Wellpinit Boys and Girls Club SMART Moves Early Prevention Program

The Justice Department's grant-making components have created a streamlined approach for federally recognized Tribes, Tribal consortia, Alaska Native villages and corporations, as well as authorized tribal designees to apply for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 funding opportunities. The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) serves as a single solicitation for existing tribal government-specific grant programs administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The CTAS solicitation is designed to assist tribes with addressing crime and public safety issues in a comprehensive manner. The CTAS grant-application process was inspired by and developed after consultation with tribal leaders, including sessions at the Justice Department's Tribal Nations Listening Session in 2009, and has been updated based on continued tribal consultations and listening sessions. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides awards under CTAS Purpose Area 9--Tribal Youth Program (TYP) to federally recognized tribes to develop and implement programs that support and enhance Tribal efforts to prevent and control juvenile delinquency and strengthen juvenile justice systems for American Indian/Alaska Native youth.

The Spokane Tribe of Indians in partnership with the Wellpinit Boys & Girls Club (the Club) will implement the SMART Moves (Skills Mastery & Resistance Training) initiative which will serve at least 30 Tribal children and youth ages 6-17, and provide increased out-of-school youth development programming, along with crucial increased positive adult mentoring opportunities. By implementing this program, the Club will provide a variety of need and interest-based youth development activities that will attract and retain the growing population of at-risk youth within the Wellpinit community.

The goals of the project include: supporting academic achievement, deterring school truancy and dropout, and preventing substance abuse. These programs will provide youth with a strong foundation of skills and knowledge that will continue to increase as they complete the various levels of curriculum and expand their out-of-school-time productivity. As these youth continue to participate and progress towards reaching their full potential as productive, responsible and caring members of their community, they will also serve as positive peer mentors to new or younger members of their tribe. Community partners such as the Tribal court systems, schools and counseling services will be incorporated into delinquency prevention strategies. Community events will also promote the importance of cultural heritage by engaging youth, family and tribal organizations.

Through required collection of data, the Club will track outcomes such as attendance, program participation, youth perceptions on Club safety, their attachment to education and the learning process and their affinity towards or away from at-risk behaviors which help demonstrate program impact in a consistent and meaningful way. (CA/NCF)