NPAL Mentoring for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Substance Misuse (MYAOS)

The National Association of Police Athletic/Activities Leagues, Inc. (NPAL) will work with 10 of its PAL Chapter site locations to directly address the needs of 525 youth affected by the opioid and methamphetamine crises.

NPAL seeks to improve outcomes through mentoring for youth impacted by opioids and illicit drug addiction (including other’s drug use), to provide a diversionary option for youth who have been adjudicated (such as those in group homes, coming out of the court system, and others), and to serve as a provider of drug prevention education and programming. To achieve this, NPAL will (1) work with select PAL Chapter sites to expand the capacity of existing mentoring programs by providing high-quality and prevention services to youth that reduces drug abuse, delinquency, and other problem behaviors and (2) implement innovative approaches to mentoring youth affected by opioids and drug addiction through structured small group mentoring activities, including intentional substance abuse prevention curriculum implementation and individual case management for youth participants.

Subrecipient activities will include mentor and mentee recruitment, mentor training and support, development of an MOU with a local treatment facility or agency to provide training and referral support for youth and family members, and family and youth partnership activities.

Subrecipient selection will be informed by demonstration of satisfactory grant performance, high program quality and capacity, and satisfactory financial controls and internal processes. Once selected, NPAL Chapters will perform screenings aligned with the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (EEMP) benchmark standards to protect youth mentees while developing the most impactful mentor/mentee match. NPAL will administer surveys to capture data on the strength and efficacy of mentoring connections, family engagement, and reductions in risky behavior. No portion of this funding will be utilized for research.