Mentoring for Success - Foster Youth: SFUSD Student Mentor Program Expansion

One of the major challenges that foster care children often face in their personal development is the lack of the involvement of a consistent, caring adult in their lives. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) will assist communities in establishing or expanding mentoring and support services for youth in foster care and foster care youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The legislative authority for this initiative can be found in the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2009, Pub. L. 111-8.

San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), San Francisco School Volunteers, and five public and private agencies propose 'Mentoring for Success ' Foster Care Youth.' The purpose of this program is to expand the SFUSD Student Mentor Program to reach 135 foster care youth in 27 schools. San Francisco has the highest foster care rate of any urban county in California, with 12.1 children per 1,000 in foster care. The program will serve at-risk foster care youth ages 6-18, and youth in foster care who are currently involved in juvenile justice. Project activities will include recruiting and training volunteer mentors; revising mentor trainings and manuals to reflect best practices in mentoring foster care youth; providing weekly one on one mentoring; and closely supporting student-mentor matches. The program is based on a research-validated model and is aligned with San Francisco Foster Youth Services Steering Committee priorities. Program goals are to expand the program to serve 135 foster care youth, integrate best practices in mentoring for foster care youth, and help foster care youth succeed in school and prevent delinquency. Short-term and intermediate outcomes for participating students will include increased attendance, increased school connectedness, and reduced juvenile offenses. CA/NCF