House Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #3300 Secrets of Success
Requester:	Edmund Benson		Organization:		ARISE Foundation
Project Title:	Secrets of Success		Date Submitted:		02/10/2000 1:46:37 PM
District Member:	Frederica Wilson		Service Area:		Statewide
Counties Affected:	Dade
Recipient:	ARISE Foundation		Contact:		Edmund Benson
	4001 Edmund F. Benson Boulevard		Contact Phone:		(305) 592-7473
	Miami 33178
Project Description:
ARISE Secrets of Success is an award-winning, statistically-prove juvenile prevention and intervention program, consisting of an in depth series of interactive courses in life management skills, specifically designed for high risk youth, ages 12-18, in secure juvenile justice facilities, alternative schools, diversion programs, juvenile assessment centers, after care, and probation programs. Since 1986, the program has reached its goals of encouraging youth to stay in school, respect society and self, reducing recidivism and truancy, and increasing school attendance.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
This will be a statewide initiative to partner with DJJ secured facilities, non-residential programs, diversion programs, Juvenile Assessment Centers, after care and probation programs. ARISE WILL FOCUS ON THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE'S MOST CRITICAL NEEDS. ARISE Foundation will provide all life-skill program material, train all personnel to administer the program (teachers, counselors, probation officers, youth-care workers, detention-care workers)k, and monitor all programs by regularly visiting facilities, providing retraining and booster sessions, checking truancy and recidivism rates, providing pre/post testing, and collecting all necessary data to provide an annual, statistical analysis of the outcome objectives evaluated by the University of Miami Department of Sociology. This statiscally-proven, extremely cost-effective program teaches practical life-skills, such as violence reduction, anger management, parenting, networking, finding and keeping a job, and steps for avoiding alcohol and substance abuse. Youth become taxpayers rather than tax burden. At an approximate cost of $3 per hour of instruction, versus $200 a day to house juvenile lawbreakers, ARISE Secrets of Success provides an immense savings to the state in resourxes and tax dollars.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Youth will significantly (25% of the youth) will improve their perceptions about violence reduction, anger management, the effects of drug and alcohol abuse, the importance of staying in school, avoiding gangs, self-respect and more. A pre/post attitudinal survey will be administered and analyzed by the University of Miami Department of Sociology. The truancy rate will be reduced significantly (25% reduction in truancies). The number of truancies before involvement with the Secrets of Success program, compared to after involvement with ARISE Secrets of Success program, will be analyzed. There will be a significant reduction (25% reduction) in the recidivism rate after 6 months of release and a year of release. (DJJ will work with us to determine these results.) There will be a significant increase in the life-skill knowledge learned. (Youth will be tested at the end of each chapter and asssessed at the end of each book to determine the life-skill information learned.) There will be a significant reduction in the amount of incidences of disruptive and violent behavior. Instructors will complete a written survey to determine if participants reduced the number of disruptive and violent behavior after participation in the Secrets of Success program.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$780,000
Total cost of the project:		$780,000

Request has been made to fund:			Operations
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?						Yes
				In-Kind Amount:		$260,000
Was this project previously funded by the State?						Yes
	Fiscal Year:	1999		Amount:		$759,000
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?						Yes
	Amount:	$780,000
	Purpose for future year funding:				Recurring Operations
	Will this be an annual request?					Yes
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?						No
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?						No
Is there a documented need for this project?						Yes
	Documentation:	Department of Juvenile Justice Report
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?						Yes
	Hearing Body:	Miami-Dade Legislative Delegation
	Meeting Date:	12/01/1999