Center for Justice-Impacted Students
CJIS programs support currently incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and otherwise justice-impacted students.
Current and Prospective Students
The Justice Scholars Program provides justice-impacted students at our Edison campus and centers in New Brunswick and Perth Amboy with the resources to achieve academic success, including the option to participate in the following programming:
- Stipend for participation in a weekly student success program that supports personal, academic, and professional growth with a supportive and inclusive peer community
- Pre-semester orientation
- Personalized success plan
- Financial aid application assistance
- Registration and enrollment support
- Career planning and advising
- Basic needs referrals
- Academic advising and support
- Transfer preparation and advising
- Opportunity to engage in local and state juvenile justice reform advocacy
Eligibility
Current and prospective Middlesex College students who meet any of the following criteria are encouraged to apply for the Justice Scholars Program:
- Formerly incarcerated or detained in a prison, immigration detention center, local jail, juvenile detention center, or other carceral setting
- Convicted but not incarcerated
- Charged but not convicted, or arrested
- Immediate family members who are currently or were formerly incarcerated or detained in any carceral setting
- Otherwise justice-impacted
The Juvenile Justice Reform Club is open to all Middlesex College students interested in collaborating with currently incarcerated youth at county Juvenile Detention Centers to engage in juvenile justice reform advocacy and deepen their knowledge of social justice issues. The club is ideal for students majoring in criminal justice, psychology, sociology, human services, education, or other helping professions.
Partnerships
Middlesex College’s Center for Justice-Impacted Students also works collaboratively with state and county-level partners to provide programming for justice-impacted youth and young adults.
Youth Justice Commission
CJIS partners with the New Jersey Youth Justice Commission (YJC) to provide high-quality college education and programming for currently incarcerated youth across the state. The YJC Associate Degree Pathway offers youth housed in secure-care facilities and community programs the opportunity to take remote-live Middlesex College courses and ultimately earn an associate degree. The program, which operates as a cohort model, creates an engaged learning community and provides academic coaching to facilitate student success. YJC students receive individualized advisement and college reentry support.
Rising Scholars Program
Through funding provided by the Middlesex County Office of Human Services, CJIS offers the Rising Scholars Program (RSP) for justice-impacted pre-college youth from Middlesex County. RSP is specifically designed to support youth who are currently on juvenile probation, were formerly incarcerated, and/or who were impacted by the opioid crisis. The program includes a trauma-informed three-credit student success class, held in-person weekly on the Middlesex College campus. In addition to earning college credits and gaining exposure to college-level coursework, students also participate in field trips to cities like New York and Philadelphia. Each trip includes cultural and educational activities, such as attending sporting events, performances, and college tours. After completion of the program, each participant receives a certificate and stipend.
County Juvenile Detention Centers
Through funding provided by the State of New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, CJIS offers a college bridge program and dual enrollment courses for high school students detained within the Middlesex County and Camden County Juvenile Detention Centers (JDC).
Advocacy and Community Engagement
On campus, we act as an education and advocacy body for supporting the implementation of inclusive policies and practices that advance educational opportunities for justice-impacted students.
Youth Justice Reform Project
Through funding provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, justice-impacted students at Middlesex College participate in co-curricular programming focused on juvenile justice reform. Since Fall 2022, a collaborative team of incarcerated JJC students and on-campus Justice Scholars have met to research and strategize solutions for creating higher educational reentry pathways for incarcerated youth in New Jersey, with a particular focus on youth who have been sentenced as adults.
In 2023, students presented a research report and policy proposal to the New Jersey State Parole Board, suggesting a comprehensive reentry program for juveniles and young adults, including collaboration with Juvenile Justice Commission staff, specialized parole officer training, mental health support, independent living options, continued education or vocational training, and transportation assistance upon release.
Food Justice Showcase and Symposium
CJIS sponsored a Food Justice Showcase and Symposium in the Spring 2023 semester, a research and arts collaboration between JDC students, Justice Scholars, faculty, staff, and community partners at the Middlesex County JDC. The symposium highlighted how food insecurity directly connects to broader social, economic, and environmental policies and how carceral settings exacerbate these issues. The event included a gallery open to students, faculty, and staff at Middlesex College, as well as the larger community, which showcased photographs, cyanotypes, hand castings, and an interactive mural created by students. Additionally, the symposium featured a panel of speakers who highlighted their personal experiences with food in carceral spaces and activism efforts to end food injustice. The symposium had more than 125 attendees, resulting in an opportunity for visibility and awareness regarding food injustice and youth incarceration among community stakeholders.
Alumni
Middlesex College alumni are welcome to participate in our program operations, including through mentorship roles and guest speaker engagements. We keep an active alumni database and encourage all of our alumni who are interested in keeping up to date with program operations or volunteering to reach out to the program staff.
Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter for program updates, announcements, news from our students and alumni, and resources on juvenile justice reform, including educational opportunities.