation, is a national accreditation and certification program, based on industry standards, for graphic communications courses of study at the secondary and post-secondary levels. PrintED provides a career pathway for students to enter the workplace with verifiable credentials, or to pursue further education with college credit already in hand.

About GAERF®
The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation was created by the National Association for Printing Leadership, NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies and the Printing Industries of America in 1983. These three national associations jointly own the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC®). GAERF was created to channel a portion of the revenues earned by GASC-managed shows into projects supporting a strong future for the industry. For additional information about the Foundation and its programs, visit the GAERF web site at: www.gaerf.org or phone toll-free: (866) 381-9839.