American Idea Foundation

Measuring Results, Expanding Opportunity, Improving Lives.

Community Organizations Making a Difference

Per Scholas: Educating & Training Individuals for 21st Century Careers

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By: AIF Staff

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has long believed policymakers can and must play a role in helping Americans obtain the necessary education, skills, and training today so they are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. During his time in Congress, Ryan consistently fought for policies to expand economic opportunities and spur upward mobility so more Americans could reach their full potential in a dynamic 21st century economy.

Since launching the American Idea Foundation in 2019, he has continued working with community leaders and groups who are helping low-income individuals look for employment, develop new skills, or identify new careers in emerging sectors. As the Foundation has done so, it became apparent that many job training and vocational programs lack reliable evidence to quantify their impact.

In order to identify solutions which are not only effective but also replicable, policymakers and organizations need to commit to methodically building evidence in support of promising interventions. The need to expand the base of evidence in the workforce training space is one of the reasons why the American Idea Foundation decided to partner with Per Scholas in 2023.

Started in 1995, Per Scholas believes a thriving workforce starts with equitable access to education. To accomplish this goal, they created an evidence-based, professional development program that provides individuals, many of whom are already employed, with tuition-free technology training and skills for high-growth careers.

Participants of the Per Scholas program receive 15 weeks of occupational skills training in information technology, career readiness services (e.g., assistance in resume and interview preparation), and job development and placement services. Per Scholas, which is now operating in 20 cities across the United States, maintains strong relationships with local employers who hire these newly-trained workers into positions related to information technology services. The local employers then help shape the program’s training curriculum and other services, meaning Per Scholas is always learning and improving.  

Per Scholas’ proliferation to cities around the country speaks to their effectiveness but their commitment to evidence and data is what truly sets the organization apart.

They have been the subject of two randomized controlled evaluations and the evidence from both was promising. An initial evaluation found that individuals who completed the Per Scholas program saw their annual earnings increase by 14% to 30%. And as their 2022 Annual Report showed, the program has an 8:1 economic return generated for every dollar invested.

Historically, 85% of Per Scholas learners nationwide graduate and 80% of graduates attain employment within one year of program completion. In 2022, more than 1,700 Per Scholas graduates secured jobs paying an average hourly wage of $23.50 an hour, collectively earning nearly 85$ million in first-year wages alone. In 2023, Per Scholas aims to build on that success by educating and training 4,500 individuals — 85% of whom will be people of color and 42% of whom are between ages 18-29.

As Per Scholas has grown, they have continued to let data and evidence inform their efforts and the results speak for themselves. With the help of the American Idea Foundation, Per Scholas will be able to further its randomized controlled trials and better measure their effectiveness at training individuals for careers in information technology.

Per Scholas is demonstrating that organizations can make a huge economic impact by equipping works with the skills and education necessary for the careers of tomorrow. They are helping individuals reach their version of the American Dream and doing so in a data-driven way, which is why the American Idea Foundation is so excited to help them continue growing in the year ahead.

WIEA: Promoting Redemption in the Wisconsin Correctional System

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By: AIF Staff

In 2018, following years of bipartisan collaboration and consensus-building, Speaker Paul Ryan signed The First Step Act into law. This legislation, which united the left and the right, modernized our criminal justice system by reforming federal sentencing guidelines and establishing programs to help individuals reacclimate to their communities following interactions with America’s prison system.

But, as the name implies, this legislation was only a “first step” and with over 2 million Americans currently in jail, prison, probation, and parole, the task of effectively reducing recidivism has never been more important. And as policymakers and community leaders help individuals re-enter society and rebuild their lives, they should continue taking an evidence-based approach to reducing recidivism.

Speaker Ryan has long believed that “good policy begins with good evidence.” It’s why, in academic works like Rethinking Reentry, he has encouraged lawmakers to take a methodical, circumspect approach towards reducing recidivism. It’s also why he has consistently supported those front-line organizations who are applying evidence-based solutions to re-entry programs.

In 2023, one of the groups that Ryan’s American Idea Foundation will be partnering with is the Wisconsin Inmate Education Association. The WIEA is focused on helping men and women incarcerated in the Wisconsin prison system transform their lives through the completion of an in-prison college curriculum which provides them with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Studies.

WIEA’s rationale is straightforward: By encouraging inmates to embrace an alternative identity centered around faith and education, WIEA believes their intervention will lower levels of misconduct, stimulate spiritual transformations, and improve families and communities by changing behaviors for the better. WIEA’s approachis evidence-based and they measure success by looking at factors like personal transformation, levels of violence, community and family impact, and overall recidivism reduction.

To qualify for WIEA’s degree program, inmates must complete a rigorous application process detailing their academic history and criminal behaviors while also passing a Department of Corrections’ screening process. Up until this year, upon acceptance into the program, students would be transferred to Waupun Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison.

They would then attend a full week of orientation and attend classes 7 hours per day, 5 days per week. After four years, they would receive a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Trinity International University. Following graduation, they would serve as Field Mentors to help promote the program within the prison population and to serve other inmates.

This year, the Wisconsin Inmate Education Association moved their program to the Fox Lake Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison, and the Taycheedah Correctional Institution, which houses female inmates. WIEA believes that by conducting this program at medium-security facilities as opposed to a maximum-security prison, more individuals will take part and its impact will grow.

WIEA is looking to double the number of enrolled students in the next year and, in the process, they will not only transform the lives of people inside our correctional facilities but also improve the Wisconsin communities these individuals will ultimately re-enter. 

WIEA’s approach – expanding opportunities for incarcerated individuals who are trying to learn from their mistakes and doing so in an evidence-based way – will hopefully show a path forward to meaningfully reduce recidivism, strengthen our communities, and increase respect for the rule of law. It’s why Speaker Ryan is so excited to partner with WIEA as their efforts expand throughout the state.

Friends of the Children: A long-term mentoring program rooted in evidence

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By: AIF Staff

Earlier this year, AIF President and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced 7 non-profit organizations across the country would receive financial support and strategic assistance from the American Idea Foundation in 2023 as they continue their amazing work of expanding economic opportunities and reducing poverty in their communities.

Ryan’s goal in providing this support is to help front-line organizations identify, test, and evaluate promising interventions and solutions so that their true impact can be measured and so their solutions can be scaled (if and when the results merit).

The hope is by having more evidence and better evidence and by incorporating evidentiary findings into their programming, these non-profits and the federal government can do more to help individuals in need.  A commitment to using evidence and data to solve problems is one of the main characteristics that the American Idea Foundation looks for when partnering with organizations, and it’s why the Foundation is excited to support Friends of the Children in the year ahead.

Friends of the Children is a national non-profit organization, operating in 33 different communities, that selects and invites youth – all of whom have unique talents, interests and dreams, and face multiple systemic obstacles – to be paired with a paid, professional mentor called a Friend. The organization hires and trains Friends to support youth from as early as age 4 through high school graduation. They are a long-term intervention and the Friends’ full-time job is to empower and support youths and their caregivers.

Friends of the Children revolutionized the youth mentoring field by creating the first and only long-term professional mentoring program in the country. Each child gets a dedicated, one-on-one Friend who listens to their hopes and dreams. Friends spend a minimum of 14 to 16 intentional hours per month with each child. They encourage their child to set – and achieve – specific goals. Friends also create meaningful experiences that empower youth to build life skills and make healthy choices while exploring the child’s diverse talents and interests.

The Friends of the Children model is centered around nine Core Assets that ensure the social and emotional development of youths. These Assets include: Growth Mindset, Hope, Belonging, Problem Solving, Self-Management, Self Determination, Perseverance, Finding your Spark, and Positive Relationship building.

The Friends of the Children 2022 Annual Report shows that while they are about developing lasting, long-term relationships that benefit our youth, they are also focused on data and evidence. Friends of the Children is regularly collecting data and conducting research and evaluations to drive improvements. They are currently engaged in a longitudinal RCT with NYU and the University of Washington to study the program’s impact. The longitudinal study, currently in its 15th year, is the longest-running youth mentoring RCT in the country and will be completed in 2026.

In the upcoming year, the American Idea Foundation will help support Friends of the Children’s existing research and evaluation and also help fund its 2nd-generation longitudinal study. This research aims to maximize the effectiveness of Friends of the Children’s work in terms of child welfare and self-sufficiency. For decades, Friends of the Children has been a leader in using evidence to evaluate the impact of their program. They are making an enormous difference across the country and the American Idea Foundation is proud to assist them in bettering more children’s lives.