Leadership Foundations Mentoring 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.

The Leadership Foundation's Mentoring Initiative will strengthen and expand mentoring programs for 7,790 youth under age 17 in 58 sites across 44 states. The program's goal is to reduce juvenile delinquency by increasing protections and lowering risks for America's underserved and at-risk youth through mentoring relationships. These goals will be achieved through the following objectives and activities: 1) expand mentoring services for 7,790 children in 58 sites, including seven tribal communities through one-to-one, group, and peer mentoring relationships; 2) improve youth outcomes in areas of educational achievement, job readiness, and social skills by using Evidence-Based Practices (EBP); 3) lower risk behaviors that contribute to delinquency through the use of EBP; and 4) strengthen 58 mentoring programs through collaborative community approaches resulting in long-term effectiveness and sustainability. Intermediate outcomes are that less than 10% of at-risk and underserved youth will offend, less than 30% of adjudicated youth will re-offend, and 65% will exhibit change in targeted behaviors. Leadership Foundation will utilize systems and tools created by Wilder Research to track performance measures through their communication and evaluation platform, MemberNet. CA/NCF