Neighborhood First Intensive Outreach/ Lfeskills Competency Program

The Neighborhood First Program (NFP) Outreach and Lifeskills Competency Program seeks to prevent and reduce delinquent behaviors in at-risk youth residing in the Lower Bucks County known as the Freedom One and Bristol Borough areas. Youth from these neighborhoods have a high incidence of truancy, exposure to gang activities and related violence. The Outreach seeks to identify, engage and motivate these youth to utilize prevention and intervention strategies. The Lifeskills/Competency Program seeks to expand knowledge in the areas (vocational, educational, career, community service) which will help the youth to succeed in their community. The program will serve 100 youth within a two-year period. Primary service activities will consist of weekly outreach contacts with parents, schools, probation and other community referral systems. Lifeskills/Competency's classes will be held three times weekly with transportation provided. Successful completion is defined as completion of a three-month cycle.Progress will be measured by the number of participants, their completion rate, truancy rate, and number of contacts with juvenile authorities. NFP intensive outreach programs seek to reduce truancy rates by 20%; to increase participant awareness and utilization of community resources by 40%; and pre- and post- testing will show a 50% increase in participants' knowledge and promote positive behavior and attitude changes. NCA/NCF