Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2010, $300,000)
Through the Byrne Congressionally Mandated Awards program, the Office of Justice Programs helps communities improve the capacity of local justice systems and supports training and technical assistance programs and other efforts that strategically target local needs. This program is authorized to organizations identified in the Conference Report to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010.
The NIA (Nurturing Independence and Aspirations) program provides encouragement and support for educational achievement, preventing homelessness, developing positive life skills and job readiness competencies in young women ages 14 to 24 who are transitioning out of foster care. NIA offers a support network of staff and community resources that will ensure each young woman will achieve the independence and stability necessary for a productive, successful, and crime free adult life. The goal is to minimize the likelihood of repeated contacts with the justice system by providing education, career development, parenting, case management, and life and independent living skills training for young women currently in, or aging out of the foster care system. The YWCA administers pre- and post-tests for each program component to evaluate knowledge gained, skills built or attitudes changed. Through the use of the ETO online system, the YWCA manages the data collected through these assessments. The Nurturing Parenting program uses two pre/post tests: one to measure knowledge gained and one to measure attitude change. Likewise, the Botvin LifeSkills curriculum has a pre/post test to assess learning.
NCA/NCF