'Kids of Promise' Mentoring Partnership

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 program 'Kids of Promise' is a collaborative partnership of five mentoring programs and seven additional partners from diverse community and faith-based sectors in the rural counties of Allamakee, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek in Northeast Iowa. The partnership was created to address the needs of at-risk youth in rural communities with few accessible resources to support them in reaching their potential and succeeding in life. This will be accomplished by increasing the opportunities for 190 rural at-risk youth ages 5 ' 17 to be matched with a trained and caring adult role model using new and enhanced mentoring strategies for individuals and groups. These strategies will be structured to improve academic performance and increase the mentee's ability to avoid substances and other at-risk behavior. Targeted mentors will be recruited, trained, and supported to increase longevity of service by mentoring program staff. Expected short-term outcomes for mentees include increased success in the classroom setting and an increase in ability to avoid at-risk behavior. Intermediate outcomes include a foundation of positive life skills, increased academic success, connections to area resources for the hardest-to-reach youth, and increased sense of self-confidence. Progress of outcomes will be measured by pre/post testing, mentee surveys, and school/parent/mentor surveys or reports.

This award will retain three jobs; thus the project achieves the Recovery Act objective of promoting economic recovery by preserving or creating jobs. CF/NCF