Wayne County Juvenile Mentoring Program

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.

Utilizing the 4-H program model of volunteers and the Elements of Effective Practice, the Wayne County Department of Children and Family Services and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) established a county-wide mentoring program to serve adjudicated, probation, and at risk youth throughout Wayne County, Michigan. Wayne County is seeking to expand one to one and group mentoring services for a minimum of 100 at-risk youth (ages 10-17) annually during out-of-school hours. The Wayne County Juvenile Mentoring Program partnership will be expanded to provide weekly mental health, lifeskills, tutoring, career development, substance abuse education and family support services to meet the identified needs of the program participants. Wayne County will continue its commitment to providing early intervention and diversion programming to youth in an effort to reduce the number of young people who unnecessarily enter the juvenile justice system. The Wayne County Juvenile Mentoring Program will address three primary outcomes to reduce the delinquency rate of targeted youth participants; improve self esteem for targeted youth participants; and improve the academic performance of targeted youth participants. The program will engage an additional referred 20 youth in mentoring services; 40 adults will be identified, selected, trained and matched to serve as mentors with youth in the community-based small group setting; 80% of youth will develop a caring relationship with their mentor through program activities; 100% of youth awaiting a mentor will be involved in group mentoring and supportive activities; 50% of the mentor/mentee relationships will continue beyond 12 months; 70% of the youth will demonstrate increased knowledge/awareness of the negative effects of drugs and alcohol; and 40% of the youth will demonstrate a reduction in school truancy and in-school delinquency. NCA/NCF