Improving the efficiency and expanding the reach of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Juvenile Justice Initiative.

This program supports national mentoring organizations in their efforts to strengthen and/or expand their existing mentoring activities within local affiliates. Mentoring activities include direct one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, or peer mentoring services to at-risk and underserved youth populations. This program is authorized by the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-55, 125 Stat. 552, 617.

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) evidence-based one-to-one mentoring serves youth with the following risk factors: 55% live in poverty, 22% have at least one incarcerated parent/guardian, and 75% live in single-parent households. Preliminary results of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI) have demonstrated that of youth participants who successfully completed the program: 99.3% avoided arrest for a crime/offense/violation, 97.9% were adverse to risky behaviors, and 86.6% perceived they had social support. This proposed three-year JJI expansion is designed to serve 15,600 new at-risk youth, including 400 children of military parent(s), 2,300 tribal youth, and 1,350 juvenile justice involved youth in 100 underserved communities in at least 40 of the 50 states served by BBBS affiliates. Based on prior JJI implementation experience, the third phase will collaborate with national partners to collect real-time arrest data, execute an improved system for technical assistance, and develop evidence-based strategies to target chronic absenteeism in order to further reduce juvenile delinquency, alcohol/drug use, truancy, and other problem behaviors, as measured by the BBBS data collection system.
CA/NCF