The U.S. Department of Education announced that Lehigh Carbon Community College had been selected for the department's new "Second Chance" Pell pilot program.

LCCC is one of 67 colleges and universities nationwide chosen to participate in a pilot program that will offer Pell Grants to incarcerated students. The program, called Second Chance Pell, will enroll 12,000 prisoners at more than 100 correctional institutions across the country.LCCC is one of four colleges or universities in Pennsylvania that will participate in the pilot program.LCCC will partner with State Correctional Institution Frackville and Mahanoy to serve up to 30 inmates in the first year.Through this program, LCCC and other institutions may provide federal Pell Grants to qualified students who are incarcerated and likely to be released within five years of enrolling.The program will help determine whether incarcerated individuals continue to pursue higher education when they have access to financial aid.The goal is to help them get jobs and support their families after they are released from the prison system.For more information on LCCC's program, contact Larissa Verta at 610-799-1877.