National Mentoring Replication

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) National Mentoring Programs initiative is authorized by the statutes appropriating funds for fiscal year 2009. OJJDP made awards to applicants that proposed the enhancement or expansion of initiatives that will assist in the development and maturity of community programs to provide mentoring services to high-risk populations that are underserved due to location, shortage of mentors, special physical or mental challenges of the targeted population, or other analogous situations identified by the community in need of mentoring services.'

The Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation proposes to replicate and evaluate two best practice youth mentoring models 'Youth Safe Haven-Police Ministations and Quantum Opportunities over 36 months. The Foundation will subcontract to grassroots 501(c)(3) partners, which will work with local schools and police. There will be 810 program youth and 810 comparison/control youth. The program goals are: (1) prevent and reduce juvenile crime, drug abuse and other problem behaviors; (2) improve school performance and completion; and (3) improve local 501(c)(3) program capacity to more cost-effectively mentor, invest in youth and deliver quality services.

The Foundation proposes 12 Safe Haven-Ministation replications and 7 Quantum replications. For Safe Haven-Ministation youth aged 6-13, will receive one-on-one, group, and other mentoring by paid adult civilians, specially trained police, near-peers and volunteers in attempts to improve school performance and reduce problem behaviors. For Quantum Opportunities, high school youth will be adult mentored one-on-one and in groups, use on-line computer learning to catch up, acquire life skills and develop leadership/community service skills. CA/NCF