How to Use Anger Management to Create Additional Revenue Streams for Non-Profits

Anger management is one of the new secrets to survival for money strapped non-profit social service agencies nationwide. California leads the nation in its cutbacks on funding for non-profit social service agencies as well as public schools.

As an antidote to loss of funding sources for community services, many organizations have discovered the tremendous new funding available from a wide range of untapped sources interested in promoting anger management as a violence prevention/intervention for children, adolescents, adults and couples.

School districts throughout the nation are contracting local, non-profit social service agencies that are Certified to offer assessments and intervention to students who are seen as at risk for person-directed aggression or who are perpetrators of violence in the school setting. Many school districts use anger management as an alternative to suspension for aggressive behavior at school. This avoids the loss of average daily attendance funds that occurs when students are suspended.

Mental Health Organizations are overwhelmed with referrals for anger management. Since anger is not a pathological condition, anger management cannot be billed as treatment or psychotherapy. Therefore, it is far less expensive and more effective for County and State Mental Health Departments to contract with competent, Certified Anger Management Facilitators from non-profit organizations to provide these needed services.

Family Service Agencies have traditionally provided a wide range on mental health as well as social services to families including substance abuse, domestic violence, parenting and outpatient mental health counseling. Family Service organizations are now being required to demonstrate training and Certification in Anger Management in order to bid on contracts to provide anger management.

With the unprecedented violence in Chicago during the last few days, At Risk Youth are again in the news. While the Chicago School System has invested in metal detectors and increased security, anger management has not been considered a viable intervention. We now see the results of this oversight.

Probation Departments in Texas and California are routinely training Adult and Adolescent Probation Officers to use anger management with probationers on their caseloads who have a history of person-directed violence as a part of their criminal history.

The California State Department of Parole has implemented a new mandate that requires all parolees to complete a 52 -week program in anger management prior to being released from parole for any parolee whose original offense included aggression or violence. The Parole Department routinely contracts for anger management services with non-profit organizations throughout the state of California.

Organizational anger management training is relatively new and not yet well understood. This type of intervention consists of small group trainings that are limited to one or two hours. Each intervention begins with an assessment, a generic feedback and mini lectures on anger management, stress management, communication and emotional intelligence.

The City of Los Angeles has one of the oldest and most respected After School Programs in the nation. This program is the recipient of major grants from the Broad Foundation of Los Angles. In addition to tutoring, it has always included anger management assessment and classes for most students enrolled in after school programs. The city of Los Angeles only contracts with Non-Profit agencies to provide after school anger management classes.

How to secure anger management contracts for non-profit organizations:

• Arrange for at least two members of your staff to receive a 40-hour Anger Management Facilitator Certification.
• Purchase and use a curriculum that includes a Pre and Post Test or one that is evidenced based.
• Contact your local probation, parole, public schools, mental health departments and at risk programs for youth and ask if your organization may send a proposal to provide this service.
• Use your agency’s website to announce your interest and availability to provide anger management to after school programs.
• Go to google and type in “opportunities for contracting” to provide anger management for jails and prisons.
• Co-sponsor a 40 hour Anger Management Facilitator Certification training in your city.
  

Finally, there are funds available from the U.S. Department of Justice to provide anger management in Youth Programs.

George Anderson, BCD, LCSW, CAMF
Anderson & Anderson, A.P.C.
Trusted Name in Anger Management
http://www.andersonservices.com
http://www.aaamp.org
http://www.anger-management-resources.org