Indiana's Lacasa Inc. is holding its traditional "Master Your Money” class in a new location: The Elkhart County Jail. Previously, local bankers led the classes for inmates. But as banks became short-staffed during the pandemic, opportunities dwindled. Lacasa, a NeighborWorks network organization working to create opportunities for personal empowerment, jumped to fill in the gap.
Participants attend classes for different reasons. Some are nearing release and want skills they know they'll need. Some have longer sentences but want to practice budgeting and show the parole board that they're working to better themselves. Those who complete the course leave with a certificate and the promise from a local bank for free checking and savings if they open accounts within two years, says Heidi McHugh, Lacasa's chief impact officer. "This class helps them gain access to something that will help with their futures,” she says.
The November 2021 class saw 27 participants. Lacasa added classes in April, via Zoom. In July, they
Kris Klosinski, the jail's program director, lines up a range of programs for inmates including those addressing substance abuse, victim impact and job readiness. "It's worked great,” she says of Lacasa's program. Financial classes are important for the region, where a job source includes trailer manufacturing. Some inmates earned good money, pre-incarceration, she says, but "a lot of them have had the problem of spending money on the wrong things.”
The inmates respond well to the financial training. Erik, for instance, was released four months ago with a credit score of 450. "By taking the 'Master Your Money' course I was offered a credit-builder loan and Fresh Start checking account,” he told Klosinski. His credit score is now 600.
"Financial education is about giving people the knowledge they need to succeed in our economy,” explains Molly Barackman-Eder, NeighborWorks' director of Financial Capability. "When you pair that with tools like free checking and savings accounts or credit builder loans, all kinds of opportunities that didn't seem possible open up to people to make their dreams a reality.”
"It's been so rewarding,” says Ashley Bowen, who teaches the class with Briana Welch. Bowen, also director of Client Empowerment and a HUD-certified financial counselor, says that before teaching, she and Welch made the course more user friendly for their audience. They removed the discussion of using apps to track money, for instance, because inmates didn't have access to cell phones.
They added a section on freezing your credit to help prevent identity theft while incarcerated. They also gave each participant a printed application so they could receive a credit report while in jail. And they talked to inmates about where their spending habits came from.
Bowen says the audience asked good questions – so many, in fact, that they changed the class from two two-hour sessions to two three-hour sessions. "This is an audience that really wants to improve themselves,” she says.
Angel, a current inmate, says he thought he knew how to manage money. But the class equipped him with new tools for the future.
Eddie, who provided comments to the jail's program director, agreed. "I enjoyed the class particularly for the insight that I got about the ways to build my credit once I'm released,” he says. "The facilitators were very helpful on a number of life-helping money issues.”
