Inmates lack financial know-how, UALR study says

Researchers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock say inmates released from prison lack financial literacy to such a degree that it raises the risk for them returning to jail.

The school said Thursday that a year-long study funded by the school's Institute on Race and Ethnicity could prevent offenders from being set up for failure on their release from prison. The researchers hope to use information collected to design a financial literacy program for soon-to-be-released inmates.

UALR professor Ken Galchus said that through his interactions with inmates at a minimum-security facility, he realized how few inmates knew basics such as how to balance a checkbook, or the importance of a good credit report.

The effort involves the school's Department of Economics and Finance and its Department of Criminal Justice.

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