Ingenium—originally School-to-Career Progressions—was started in 2000 by Cascade Engineering as a derivative of its successful Welfare-to-Career program. Both programs were the vision of Fred Keller, founder and chairman of Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Welfare-to-Career program hires welfare recipients and guides them from welfare into a meaningful career. It has guided some 800 individuals off welfare. Its success has been recognized and replicated across the nation.

For twenty years, Ingenium’s coaching model has been guiding kids to stay in school, graduate, and go on to college or to a job that has opportunity for advancement. Originally, School-to-Career Progressions operated success centers on school campuses in West Michigan and in Kent County’s urban communities that targeted low-income families.

In 2007, the character skills program added a Diversion Program for first-time young offenders in the Kent County justice system. According to a Kent County Family Division judge, nearly 90 percent of the first roughly 500 students who successfully completed this program were not referred again to the court by police in the following year.

In 2018, Ingenium launched a Family Success Center to provide services for families with a confirmed case of child abuse and/or neglect. This program is in partnership with Michigan’s Kent County Department of Health and Human Services and the Family Division of Kent County 17th Circuit Court.

Our Strong Character skills resources were developed from the experiences of individuals who had overcome adversity. The Strong Character model is aligned with evidence-based leading practices and the science of healthy youth development.

The current goal is to provide Strong Character skills resources to families and training resources for parents, teachers, and other adults who work with kids as well as school districts, counseling agencies, and youth- and family-serving organizations.