Investing in change: 2024 Michigan budget commits funding for educational opportunities through pilot program with Huron Valley
LANSING, Mich. (August 21, 2023) — Sen. Sue Shink (D-Northfield Twp.) and Reps. Amos O’Neal (D-Saginaw) and Jimmie Wilson, Jr. (D-Ypsilanti) toured the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility last week to learn more about staff vacancy rates, investments in education and career programs at the facility, and to hear from incarcerated individuals about their experiences.
“Education is more than just a pathway to future earnings and lower recidivism. It’s a powerful vehicle for personal growth and transformation,” said Sen. Shink. “By fostering educational opportunities — in collaboration with the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility — we are not only investing in the incarcerated individuals who will engage in vocational and academic programs, but also in the potential of our communities to flourish. By increasing these opportunities with additional funding from our state budget, we’re building skills and ensuring everyone has a chance to thrive.”
The 2024 Michigan budget included one-time funding that the legislators helped secure for a pilot program in conjunction with the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility to provide incarcerated women an opportunity to participate in a comprehensive bachelor’s degree program through Eastern Michigan University. Additionally, the 2024 budget made ongoing investments in maternal health through a partnership with Mama’s Mobile Milk to transport breast milk from postpartum mothers who are incarcerated to their newborn infants.
“As chair of the House Appropriation Subcommittee on Corrections, I am proud of the work we accomplished to secure much-needed funding in this year’s ‘Make it in Michigan’ budget,” Rep. O’Neal said. “The tour of the Huron Valley Women’s Correctional Facility this week provided an opportunity to see just how these investments will influence the incarcerated population and how it will give opportunities for those in the system to learn and grow. As a legislator, it is important to serve all Michigan’s people, and today just reinforces that this budget invests in all Michigan’s people. I am proud of the work we’ve done and will continue to do for diverse populations.”
“With the women’s prison being in my district, I followed the Correction’s Budget closely and am hopeful about many investments made to address many of the needs we’ve heard for years,” said Rep. Wilson, Jr. “We made significant investments into providing Body Cameras in facilities, creating the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) and Harassment Investigations Division, and also securing an agreement with MDOC to maintain the phone systems while ensuring the lowest per minute rate possible. I am glad we made investments into issues that incarcerated individuals and their families have voiced, and I am committed to continuing the work there is to do throughout MDOC, especially in Women’s Huron Valley.”
The Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility is the only correctional facility in Michigan that houses women prisoners. In 2018, the Michigan Department of Corrections launched a Gender Informed Practice Assessment at Huron Valley. The assessment of what the department was doing well and what it could improve upon led to the creation of a strategic plan. The plan is designed to make sure the facility offers programs and care that are trauma-informed, evidence-based, and also focuses on the needs and professional development of the department’s dedicated and valuable staff at Huron Valley.
Sen. Shink’s Chief of Staff Sydney Hart, Rep. Jimmie Wilson, Jr., Rep. Amos O’Neal, Sen. Sue Shink and Warden Jeremy Howard stand outside the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility. Lawmakers toured the facility and discussed funding they helped secure for a new education pilot program for women at Huron Valley.
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