Inner Awareness & Skills Training

Program Mission Statement:

(self-reported)

Supported by the latest research on mindfulness, the Inner Awareness & Skills Training program establishes inner awareness and external stability in the lives of previously detained youth. Working on the root cause of delinquent actions, youth are trained to observe their thoughts and emotions during silent meditation, discuss their insights in weekly leadership circles with peers, and create and execute personal action plans in their inner awareness coaching sessions. Accountability and feedback constantly abound as each youth confronts himself in silence, his peers as mirrors of his experience, and his coach as he reports weekly progress.

Score Summary

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

Program Facts

• Paid (FTE) Staff Working: 1.5
• Program Participants Last Year: 70
• Meets about 25 time(s) with each participant per month
• Participants remain in the program for 6 months

Board Activities

Funding Overview

(self-reported)

	This Program	This Organization
Organization Budget: $300,000 Program Budget: $140,000
Foundation Grants	70%	70%
Government Grants/Contracts	0%	0%
Individual Gifts	25%	25%
Business/Corporate Gifts	5%	5%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	0%	0%
Dues/Fees/Income	0%	0%
Other	0%	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: $3,820,907 Average Program Budget: $480,643
Foundation Grants	24%	18%
Government Grants/Contracts	3%	8%
Individual Gifts	36%	33%
Business/Corporate Gifts	9%	8%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	9%	10%
Dues/Fees/Income	7%	9%
Other	10%	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.	Excellent
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?	Excellent
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.	Excellent
Change Process	Specific and measurable statement of the program's goals.	Excellent
Faith Related Elements	Integration of faith related elements.	Better
Measurement Frequency	Frequency of measuring client outcomes.	Excellent
Program Evaluation	Level of the budget allocated to measuring client outcomes.	Excellent
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?	Excellent
Program Duration	Average duration of a clients participation with a program.	Good
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: Youth shift their efforts toward positive, life-affirming pursuits.

Measure Used:
Non-recidivism, Youth attend voluntarily, School attendance, Obtaining outside employment, Change in peers from negative to positive, Completing probation requirements

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Outcome 2: Youth are aware of the thoughts that underlie their emotions & choices.

Measure Used:
Youth self-report in leadership group, Decrease in violent & criminal behavior, Expression of insights about thought-to-action axis, Attendance of meditation & discussion groups, Inner Awareness coaching notes

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Outcome 3: Youth feel connected & valued.

Measure Used:
Youth attend voluntarily, Staff & volunteers know youth individually, Youth bring their friends to program, Alumni return to pay visit to staff and volunteers, Youth are involved long-term, No incidents of violence in program or across gangs, Volunteers form mentoring relationships with youth

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Outcome 4: Youth shape & buy into the program.

Measure Used:
Youth leadership council issues recommendations, Youth bring friends to program, Youth respect one another and follow honor code principles, Youth present ideas and learn public speaking

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Outcome 5: Youth make & meet personal, educational & employment goals.

Measure Used:
Inner Awareness Coaching notes show before and after progress, Metrics track number and type of goals set and completed, Youth attend school, Youth obtain outside employment, Each youth follows own path created with coaching help, Mentors help with complicated goals

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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.

Program participants change as a progression of stages. The first stage typically occurs when the youth first meets us, either while still incarcerated or after release as a referral from the juvenile probation system. In this stage, youth commit to an honor code of respect for others and receive nuts and bolts intensive case management. They are “hired” into the stipend program and therein get incentives for every positive choice they make. They practice silent meditation for the first time, and experience a sense of the sacred, which contrasts the loud and profane of the streetlife they know well. In this stage, they typically burst with inspiration and make big changes that are not sustainable. In the second stage, youth self-sabotage or relapse slightly, as old negative habits and new positive changes compete for their investment. This stage brings integration of who they were and who they are becoming. During this time, youth are supported with intensive inner awareness coaching, weekly meditation/yoga, and Friday youth discussion group. In the third stage, youth find their focus and passion through more advanced inquiry and self-analysis with their coach, fueled by small successes in setting and completing tangible goals. They galvanize their inner world of watching their thoughts and emotions and apply it to explore their outer world through informational interviews and research into areas of interest. Finally, direction takes form as they find outside employment, start their own business, enroll in job training or start college, supported by this loving community.

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.