Amachi Expansion for Military and Civilian Families (AEMCF) Project

OJJDP's Demonstration Programs Continuation Grants program was established to provide grants and cooperative agreements to organizations that OJJDP has selected for funds in prior years. This program will be authorized by an Act appropriating funds for the Department of Justice.

The Amachi Expansion for Military and Civilian Families (AEMCF) Project will improve academic and behavioral outcomes for youth at-risk of academic failure, truancy, or adjudication. AEMCF programs will enhance and expand mentoring services to underserved populations, specifically targeting children from military families and those impacted by incarceration. Over 6,550 children in existing mentoring relationships will benefit from the proposed enhancements to five Amachi mentoring programs, and an additional 1,125 new matches will be made, impacting a total of 7,675 youth ages 9-18. The AEMCF Project will measure progress through quarterly reports from subrecipients and pre/post youth outcome surveys, tracking changes in academic performance, attendance, attitude, and behavior. Amachi, Inc. will also evaluate effective practices for engaging children from military families, ultimately producing a report that will improve mentoring services for this population across the entire mentoring community.

The AEMCF Project will implement all three enhancement strategies, providing wrap-around and referral services for parents and caregivers, developing a learning portal for mentors with four e-learning modules, curricula for 16 in-person and virtual mentor trainings, and creating an activity manual. In addition, subrecipients will receive intensive training and technical assistance on evidence-based practices in mentoring and innovative strategies to engage hard-to-reach populations.

CA/NCF