Lifeline Mentoring Program for At-Risk High School Youth

OJJDP seeks applicants to establish mentoring programs that offer a mixture of core services and engage youth with activities that enable them to practice healthy behaviors within a positive pro-social peer group. The target population should be youth at risk of gang activity, delinquency, and youth violence. This program should develop and strengthen protective factors against gang involvement and other problem behaviors. It can be based in a school or community setting. Successful applicants will include organizations, local school districts, and communities dealing with demonstrated gang problems who are a part of a communitywide strategy to combat gang activity. This initiative is authorized under the Department of Justice Apporpriations Act, 2009, Pub.L. 111-8.

The Sacramento City Unified School District will initiate the Lifeline Mentoring program with a focus on small group mentoring that will result in caring relationships between at-risk youth and adults. The overarching goals for Lifeline Mentoring are to prevent gang violence, reduce delinquent behavior in identified youth and to build their developmental assets through a highly effective mentoring program. The program will serve 120 9th-11th grade students over three years. Students will be recruited based on data from their 8th grade year, in addition to current pre-delinquent behaviors (pre-fighting, classroom disruption or defiance, attendance problems, bullying, substance use, gang pre-validation and academic underperformance). Program components will include structured small group mentoring that combines evidence-based programming with participation in a positive pro-social peer group, supportive case management services, a summer career academy, and summer youth employment. Improved short term outcomes for youth will be measured by the number served and retained, participation records, and pre/post assessments on gang activity. Also, the number of mentors recruited, trained, and retained will increase as measured by trainings and surveys. Improved intermediate outcomes will be assessed using measures of behavior and resiliency. Case management objectives will be developed and evaluated by a Social Worker. CA/NCF