Linkages Mentoring Program and Youth Aid Panel

The OJJDP FY 10 Earmarks Program furthers the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Conference Report to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117), H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-366 at 702-714.

The Linkages Mentoring and Youth Aid Panel programs seek to increase parent involvement and identify positive mentors for the Snyder County at-risk youth population to address the county's highest truancy rates. The Linkages Mentoring program will match youth with a university student. The adult mentors will offer social and recreational competencies as well as a role-model involved in higher education and potentially, from another cultural background. The youth will then be matched with elementary-aged children to be mentors in building the children academic, social, and recreational competencies. The Youth Aid Panel program offers an alternative way of handling juvenile offenses by a special designed community panel of the youth and parents. The programs will be offered after school five days a week for 40 weeks during the school year and the 10 weeks of the summer. The projects seek to serve 1,200 youth over a 3-year period. Progress will be measured by the number of participants attending the classes and the number of juveniles successfully completing the Youth Aid Panel contract. The project will track the delinquency of the students who completed the program. Qualitative data will also be gathered through structured interviews with program participants. A feedback survey will be provided to teachers, guidance counselors and parents of the participant. NCA/NCF