New Jersey Regional Youth Development Project

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.

Make a Splash is a national child-focused water safety initiative created by the USA Swimming Foundation in 2007. Make a Splash educates parents through a national awareness campaign, saves lives by joining forces with grassroots learn-to-swim programs, and reaches thousands of children through wide-reaching in-school materials. Aside from the drowning risks associated with the inability to swim, participation in school and community based programs is linked to decreased gang and violent activity. The proposed grant project will ultimately achieve two major results---a decrease in deaths associated with drowning and a decrease in violent youth behavior through participation in community youth swimming. These funds will allow for the expansion of Make a Splash to underserved and at-risk areas of New Jersey: Asbury Park, Bayonne, Jersey City, Newark, and Plainfield. Swimming classes will be offered to low income, minority children in the after-school and summer class setting. All five Make a Splash locations will implement a nationally-recognized curriculum, taught by trained, certified instructors. Data will be collected on participation and reported to the Department of Justice/OJJDP. All grant deliverables will be managed by the USA Swimming Foundation.

NCA/NCF