A complete curriculum
A 12-week facilitator guide with session plans, plus a participant workbook with a worksheet for every week.
For organizations & funders
A structured model that travels from custody into community
A standardized 12-part session, delivered by trained facilitators, with milestones at weeks 4, 8 and 12 and case notes written to drop straight into your existing reporting.
The program model
What a partner gets
Mobile studio
Sessions bring recording equipment to the site: interface, microphone, headphones and a laptop with production software.
Predictable structure
Three-hour sessions, the same 12 steps each week, 50% of the time spent creating.
Trained facilitators
Typically Credible Messengers, or anyone with equivalent qualifications, onboarded through observation, co-facilitation and a supervised solo session.
Trauma-informed guardrails
Opt-in sharing, no public correction, and creative work never used as behavioral evidence. Safety concerns follow your facility’s existing protocol.
Reporting you can use
Non-clinical, behaviorally specific case notes that can be excerpted into progress reports without rewriting.
Delivery settings
Juvenile halls, probation camps, reentry and transitional housing programs, schools, community centers, alternative education and youth development programs. The program has run in juvenile halls, juvenile camps and step-down transitional facilities.
For host organizations
Program pricing
Proposed starting rates for one 12-week cohort, for organizations that contract the program. Choose a fixed-price tier, or price by the number of participants who enroll.
Option 1 · Fixed-price cohort tiers
Proposed starting rates
Host-supported cohort
$24,000–$28,000
per 12-week cohort
The host provides the space, equipment and on-site coordination.
- Facilitation and curriculum delivery
- Host supplies space, equipment and on-site coordination
Proposed starting rates
Standard cohort
$30,000–$36,000
per 12-week cohort
Our standard delivery package.
- Facilitation and curriculum delivery
- Basic music production
- Participant materials
- Milestone reporting
Proposed starting rates
Expanded cohort
$38,000–$45,000+
per 12-week cohort
For programs that need more. May include any of the following, by agreement:
- Additional staff
- Recording equipment or studio time
- Travel
- Showcase or release support
- Expanded evaluation and reporting
These are preliminary planning ranges, not final quotes. Not every item is included in every tier. The final price depends on cohort size, staffing, delivery setting, travel, equipment, recording needs and the support the host provides. Small City Enterprises provides a written quote after discussing your organization’s needs.
Option 2 · Per-participant pricing
Pay for the participants who enroll
Contracts can also be priced by enrollment. Your organization and Small City Enterprises agree on a per-participant rate, then set the total contract amount from the confirmed cohort size.
Total contract price
Agreed per-participant ratePer-participant rate: set with host organization
Confirmed number of participants
Total contract price equals the agreed per-participant rate times the confirmed number of participants.
The contract should spell out
- The enrollment count used for billing, and the date it is confirmed
- The minimum and maximum cohort size
- What happens if enrollment changes during the cohort
- Whether a fixed setup or reporting fee applies
Ready to plan a cohort?
Tell us about your site, timeline and expected group size. We’ll follow up to talk through your needs, then send a written quote.
Paid host contracts are separate from donations and sponsorships. To give or sponsor, visit Support this work.
Continuity
One relationship across the transition
The model works because the facilitator, language and structure stay the same from custody into the community. Partners on either side of release can connect participants to the next stage, or run a single stage on its own.
- CustodyFirst Verse begins inside the facility or at program entry.
- TransitionSame facilitator, same language, same structure as release approaches.
- CommunityNext Verse continues in reentry or transitional housing.
- Ongoing connectionLast Verse keeps work, mentors and opportunity within reach.
Evaluation approach
How progress is documented
These are the program’s documented methods. Results will be reported as cohorts complete; no outcome figures are published yet.
- Pre-assessmentSession 1 · 5–7 self-rated questions
- Every sessionAttendance log + non-clinical case note
- MilestonesCheck-ins at weeks 4, 8 and 12
- Post-assessmentWeek 12 · same questions + Four Factors check
- Monthly summaryTo the referring agency or facility
Tracked
Enrollment
Who started, and where they entered.
Tracked
Week 4 retention
Names all four factors; one recorded song structure.
Tracked
Week 8 retention
First Verse Blueprint; one fully mixed song.
Tracked
Week 12 completion
Next Verse Blueprint, release-ready single, budget.
| Category | What is tracked | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Social-emotional learning | Self-reported emotional regulation (pre/post); peer feedback given without defensiveness | Assessment; case notes |
| Engagement | Attendance %; participation level, 1–5 per session | Attendance log; case notes |
| Creative output | Bars → verses → completed songs; portfolio completion at week 12 | Production logs; facilitator sign-off |
| Economic literacy | Four Factors knowledge check (pre/post); completed budget | Assessment; week 10 output |
| Entrepreneurship | Ownership decision documented; completed release plan | Week 6 and week 11 outputs |
Recommended reporting cadence: a monthly summary to the referring agency with attendance, milestones met and one anonymized creative highlight.
For funders & sponsors
A documented pathway from custody through reentry to community
First Verse → Next Verse → Last Verse comes with a theory of change, pre/post assessment, attendance and milestone tracking, and a monthly reporting package built in from day one.
Theory of change
Music is the entry point. Writing, analyzing and recording songs gives young people a way into how economic systems work, and how to move inside those systems instead of only surviving them. Awareness comes first, then analysis, then ownership.
Core learning outcomes
- Identify the Four Factors in everyday life
- Recognize how systems, not only personal choices, shape outcomes
- Understand the music industry as a working economic model
- Distinguish between labor and ownership
- Apply micro and macro thinking to lived experience
- Turn creative expression into a real opportunity: a demo, a release, a plan, a pitch
Community impact pathway
- Participant outputSongs, blueprints, plans
- Program showcaseListening session or performance
- Community & family engagementThe work is heard at home
- Referral & sustained supportConnection continues