Marsha Mueller Life Line Supervisor Certification Offered Microsoft Office Specialist   Employer Marion Correctional Facility Location Marion, Ohio

In her own words: "As our students work toward certification, they gain focus they didn't have before. They change their behavior and reduce the chances of returning to the prison system."

Microsoft Office Specialist Certification through Non-Internet Testing Provides "Powerful Transformation" for Inmates at Ohio Correctional Institution
Ohio prison's training program provides certification of computing skills required for employment upon release from prison

April 2008
In 2002, former Marion Correctional Institution (MCI) warden Christine Money observed a need for computing skills training among the facility's inmates. Following a series of focus groups with inmates, educators, re-entry providers and citizens, Life Line, an industrial computer-training program, took shape at the Marion, Ohio, prison. Charged with helping prepare inmates for successful re-entry into their communities after release from prison, Life Line became a source for inmates to become exposed to computers and technology. The program now serves up to 900 men annually.

BACKGROUND
Marsha Mueller hadn't heard of Life Line until she attended a Christmas play at MCI with her church group. As the middle school math and computer teacher visited with an inmate sitting beside her during the performance, Mueller learned about MCI's plans to offer computer classes the following spring. Her response to news of the Life Line program surprised her: "That's how I'll be spending my retirement," she said.

Even before she retired from public school teaching, Mueller contributed to the Life Line program's design by volunteering to write its first curriculum. After she retired, she joined two other teachers to supervise and manage the program, which is not part of MCI's traditional education programs.

PROCESS
Life Line computer classes are available to any offenders who want to participate; no prerequisite skills are required. "Some participants have never touched computers and first must learn to type," Mueller said. "Others have some computing skills already."

Mueller said offenders' reasons for wanting to participate in the program are varied. "Some realize their children know more about computers than they do, and that scares them," she said. "Some want to learn to type, some want to run their own businesses when they are out of prison, most realize many jobs require these skills and know they will need the skills when they are applying for jobs someday."

After learning to type, Life Line participants start their study with introductions to Microsoft® Word, Excel® and Publisher. If they are interested, they may study these programs more deeply, visiting the Life Line building twice each week. Regardless, they are required to attend at least once in two weeks, or they will be dropped from the program.

Life Line does not offer formal classes. Instead, participants work through textbooks in a self-paced environment. Ten inmates are available as tutors, helping others to learn course material for basic state pay in return.

Mueller said one of the many challenges to overcome in establishing Life Line was locating an appropriate space to accommodate the program. "The only available space was in the industrial wing of the institution, and the warehouse we ended up in was nearly 50 years old," she said. "The space was transformed to meet our needs and has even undergone changes since the program began."

The Life Line lab has computers donated by the city of Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. When grant funding allows, the program purchases new Microsoft Office licenses and other software.

"We're always looking for funding," Mueller said. "Life Line was specifically set up to meet the needs of large numbers of inmates, and we operate on a very limited budget. We are constantly in need of computers with more memory, software licenses and courseware. Textbooks are actually the biggest expense."

CERTIFICATION
As resources and space became available, Life Line began offering program participants Microsoft Office Specialist certification, the official worldwide certification for Microsoft Office programs.

"Office Specialist was the one program we knew we would be able to prepare them for," Mueller said. "Programming skills require too much time and effort. Office Specialist is within reach for anyone who wants it, and we have the personnel available to guide inmates toward it. Plus, it teaches them the most relevant skills and has a relatively inexpensive software license fee."

Each of Life Line's tutors have or are working toward at least one Office Specialist certification, and more than 50 Office Specialist certificates have been earned by program participants. Five participants have earned Microsoft Office Specialist Master certification.

"When inmates see others passing the exams, they are encouraged to persevere," Mueller said. "The day they pass and print out the certificate, they are so proud. It's electrifying."

MCI funds inmate Office Specialist exams, but only after participants have completed Certiport® self-assessments and practice tests. "Unlimited pretests are essential," Mueller said, "One is not enough. They are required to go through the textbook and complete all of the exercises, regardless of their current skills. Our tutors make sure they are prepared, and they go through the practice exams over and over, if necessary, to learn the timing required of the exams and gain test-taking experience."

Tutors track student progress as they prepare for their certification exams. "The one-on-one help is very important as students develop test-taking skills," Mueller said.

MCI—like most correctional facilities—does not offer student access to the Internet. Fortunately, new Certiport technology allows students to take Office Specialist exams in an offline-computing environment. "I used to have one laptop that could be used to test," Mueller said. "Now, the Certiport offline-testing environment allows us to test on any computer."

RESULT
"The Life Line program is groundbreaking, as are a lot of programs at MCI," Mueller said. In fact, Life Line has become an example to other correctional facilities through the U.S. and the world. When representatives from other facilities visit MCI, they visit Life Line. "Our program is not limited in the number of participants, and it is set up differently from other computing skills programs in correctional facilities around the country," Mueller said. "At any time, 350-400 inmates have access to the program; over 2,500 have been through it."

And, of course, Life Line provides MCI offenders certification of skills—physical proof they can take home upon release from prison. "They can look for jobs that require these skills," Mueller said, reflecting on one former inmate who gained employment because of his Office Specialist certification. "Employers recognize Office Specialist. As our students work toward certification, they gain focus they didn't have before. They change their behavior and reduce the chances of returning to the prison system." In fact, a Federal Bureau of Prisons study discovered a 33 percent decrease in recidivism among individuals who participated in vocational and apprenticeship training while incarcerated¹ .

Mueller supports Life Line and Office Specialist certification for other reasons. "I just love to see how excited the guys are when they realize they can learn," she said. "They may not have been successful before, and now they can be. As a teacher, it's rewarding to see them begin to value learning."

One of Mueller's students dropped out of school in the eighth grade, earned his GED in prison and cycled in and out of seven adult institutions. "His parents didn't believe he was changing his life until his Office Specialist certificates started arriving at their home," Mueller said. "Now they see him so focused. A transformation has occurred. It's powerful. He's worked hard and had results."

Life Line was recently awarded the prestigious Excel Award for excellence in innovative programming by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. In the future, Life Line hopes to upgrade to new computers and new versions of software. Mueller is also piloting a program to expand the program to include scheduled training workshops. In addition, other educational programs in the prison are considering offering Office Specialist certification.

ABOUT CERTIPORT
Certiport prepares individuals with current and relevant digital skills and credentials for the competitive global workforce. These solutions are delivered by more than 12,000 Certiport Centers worldwide and include Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³®), the official Microsoft® Office certification programs and the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program. For more information, visit www.certiport.com.