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Adult/Youth Relationships Pilot Project: Initial Implementation Report

NCJ Number
162033
Author(s)
J L Greim
Date Published
1995
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This initial implementation report on the Adult/Youth Relationships Pilot Project recounts the early experience of the two pilot programs that are testing the feasibility of operating large-scale mentoring programs within public institutions.
Abstract
The two participating sites (St. Louis and Atlanta) are serving adjudicated youth, aged 12 to 17, who are in the care of the State juvenile justice agencies. As of May 31, 1992, both sites had completed the first 8 months of the 20-month project. The project's program model requires each site to be operated by a youth-serving public agency and assigns to each the goal of making one-to-one matches between 100 adult volunteers and 100 at-risk youths. The matches are to last for 1 year, and matched pairs of adults and youth are to meet for several hours each week. Mentor support groups and group activities for mentors and youth are to be held periodically to provide ongoing training for the mentors and program support for the matched pairs. After 8 months, both sites have recruited more than 50 adult volunteers through a combination of strategies that include media coverage of the mentoring program and program presentations to groups of potential volunteers. This report concludes that with concerted effort, modest numbers of adults can be recruited to mentor adjudicated juveniles; however, attracting adults aged 55 and over is more difficult. This report considers promising program strategies and outlines some unanswered questions. 14 references and 5 tables