Penobscot Nation Tribal Youth Program

Part of the Indian Country Law Enforcement Initiative, a joint initiative of DOJ and the U.S. Department of the Interior to improve law enforcement and the administration of criminal and juvenile justice in Indian country, OJJDP's Tribal Youth Program (TYP) supports and enhances tribal efforts to prevent and control delinquency and strengthen the juvenile justice system for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth. This program is authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended and the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2009, Pub. L. 111-8.

The goal of this project is to provide prevention services to impact risk factors for delinquency, thereby reducing the incidents of juvenile delinquency among the youth of the Penobscot Nation. The Penobscot Indian Nation will accomplish this goal by reducing risk factors among tribal youth on Indian Island. This program will reduce the following problem behaviors: gang involvement, alcohol/substance abuse, low commitment to school, academic failure, and poor family management. The Penobscot Nation Boys & Girls Club will provide a culturally appropriate after-school program, that will include Street SMART 'Anti-Gang Education', SMART Moves Skills Mastery And Resistance Training, Family Plus and Power Hour. The proposed programs are nationally acclaimed Boys & Girls Club of America initiatives based on two rigorously tested curricula: Life Skills Training (Gilbert Botvin, Ph.D., Cornell University) and Project SMART (William Hansen, Ph.D., University of Southern California). At a minimum the following performance measures will be addressed: number of program youth and/or families served; number of service hours completed by youth/families; percentage of program youth who offend or re-offend; and percentage of program youth and/or families who exhibit change in targeted behaviors (i.e. substance use, anti-social behavior, truancy, gang involvement, etc.). CA/NCF