NH Youth Mentoring will provide wraparound services and mentoring to support the reintegration of sentenced juvenile offenders ages 13-17 returning to Hillsborough, Merrimack and Rockingham Counties.

The Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199) authorizes grants to government agencies and nonprofit groups to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims' support, and other services to help adult and juvenile ex-offenders make a successful transition from incarceration to the community. In support of this goal, OJJDP will provide grants to support mentoring and other transitional services essential to reintegrating juvenile offenders into their communities. The grants will be used to mentor juvenile offenders during confinement, through transition back to the community, and post-release; to provide transitional services to assist them in their reintegration into the community; and to support training in offender and victims issues. Targeted youth must be younger than 18 years old. The initiative's legislative authority is found in the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117).

This partnership between Child and Family Services of New Hampshire and Goodwill Industries of Northern New England will provide wraparound services by CFS and mentoring using Goodwill's GoodGuides model, to support the reintegration of sentenced juvenile offenders ages 13 through 17, who are returning to the community following commitment to Sununu Youth Services Center. The goal is to support the successful transition of juvenile offenders into their communities by building on identified strengths, overcoming challenges, and providing a significant relationship with a mentor. Objectives are as follows: establish a mentoring program; improve outcomes for youth through mentoring plus wraparound services, and enhance organizational capacity to address the needs of youth reentering their communities. Activities include the following: creation of aftercare plans and mentoring that begin prior to release; educational/vocational-focused mentoring; wraparound services to address identified needs, such as, family life, behavior, and substance abuse concerns.
Progress will be measured by tracking numbers served, using assessment tools, and tracking school attendance/performance. The focus is on youth being discharged to their homes or other community-based settings in Hillsborough, Merrimack, and Rockingham counties. CA/NCF