The Georgia Department of Corrections will use new grant funding from the USDA to help provide distance learning accommodations at sixteen facilities across the state.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded the state prison system $126,865 as part of a Rural Development Grant. USDA is funding 86 projects through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program. The program helps rural education and health care entities remotely reach students, patients and outside expertise. These capabilities make world-class education and health care opportunities accessible in rural communities. The ability to use telehealth resources is critical, especially now during a global pandemic.
This Rural Development investment will be used to provide distance learning
opportunities to individuals who are incarcerated in 16 facilities operated by the
Georgia Department of Corrections. The individuals will participate in Helping
Offenders Prepare through Education (H.O.P.E.). Currently, there are 2,172 incarcerated
individuals enrolled in education courses who will participate in H.O.P.E.
Rural areas are seeing higher infection and death rates related to COVID-19 due to several factors, including a much higher percentage of underlying conditions, difficulty accessing medical care, and lack of health insurance. The $42.3 million in awards includes $24 million provided through the CARES Act. In total, these investments will benefit 5 million rural residents.
Rural Residents Appear to be More Vulnerable to Serious Infection or Death from Coronavirus COVID-19
| Rural Percent | Urban Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Underlying health conditions (ages 20 to 84) | 23.7 | 3.0 |
| Older adult population scale | 15.9 | 4.0 |
| Lacking health insurance (ages 25 to 64) | 20.2 | 10.5 |
| Distance to county with an intensive care hospital | 11.3 | 0.3 |
The table above is from the USDA ERS January 2021 report: Rural Residents Appear to be More Vulnerable to Serious Infection or Death from Coronavirus COVID-19
