In the winter of 1999, Jane Boulton, the Program Manager of Smithers Literacy Services had a burning question, "Why don't inmates access my program on return to the community? I know they are out there and have a need for literacy services, but where are they?" In conversations with other literacy practitioners in the region, Jane found she was not alone in this conundrum.

With this in mind, Smithers Literacy Services set out to discover the answers to the barriers to transition and more with the development of Incarceration to Inclusion, Looking at the Transition from Correctional Facility Programs to Community Based Adult Education.

Together with Sue Carson, counselor and teacher at the Terrace Community Correctional Centre (TCCC), Jane garnered the permission necessary to conduct research at the prison and upon successful funding, hired a researcher. Jane was committed to utilizing the research findings to develop a Model for Reintegration, a process that will assist inmates
access community education programs across northern B.C.

The idea that the research would generate a ripple effect in the northern region was an integral part of the plan. The act of research would be as transformational as the results. Practical, useful and relevant, Incarceration to Inclusion is a project that can impact us all.