Elain and Michael Ellerbe
Working together to provide financial literacy and money management instruction, husband and wife team Michael and Elain Ellerbe help inmates in a pre-release program at the Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, LA.
The inmates in the program are aged anywhere from 17 to 77, with the target population being 17 to 25-year-old males. When they leave Dixon, they are dropped off at either a Baton Rouge or New Orleans bus station with a $15 check in their pockets. Michael and Elain’s goal is to prepare them for life outside by giving them the tools to be successful.
Michael is Director of Pre-Release for Dixon Correctional Institute (DCI) and a volunteer instructor for the Reentry Benefiting Families (RBF) program, a non-profit that provides resources and social services to individuals impacted by the criminal justice system. Elain is President and CEO of RBF and also a volunteer instructor for Dixon Correctional Institute.
Michael limits DCI classes to 20 students, and they’ve proved so popular that there is a waiting list. The program covers 10 modules in 15 weeks using the FDIC Money Smart curriculum, followed by a 14-module course called Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World. A recent course featured an ex-offender who spoke to the class about how he built a successful financial life after leaving prison.
Many of the student inmates are part of the underserved and unbanked population. "I never had a bank account and always kept my money under my mattress. I did not realize how having a bank account and learning budgeting could be so helpful. I now know and will use these new skills to help me and my family," said Edgar, a student in the program. The pre-release program ensures that when inmates are released, they rejoin society with basic financial management skills, the ability to secure housing and employment, and a plan to request a credit report and repair any bad credit.
"We even have the IRS and Child Support Enforcement Program come in and talk to the guys about tax credits and back child support," said Michael. Additionally, the pre-release program covers basic financial concepts such as 401ks and the difference between a savings and loan institution and a credit union. Since many of the students have not paid into a retirement program in the past, "we break it down for them," said Elain. "We explain what a 401k and IRA is. We tell them it is simple, and that they can do it."
In the end, the goal is to keep the rate of returning to prison rate down. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 67 percent of former inmates are rearrested. In Louisiana that number is 50 percent, and at DCI it’s even lower at 40 percent. "Every time a man does not come back, it saves the state $28,0000 a year," Michael noted.
Before inmates are released, Michael and Elain work with them to prepare a resume and discuss housing and the companies that are hiring in their communities. For former inmate Dwayne, who was released in June, the classes at DCI impacted him positively. "Not only did I learn money management skills, I also realized I could be successful in managing my life once I returned home. After being locked up since I was 18, and now I am 32, it was pretty scary to think how I was going to be able to make it. I now am home with my family. I have a job, a checking account and check card. These classes made that possible."
Practical Money Skills commends Michael and Elain Ellerbe of the Dixon Correctional Institute and Reentry Benefiting Families program for their contributions to financial literacy.
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