Overcoming Communication Barriers

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 Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) proposes to implement the Overcoming Communication Barriers program to provide multi-systemic, wraparound support services to 30 students at-risk for dropping out of AIDB or West Alabama Local Education Agencies. The goal of the program is to expand the current initiative by piloting this mentoring component. Overcoming Communication Barriers will offer one-to-one, school-based mentoring for students ages 8-18, who are deaf, blind and/or multi-disabled in Alabama's 2nd, 3rd and 7th Congressional Districts with MENTOR/A National Mentoring Partnership and its affiliate Mentor Alabama. Proposed objectives include decreasing participant school incidence reports; decreasing participant referrals to social services agencies; decreasing participant suspensions, expulsions and dropouts and increasing participants' academic performance. Proposed activities include training 15-30 adult mentors with sensory and/or multiple disabilities; facilitating mentee socialization; expanding statewide and national partnerships; sustaining and expanding current initiatives and sharing information. Proposed outcomes includes collecting participant demographics; increasing mentee academic performance; reducing mentee school infractions; providing extensive pre- and post evaluative data; building community linkages; conducting case studies/stakeholder reports, and developing a sustainability plan.
NCA/NCF