Conference Presentation, Panel
Return on Investment: Beneficiaries Fueling Social Change
Milken InstituteJames Anderson, Scott Budnick, Eric Dawson, Jacqueline Gonzalez-Reyes, Kirsten Lodal, Malik Voyard, John Rogers Jr.
- Ariel Community Academy, a 16-year-old small public school founded by Arnie Duncan at Ariel, represents a mission integration of financial literacy and inner-city education central to the company's identity.
- The LIFT program has assisted over 60,000 individuals in accessing resources to escape poverty and is grounded in building long-term, comprehensive client relationships.
- Inside the Juvenile Hall program, which houses all Los Angeles youths tried as adults, the "Inside Out Writers" initiative enables hundreds of juveniles, some facing decades in prison, to find their voice.
- A college program for young offenders in adult prison rewards behavioral and academic engagement through study and living groups, with 75 graduates achieved and hundreds currently enrolled.
- Recidivism rates for inmates participating in these college programs drop below 3%, contrasting with a state average exceeding 60%, as the initiative spreads to prisons across the state.
- Peace First has taught peacemaking skills to students for 20 years, challenging young people to act as problem solvers and leaders starting at ages three or four through year-round, in-school programming.
- The organization faces a waiting list of 248,000 schools globally and operates on the premise that the current traditional scaling model of opening offices and hiring staff is no longer viable.
- A new scaling strategy aims to change culture by demonstrating systemic influence through policy, practice, and perception, including the launch of a Nobel Peace Prize for young people awarding $50,000 to ten recipients.
- Six different college programs have been established in six distinct prisons in partnership with Cal Poly Pomona, utilizing private professors and 60 graduate students to work with inmates.
- Organizers are assembling a strategic plan to mobilize a network of high-achieving formerly incarcerated professionals, including lawyers, engineers, and firefighters, in Northern and Southern California.
- Seed financing from the California Wellness Foundation and the California Endowment is currently supporting the operational nuts and bolts while expanding a private Facebook page and email list for mobilization.
- A previously stalled legislative bill passed in the California Assembly after two years of inaction, driven by coalitions of formerly incarcerated individuals who secured the final necessary votes from a bloc of 12 Democrats and zero Republicans.
- The strategic plan includes considerations for a Sacramento office and emphasizes deep engagement in existing sites to pull larger systemic levers based on demonstrated impact.
- The organization highlights the critical nature of its advocacy, noting that the United States is the only country where juveniles die in prison, a reality that underscores the urgency of changing the perception of the formerly incarcerated.