Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Initiative - Youth Partners CAN (Create A New Beginning)

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 to transition successfully from incarceration to the community. OJJDP will provide grants to support mentoring and other transitional services essential to reintegrating juvenile offenders into their communities. Grants will be used to mentor juvenile offenders during secure 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. This program is authorized by the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, Pub. L. 112-110.

The Youth Partners CAN (Create A New Beginning) project will provide mentors and
transitional services that will support the successful and safe transition ofjuvenile offenders from correctional facilities to their communities. The overall goal of the project is to match youth in confmement with a caring adult mentor that will help facilitate their successful reintegration
into the community, thereby reducing recidivism, enhance safety, and enhance community capacity. The Youth Partner CAN project will match 200 juveniles over a three-year period, with an adult mentors and address the problem of academic achievement. The program will use evidenced-based assessment tools and evidence-based programs for community-based mentoring. Project activities include: one-to-one matches, structured activities, case management, community service projects, and linkages with community networks. The short term
and intermediate outcomes for the program include: sustaining matches for a period of
twelve months; juveniles will not offend or reoffend; an increase in overall grade point average or GED completion; improved school attendance; strengthened relationships and bonding with school, family, and community; increase social competence; and increased community capacity. Progress toward achieving goals will be measured by: pre/post-test, survey questionnaires, interviews, observation, academic records, program records, enrollment logs, and database management system. CA/NCF