We’re making progress, and your support keeps us moving forward. Reporters have continued asking about the financial side of preserving the Florida Youth ChalleNGe Academy, so here’s what our proposal and financial addendum show: • Florida juvenile justice residential placements can exceed SIX FIGURES annually per youth depending on placement type. • The proposed FLYCA civilian-state partnership model is projected to operate at a substantially lower annual per-youth cost while serving as a prevention and diversion program. • Our proposal references a modeled 4:1 direct savings ratio compared to high-cost DJJ placement pathways. • National Youth ChalleNGe research cited in the proposal estimates approximately a 7:1 long-term social and economic return on investment for every dollar invested. The long-term savings come from: ✔ Reduced incarceration and juvenile justice costs ✔ Reduced dependency on public assistance systems ✔ Reduced behavioral health and crisis-intervention burdens ✔ Increased workforce participation and tax revenue ✔ Increased lifetime earning potential for graduates The proposal estimates graduates entering the workforce contribute approximately $2,500–$4,000 annually in net tax revenue per individual, while GED completion and workforce certifications may increase lifetime earning potential by more than $400,000 per graduate. Closure itself also comes with major financial consequences: • More than $2 million in recent state infrastructure investments risk becoming stranded sunk costs • Florida would still incur ongoing maintenance and security costs for a vacant campus • Remaining federal Youth ChalleNGe/NGB funding eligibility could be lost The financial addendum projects that preserving FLYCA could reach a conservative fiscal break-even point around Year 5, where avoided justice-system costs, reduced social-service burdens, and workforce contributions begin outweighing the investment. This is why we continue saying: FLYCA is not a financial burden. It is a fiscally conservative prevention investment that changes lives while strengthening Florida’s workforce, economy, and public safety. #SaveFLYCA #ChallengeAccepted