Preventing Delinquency through Entrepreneurial, Environmental and Ethical Leadership After-School Programming

The OJJDP FY 09 Earmarks Programs further the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Explanatory Statement Regarding H.R. 1105 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009), 155 Cong. Rec. H1653 (daily ed. Feb. 23, 2009) (statement by Rep. Obey, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of the House).

The Lower Eastside Girls Club program intends to implement an intensive after-school, weekend and summer program for 50 at-risk youth ages 10-18. Youth will be recruited from Lower East Side public schools that experience a high percentage of delinquency behaviors. Through a series of skills building workshops, mentorships, internships and professional experiences, the proposed OJJDP program will address the needs and inequalities of a low income youth population of girls, needs which have historically been compounded by a significant lack of services available to girls and young women living on the Lower East Side in New York City. By offering participating youth the opportunity to 'get off the streets' and take part in academic and life support activities (middle school) and job training and experience (high school) for over 500 hours during the program year, we expect to achieve two concrete goals for the program: 1) Increase the percentage of at-risk youth who successfully complete their current academic grade relative to New York City public school progression, and 2) increase the percentage of at-risk youth who receive career preparation and 'on the job' training relative to average employment rates for New York City teens. NCA/NCF