Educate – Don't Incarcerate - Saving At-Risk Kids Saves Money As Well As Lives

Jan. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- NEWS RELEASE
ARISE Foundation
824 US HWY 1 Suite #240
North Palm Beach, FL 33408
Phone: (561) 630-2021

CONTACT: EDMUND BENSON
Cell: 480-442-7473
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Educate – Don't Incarcerate
Saving At-Risk Kids Saves Money As Well As Lives

While it's always wise to be thrifty, in these tough times it's imperative to squeeze every penny until Lincoln cries -- so why are legislators who make laws governing law enforcement, the judicial system and penal systems turning a blind eye toward the millions of dollars wasted under those laws?

There is a way to drastically reduce the enormous number of tax dollars spent dealing with criminals – from catching them to trying them to locking them up and housing them -- and that is to reduce the amount of crime in the first place. This is especially true when the offenders are minors and teens, just starting off down that long, wrong road toward a life of criminality.

The staff training program at ARISE offers exactly the kind of curricula that teach at-risk kids and the people who work with them in any capacity –youth care and probation officers, law enforcement, social workers, teachers, clergy – how to get off the wrong path and on to the right one, creating law-abiding, productive citizens. A non-profit, created in 1986, ARISE provides a rich assortment of time tested, evidence-based life skills curricula for at-risk youth and offers staff training that enhances the effectiveness of all those who care for troubled youth and adolescents. If an ARISE program were in place in every county in every state, our national crime statistics would rapidly decline, and millions of tax dollars – not to mention lives – would be saved.

Many states – including Georgia, Texas and Ohio – are taking a fresh look at the best way to deal with juvenile offenders, realizing that current correctional systems too frequently fail to break the cycle of crime by emphasizing punishment instead of actual reform.(* Sources)

In fact, the vast majority of recent studies (maybe even all of them) on methods of reducing juvenile crime and the high rate of recidivism come to the same conclusion: Incarceration is and will continue to be a terrible failure; something different is needed. ARISE offers that “something different” through our evidence based programs for at-risk youth, including life skills lessons, staff training and workshops, drug abuse prevention programs, violence and bullying prevention lessons, and much more. We invite you to take a look at our time-tested, proven effective, curricula and consider how we can serve your needs.

Get started by calling ARISE Founder, Edmund Benson, toll-free at 1-888-680-6100, or email Mr. Benson at ebenson@arisefoundation.org.
*Sources: Tough On Crime, Smart On Spending, Effington Herald, October 10, 2011, Kelly McCutchen; Priority Issues: Juvenile Justice, Right On Crime, November 1, 2011, Jeanette Moll; New Polling On Public Views On Juvenile Justice Issues, Right On Crime, November 1, 2011, Jeanette Moll; Ohio State Government, Department of Youth Services/RECLAIM Ohio, Ohio.gov; and Report Calls For Sharply Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, CNN, October 03, 2011, Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Producer

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Provide valuable ARISE life skills and staff training to at-risk youth and the adults who care for them. We enable youth to achieve their highest potential as law-abiding citizens through ARISE group sessions conducted by well trained, ARISE facilitators.