Investing in youth has a measurable economic payoff

Paul Anton, a good student and shooting guard out of Minneapolis Washburn High in 1966, turned his sharp eye to the study of mathematics and economics at the University of Minnesota.

He spent 30 years at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank and U.S. Bancorp and as a consulting economist for a firm that did a lot of work for financial institutions.

In his latest gig, Anton is applying the cost-benefit and return-on-investment analysis of the business analyst to examining social programs -- and the money taxpayers can save when kids are ready for kindergarten, when youth intervention programs keep teens out of crime, and when drug courts get offenders clean and into work-release programs for less than $40,000-a-year stays in prison.

"When I was a consulting economist, the thing that turned me on was not necessarily how can I help someone who has a lot of money make more," said Anton, chief economist since 2005 at the research arm of St. Paul's Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. "This job is my chance to analyze what can most economically change people's lives."

Today, Anton and the Wilder Foundation -- established a century ago to support the education, housing, family self-sufficiency, mental health and elderly needs of the east metro's neediest -- will host Wilder's first annual conference to explore how nonprofits and government can use analysis to measure the benefits of their programs.

"We don't have to fly blind," Anton said. "We can analyze if programs work and if they are worth it. We can help policymakers set priorities."

A crowd of more than 180 from the worlds of nonprofits, government, education and philanthropy is expected at the one-day conference, which will include presentations by national luminaries in the field:

• Steven Aos, associate director of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, which has lawmakers in that state buying into more youth-intervention programs and fewer prisons.

• Christopher Ray of the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas, who will demonstrate the use of return-on-investment analysis in workforce programs.

Last year, Anton and Judy Temple of the University of Minnesota caught legislators' attention with a study showing that taxpayers can expect future savings of $2.75 to $5 for every dollar invested in effective mentoring and youth-intervention programs such as those offered by Bolder Options, PPL and Kinship. At-risk kids with a caring adult in their lives are far less likely to drop out of high school, get pregnant or commit crimes, according to the study.

"We want to raise the understanding that these techniques can be applied broadly and the benefits to society can be quantified," Anton said.

More information and the conference presentations will be available later this week at www.wilder.org.

Beginning July 23, WomenVenture will offer its eight-part business planning series, "Planning to Succeed," from 6 to 9 p.m. at Northway Community Trust, 1501 W. Broadway.

"Planning to Succeed" classes cover the basics of launching a successful business, including planning, marketing, sales, pricing, record keeping, cash management and legal information. WomenVenture also is offering business consulting services to north Minneapolis entrepreneurs by appointment at the U.S. Bank branch office at 1030 W. Broadway.

A free orientation to WomenVenture's north Minneapolis business services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the West Broadway office of U.S. Bank. Registration for the orientation classes and business consulting appointments is required.

Call 651-646-3808 or go to www.womenventure.org.