Empowering Underserved Youth and Families through Expanded Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Mentoring

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) will serve thousands of additional young people across the United States with FY 2022 funding. Building new and supporting existing mentoring relationships will aim to significantly reduce the likelihood of juvenile delinquency in all forms, bolster self-confidence, and prepare young people to be contributing citizens to society through a tailored supportive adult relationship. These mentorship matches will focus strengthening AI/AN mentoring relationships on and off tribal lands, buffering risk factors exhibited by youth, such as an absence of trusting relationships, experienced racial injustice, exposure to violence or drug use, by nurturing each child’s deepest potential through the guidance of a trained and compassionate adult. Youth will engage in 12 months of evidence-based mentoring specifically designed to have the highest efficacy for their unique circumstances. Some of these targeted populations include youth who are currently or have been involved in the juvenile justice system; those in communities with high rates of parental incarceration, community violence, drug markets, gang concentration, and failing schools; American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth; those in rural or persistent poverty communities; youth who have an incarcerated parent or a parent deployed in the military; youth with disabilities; LGBTQ youth; and those impacted by illicit substance use. BBBSA will administer subawards to affiliate agencies in at least 41 states based upon the results of a competitive application process. Selection will be determined based on record of strong grant performance, high program quality and capacity, and satisfactory financial controls and internal processes. Once selected, BBBS agencies will perform screening that exceeds the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (EEMP) benchmark standards to protect mentees while developing the most impactful mentoring match. To provide robust performance measurement, BBBSA will collect semi-annual data from affiliate organizations to track the number of mentors/mentees recruited and matched, mentor/mentee attrition rates, mentor training completion and retention, mentee behavior changes, mentee victimization, and general demographic data. BBBSA will administer various standardized surveys to mentors and mentees to capture critical outcome data including the strength and efficacy of the mentoring match, school and parental connectedness, educational expectations, academic performance, social competence, and reductions in risky behavior. No portion of the funding will be utilized for research.