U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Promises and Pitfalls of Mentoring as a Juvenile Justice Strategy

NCJ Number
178964
Journal
Social Justice Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Dated: Winter 1997 Pages: 212-246
Author(s)
Delores D. Jones-Brown; Zelma Weston Henriques
Date Published
1997
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This article argues that mentor programs are a viable strategy for delinquency prevention and reduction, even for youth who have been adjudicated for serious offenses.
Abstract
The article outlines the sociopolitical context in which community self-help began to develop as a necessary means of delinquency prevention and reduction along with more punitive means of attempting to achieve the same goals. It also distinguishes mentor programs from the (more intrusive) government approaches of boot camps and waiver. Then it describes results from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Federal Juvenile Mentoring Programs as showing the promise of mentoring as an effective means of delinquency prevention and reduction. Finally, the article identifies critical areas that must be effectively addressed to design and implement successful mentor programs to serve minority youth. The article cautions that effective mentor programs can only be achieved through careful design and implementation that takes into account the special needs and circumstances of the population to be served. Notes, references