The Northern Forest Explorers Outdoor 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.

The Northern Forest Explorers Outdoor Program will engage rural youth ages 10-14 living in communities along the route of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in week-long outdoor educational experiences that support active and healthy lifestyles, cultivate leadership and teamwork skills, and foster a functional understanding of the natural environment. The purpose of the program is to address the system problems of disconnection and disengagement from both community and the outdoors that place rural youth at risk of unproductive behaviors. The program represents a system solution by creating a sustainable community-based alternative that enriches, engages, and re-skills the participants to seek and succeed in productive community roles. The overall goal is to create a sustainable, collaborative program model that delivers positive results for individual participants and communities as a whole in both the short and long terms. To measure progress, the number of participants served, the number of staff trained, and the evidence of lasting changes in behavior will be measured. The program will also provide key deliverables, including program curriculum, a training manual, a collaborative program model, and the data collection and analysis plan. NCA/NCF