Boatbuilding and On-Water Education Programs

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.

Rocking the Boat uses boats to help young people challenged by severe economic, educational, and social disadvantage, develop into empowered and responsible adults. Four levels of programming activities serve more than 2,500 youth and community members each year from the severely underserved Hunts Point neighborhood in the South Bronx: (1) Out-of-School (aka Primary Level) Boatbuilding and On-Water Programs--boatbuilding students build a traditional wooden boat from scratch, while on-water students practice maritime skills and perform environmental restoration and monitoring work on the Bronx River; (2) Boatbuilding and Environmental Job Skills Programs--experienced students from the primary level after-school program are given the opportunity to further advance their skills and prepare, more generally, for future professional and academic pursuits; (3) On-Water Group Programs--a range of environmental and teambuilding programs for students, teachers, professionals, and the general public; and (4)Community Rowing--a free rowing program for the general public. Rocking the Boat's ultimate goal is to help high school age students create bright futures despite severe economic, educational, and social disadvantage through building self confidence, developing leadership and teamwork skills, developing social skills, improving academic skills, and critical thinking. Rocking the Boat evaluates its success using concrete indicators, including recruitment, attendance, and retention rates, numbers of youth and community members served, number of boats built, and the number and progress of environmental restoration projects implemented. In addition, Rocking the Boat assesses participants' progress through a series of evaluations and surveys. NCA/NCF