Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Project

The Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199) authorizes grants to government agencies and nonprofit groups to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims support, and other services to help adult and juvenile ex-offenders make a successful transition from incarceration to the community. In support of the goals of the Second Chance Act, OJJDP will provide grants to support mentoring and other transitional services essential to reintegrating juvenile offenders into the community. The grants will be used for mentoring juvenile offenders during confinement, through transition back to the community, and post-release; transitional services to assist the reintegration of youth offenders into the community; and training in offender and victims issues. The legislative authority for this initiative can be found in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 and the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2009, Pub. L. 111-8.

Heartland Human Care Service Opportunity Center is seeking support for its Second Chance Mentoring Program (SCMP). This program is designed to reduce recidivism among youth returning to the community after being confined in the juvenile detention facility. Program objectives for SCMP include: establishing a new mentoring program for at-risk, under-served youth; enhancing the local organizational capacity through the recruitment and training of mentors; and improved outcomes for at-risk youth by strengthening collaborative community approaches. SCMP provides a combination of intensive mentoring (of at least one year) with a caring adult and a variety of pro-social engagement opportunities, which include social competence training, engagement in community service opportunities, family counseling, family activities, and youth employment. SCMP will target residents of the Berrien County Juvenile Center between 14 and 17 years of age. SCMP will accept youth from throughout Berrien County but will prioritize services to African American youth from Benton Harbor, Michigan. SCMP will serve an estimated 30 youth in year one, 45 in year two and 60 in year three. SCMP's success will be measured by its ability to: reduce recidivism; foster positive behavior changes among its participants; and, retain both program participants and mentors. CA/NCF