CARE Initiative

About the initiative

The Cardinal Access to Restorative Education (CARE) Initiative is a program at the University of Louisville dedicated to expanding educational opportunities for individuals in correctional facilities, those under community supervision, and those with a history of incarceration. Through partnerships with community-based organizations and state entities, CARE aims to create pathways for people behind bars and beyond to gain valuable educational credentials that contribute to successful reentry and workforce opportunities. The CARE Initiative works closely with registered student organization UofL SOARS (Student Opportunities for Academic and Reentry Success). 

Thanks to generous funding from the Laughing Gull Foundation, the CARE Initiative is working to build awareness and understanding across campus and the community that can help dismantle barriers to education for persons with criminal legal system involvement. This has included partnering with the Kentucky Department of Corrections to host a Reentry Simulation at the University of Louisville, hosting the inaugural conference of the Bluegrass Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (BCHEP), and sponsoring university stakeholders to attend the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP). 

CARE was initially convened as the Prison Education Initiative in May 2023 by the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning and the Kent School of Social Work. A steering committee was formed in January 2024 which led to securing the grant from the Laughing Gull Foundation. While the original goal of these efforts was to offer online UofL bachelor's degrees in Kentucky state prisons, the initiative has now evolved into CARE with a focus on supporting educational access, student success, and research and assessment. While CARE remains its own entity, it is now housed in the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research.