Southeast Asian Alliance of Higher Education in Jails and Prisons

Co-founded by Dr. Aland Mizell and Attorney Susan Cariaga in 2018, Southeast Asian Alliance of Higher Education Inside Jails and Prisons (SAAHEIP) is a network of universities, organizations, and individuals with experience, expertise, and interest in higher education inside prisons. We have twenty-five years of educational experiences. Our purpose is to work collaboratively to achieve the changes in the criminal justice system we hope to see and to unite to advance the field of higher education and recovery programs inside prisons and jails by supporting each other as practitioners, sharing resources and information, enhancing programming, creating learning environments in which students learn from one another, producing reliable research and data, and sharing the need, importance, and value of quality higher education programs inside prisons as well as after care programs for when they are released. We also want to establish a forum for discussions, problem solving, and exchange of ideas specifically at an annual international conference, but also throughout the year. 

 

The network of members from over fifteen universities includes prison officers, cabinet members, teachers, voluntary sector workers, faith based groups, law makers, law enforcers, academicians, former PDL, and education providers for inside prisons and jails and for after care programs. The after care program is a very important component for success of the SETBI Model because when PDL are released from correctional facilities, they need a job to feed themselves and their families and skills to handle their freedom well. Finding a job, especially for long-term PDL, is hard. We are challenging stereotypes and stigmas surrounding people who are currently and formerly were incarcerated, so they become vibrant participants in their communities. We also facilitate transition by offering ready for work programs for our PDL students.

 

The purpose and goal of the Southeast Asian Alliance of Higher Education Inside Jails and Prisons is to bring together like-minded people with different backgrounds but similar interests to frame the most significant issues in the field of higher education and after care programs in correctional facilities. The Alliance provides a platform for members to share their expertise and advocate for their field of correctional education. We aim to produce reports, garner and share resources, create toolkits, and provide technical assistance to programs seeking to launch, expand, or enhance the quality of programs offered in correctional facilities. We also are generating trustworthy metrics that are important to demonstrate the facilities’ needs. Stakeholders who value the importance of quality education, rehabilitation, and after-care programs inside prisons will work together for policy changes to enhance correctional education initiatives and to overcome barriers. 

 

We are committed to serving whole individuals, whole families, whole communities, and thus whole nations. To this end, we hope to share ideas about rehabilitation and wellness programs honing our intervention strategies for increased success in rehabilitation of the incarcerated.

 

Mission 

We support more opportunities and less obstacles for Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) learners and teachers as well as work against odds to be a tunnel of hope inside the jails and prisons by expanding quality higher education programs in penal institutions. We seek to empower PDL students while incarcerated and after release and to shape public attitudes and discussion about carceral education. By strengthening our educational communities, we can transform lives into productive members of society. 

 

Vision 

 

We envision a world in which all people, including those in prison, have access to quality higher education and rehabilitation, creating a more just and equitable world. By connecting our educational communities, we can keep our members abreast of best pedagogical practices, societal shifts in perceptions of the incarcerated, and ever changing regulatory and political landscapes in correctional education. 

Our Goals and Purposes 

• Build an alliance 

• Shape dialogue inside and outside prisons/jails

• Support high quality of practice

• Produce knowledge in the field

• Ensure sustainability

• Advocate for correctional and rehabilitative education

• Consider significant policy issues in carceral education

• Bolster transformation of the incarcerated through efficacy, equity, and policy

• Promote high standards for college education and career pathways

• Strategize procurement of resources

• Serve as a trusted resource on tertiary carceral education 

• Work for the common good 

• Aligning carceral education with workforce needs

 

Our Values

• Human dignity 

• Collaboration 

• Transparency 

• Commitment 

• Trust

• Accountability