Frequently Asked Questions

Over 2.7 million children nationwide currently have at least one parent incarcerated, while it is estimated that over 10 million people have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives. The resultant trauma, disruption, shame and stigma associated with parental incarceration combines to create adverse childhood experiences. 

The U.S. Dream Academy was founded by Grammy-nominated gospel singer Wintley Phipps through his work with Prison Fellowship Ministries. His work with incarcerated parents identified a struggling and overlooked population: children of incarcerated parents. 

We now have two options for mentoring: 

1) Virtual Mentoring that can occur wherever you are in the world as you will meet weekly with a students through our online, secure virtual mentoring platform. 

2)If you are near one of our Dream Academy Learning Centers, we would invite you to consider mentoring in person.

You can learn more about mentoring under "Get Involved" tab at the top of the screen.

At this time we are not expanding our physical locations except within the cities where we already operate.  If you are located in one of our Dream Cities please Contact Us  to learn more.  

If you are not in our Dream Cities, you can become a part of our Virtual Village. Your community group, church or organization can join our safe, secure online mentoring platform.  If you are interested in joining our Virtual Village please contact our office. 

The U.S. Dream Academy receives its funding from a number of sources, both public and private. The U.S. Dream Academy receives funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, the states of Maryland and Texas.   In addition, we have corporate partners listed on our website and other support organizations.

A significant impact has also been made by the generous gifts of men and women all across the United States and the world who give what they can to support this work. 

Visit our Donate page to learn about different options on how you can make a donation.

The overall goal of the U.S. Dream Academy program is the development of the whole child. Unlike after-school programs that focus solely on academics or recreation, the U.S. Dream Academy program addresses all areas of our children's lives through our three pillars: Character Building, Skill Building, and Dream Building.

In addition, each of our students are matched with a mentor - either in a one to one match or a small group.  Using a research based relationship framework, we train our mentors to build caring relationships with young people where we challenge growth, share power and expand opportunities.