Youth Opportunities Mentoring Program

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act'). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention made awards to support local organizations that develop, implement, or expand local mentoring programs leading to measurable, positive outcomes for at-risk youth. This program furthers the Department's mission by enhancing the capacity of local mentoring programs to develop and implement mentoring strategies to reduce juvenile delinquency and prevent violence.

The Youth Opportunities Program (YOP) will provide community-based mentoring for students at risk for dropping out of the Lawrence, Massachusetts public school system. Lawrence has the highest school dropout rate in the state, and consequently a high rate of juvenile delinquency and crime. The YOP will partner with the Lawrence Public Schools to recruit students who have specific risk factors and recruit them for participation in the program. Mentors (over age 21) will be recruited from the community at-large to serve as role models and positively influence student's commitment to school and pro-social activities. Over the four year grant period, 150 one-on-one mentor-mentee matches will be made. Each match will meet for a minimum of eight hours every month in a community setting. Program staff will provide monthly supervision and facilitate monthly group activities that focus on vocational training and career exploration. The long term goal is to reduce the school dropout rate and related juvenile delinquency. Short term goals and objectives are to improve students' attitudes and behaviors related to academic achievement. Progress toward goals and objectives will be measured through service volume data and participant surveys.

This grant award will retain 0.55 FTE jobs and create 1.5 FTE jobs, thus the project achieves the Recovery Act objective of promoting economic recovery by preserving or creating jobs. CA/NCF