OJJDP created a national effort to enhance the development of mentoring programs for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, juvenile reentry, and foster care. This initiative promotes collaboration among community organizations and agencies committed to supporting mentoring services for system-involved youth. Its objective is to identify and support the development of new and effective mentoring programs and determine how to expand these models for system involved youth. This initiative includes the technical assistance team, an evaluation team, and four innovative programs: (1) The Aftercare Academy, CA; (2) Chicago Economic Mentoring Program, IL; (3) Mentor Match, VA, and (4) Mentor Portland, OR. As the technical assistance and training program for mentoring system-involved youth (MSIY), our goal is to increase awareness around MSIY, emphasize the importance of research, and disseminate information on the development of best practices in order to help these vulnerable youth. Our extensive technical assistance (TA) for four mentoring organizations includes monthly customized TA, trainings, and appropriate materials. As part of this objective, we develop products and services for national use.
Director: Marisa Jones
Duration: 2006–2009
Website: http://www.mentoringsiyouth.org/
Funders: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Partner: Aftercare for Indiana through Mentoring