CCUSA Trauma-informed Youth Mentoring Program

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), the membership association for local Catholic Charities agencies, will provide evidence-based, trauma-informed mentoring services for 3 years to youth through a collaboration of 7 Catholic Charities agencies that will implement this program in 7 states. The purpose of this program is to prevent youth delinquency, truancy, bullying and cyberbullying, drug use, gang involvement, teenage pregnancy, and other high-risk activities by fostering resilience through the development of healthy attachment, self-regulation, and competency in the mentees. Catholic Charities USA will serve as the national intermediary for this network, acting as fiscal agent and providing program monitoring, training, reporting, and technical assistance to its subgrantees. The program focuses on promoting attachment, self-regulation, and competency, along with cultural humility strategies to support the development of young people. These efforts are shown to be effective through the sustained connections of youth with caring adults during the mentoring process. The Catholic Charities USA Mentoring Network, adhering to the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, recruits and trains adult mentors to provide at least 4 or more hours a month of one-on-one mentoring to at-risk youth for at least 12 months. The program integrates e-mentoring strategies and case management, involving mentees and caregivers at all stages and emphasizing the inclusion of youth and family voices. Parent Voice is the hallmark of the two-generational approach, which builds family well-being by intentionally and simultaneously working with children and the adults in their lives together. While funds will not be used to conduct research, the goals of the program will be measured by pre- and post-service developmental assets profile surveys taken by participating youth. The performance measures for the program, including the number of mentors recruited and trained, the number of youth matched, and the effect of the mentoring on recurring justice involvement and academic progress, will be tracked.