Jemez School Reconnection Program

Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. launched a Department-wide initiative on public safety and victim services in Tribal communities. As part of this effort, Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership conducted a series of meetings across the country addressing violent crime in Tribal communities. As a result, DOJ developed the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, combining DOJ's existing Tribal government-specific competitive solicitations into one, and thus requiring only one application from each Tribe or Tribal consortium. This approach provides federally-recognized Tribes and Tribal consortia the opportunity to develop a comprehensive approach to public safety and victimization issues. This award was selected under Purpose Area #10, Develop new demonstration projects on violence prevention and rehabilitation (OJJDP - Tribal Youth Program - TYP), CFDA #16.731, authorized under the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2010, Division B, Title II, Public Law 111-117, 123 Stat. 3122, 3134.

The Pueblo of Jemez will implement the School Reconnection Program to address the needs of youth at-risk of school failure due to such factors as chronic truancy, poor academic performance, individual stress, family stress, bullying, and peer pressure. The Pueblo of Jemez will first establish an early detection and referral system to identify these youth in tribal schools and off-reservation public schools. The coordinated efforts of the schools, tribal courts, law enforcement, social services, and tribal elders will be mobilized to increase the use of discipline and corrective actions that are grounded in the cultural beliefs, values, and practices of the Tribe. Behavioral health specialists will provide education programs on substance abuse prevention. Tribal leadership will engage youth in community reclamation service to help restore cultural centers in the community. The project will also implement three culturally sensitive mentoring curriculum: Good Road of Life for males, Cultivating Female Leadership for girls, and mixed gender N-O-T program. This initiative will improve the response to problems and issues faced students and their families by enhancing the use of indigenous justice principles that involve immediate and extended family members to solve problems. The program will help to reduce the flow of youth into the juvenile justice and other institutions because youth will be making healthy choices to stay in school, stay away from drugs, alcohol, drugs and tobacco. A contracted consultant (TBD) will collect program data and define cultural performance measures to use for measuring program performance, reporting and evaluation. CA/NCF