Mentoring Women in Prison and Released

Program Mission Statement:

(self-reported)

A positive Christian woman role model assists in goal setting, life planning, parenting skills, personal growth and development, spiritual enrichment, career choices, educational pursuits, support systems, financial responsibility, search for significance, and overcoming barriers. An 18-month commitment that begins six months prior to a woman’s release and continues, at least weekly, for one year following release into the community desires to see the women make a successful transition from prison into a community where women become a constructive member of society - a better mother, daughter, wife, employee, and friend.

Score Summary

Overall Score:	Excellent
Practice Principles:	Excellent
Faith Related Elements:	Excellent
Outcome Measures:	Better
Change Process:	Excellent

Program Facts

• Paid (FTE) Staff Working: 0
• Program Participants Last Year: 45
• Meets about 6 time(s) with each participant per month
• Participants remain in the program for 18 months

Board Activities

Funding Overview

(self-reported)

	This Program	This Organization
Organization Budget: $42,000 Program Budget: $5,000
Foundation Grants	0%	5%
Government Grants/Contracts	0%	0%
Individual Gifts	80%	85%
Business/Corporate Gifts	0%	0%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	0%	10%
Dues/Fees/Income	0%	0%
Other	20%	0%
	Average Program Funding From All Samaritan Programs	Average Organization Funding From All Samaritan Organizations
The next charts display the average funding sources for all programs currently in the Samaritan Guide for your comparison. Average Organization Budget: $3,817,897 Average Program Budget: $340,761
Foundation Grants	23%	18%
Government Grants/Contracts	3%	8%
Individual Gifts	32%	33%
Business/Corporate Gifts	8%	8%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	10%	10%
Dues/Fees/Income	8%	9%
Other	13%	11%

It is important to maintain diverse income sources for your programs and for your oganization as a whole. Doing so provides long-term financial stability to your organizations and programs. It is also important to note that government funding often comes with stipulations and restrictions. More information is available in the Raising Resources Toolkit - pdf.

Score Details

Program Focus
Program Mission	Clarity and specificity of the program's mission statement.	Excellent
Target Population	Clarity and specificity of the programs target clientele.	Excellent
Eligibility Criteria	Clarity and specificity of the program's eligibility criteria.	Excellent
Program Requirements	Well defined requirements for client participation.	Better
Referrals From Other Organizations	Do other organizations recommend this program to their clientele.	Good
Referrals to Other Organizations	Does this program recommend other programs to their clients?	Better
Volunteer to Staff Ratio	Are volunteers effectively incorporated into the program?	Good
Past Participant Recruiting	Are past program participants recruited as volunteers?	Excellent
Evaluation and Practice Princples
Practice Principles	How supports and resources are provided to increase outcomes.	Excellent
Outcome Measurement	The ability to measure stated program outcomes.	Better
Change Process	Specific and measurable statement of the program's goals.	Excellent
Faith Related Elements	Integration of faith related elements.	Excellent
Measurement Frequency	Frequency of measuring client outcomes.	Better
Program Evaluation	Level of the budget allocated to measuring client outcomes.	Good
Institutional Stability
Organization Age	A measure of the organization's durability.	Excellent
Board Oversight	How involved in the program are the members of its board?	Good
Program Duration	Average duration of a clients participation with a program.	Better
Finances
Budget Diffusion	Diversity of the programs funding sources.	Good
Government Funding	Does this program accept little or no government funding?	Excellent

Program Score Details

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Outcomes & Measures:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide at least three clear and specific outcomes with corresponding measures in which a relationship is shown between outcomes and measures.

Outcome 1: positive work ethic

Measure Used:
employed - good evaluation from employer

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Outcome 2: improved parenting

Measure Used:
response of children to having mom back in the home

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Outcome 3: life change

Measure Used:
drug and alcohol free - attending meetings and support groups - does not return to prison

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Outcome 4: educational sucess

Measure Used:
attending school and making the grade - preparing for a career

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Outcome 5: permanent housing

Measure Used:
where do they live - does the address change frequently or is the housing stable and safe

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Change Process:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide clear, measurable, client-focused stages of change based on participant participation.

As they continue to meet with their mentor upon release they slowly begin to see life with new eyes and desire to live within the law. They get jobs or go to school, some get their children back and learn how to parent, they show an interest in helping other women coming out of prison, and when corrections allows them to, they return to share with the women in prison their struggles and success on the outside. Some attend church regularly, share on our speaking team to civic clubs, churches, and schools. Most of the women stay drug and alcohol free (a few relapse), give up their old lifestyles, and live free in Christ.

End Notes

Incomplete Applications

Significant decreases in certain scores may indicate failure to comprehensively complete certain sections of the Samaritan Award application. Please be sure to fill out every question in the Samaritan Award application.

Relative Scoring

Total program scores are partially computed against other programs from within the same pool of applications and so are not cumulative.

Additional Reference Material

More information on scoring and methodology may be found on the Samaritan Guide and Award website.

Acton Institute Relationship

The Samaritan Guide and Samaritan Award are projects run by the Acton Institute. Inclusion in the Guide does not signify endorsement by the Acton Institute. More information on why the Acton Institute runs this project is available online.