Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2008, $623,808)
The proposed Clark County At-Risk Youth Development program will identify the students in greatest need and evaluate how current programs are serving those in need; establish a regional collaborative to increase the number of youth served and the effectiveness of after school programming; and develop and test a model for mentoring and tutoring middle and high school students in the City of Springfield. The overall project targets at-risk youth school age (grades K-12) in Clark County. A pilot project will focus on effective strategies for mentoring middle and high school youth in the City of Springfield. To maximize the impact of area programs for at-risk youth, Wittenberg University will bring together Clark County after school providers and develop a coordinated, evidence-based approach for addressing the needs of at-risk youth. The specific goals of the program are to examine how current programs are serving the needs of at-risk youth in Clark County; establish a regional collaborative to increase the number of at-risk youth served and the effectiveness of after school programs in Clark County; develop an understanding of effective practices for serving middle and high school at-risk youth; and increase the effectiveness of youth mentoring programs for middle and high school students. The proposed project has three primary components: 1) a needs assessment to ascertain how current programs are meeting the needs of at-risk youth in Clark County through both objective measures and input from youth service providers; 2) development of a regional collaborative to increase the number of at-risk youth served and the effectiveness of after school programs in Clark County; and 3) the exploration of the issues impacting the positive development of at-risk youth and pilot testing of mentoring strategies for increasing high school graduation rates and the number of students pursuing post-secondary education. The outcome will be a network of after school providers working together to address the needs of at-risk youth; more highly trained tutors and mentors at local sites; and increased numbers of at-risk youth served. NCA/NCF