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National 4-H Council Receives $6.3 Million for National Youth Mentoring Programs

CHEVY CHASE, MD – (Oct. 13, 2011) – The Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has awarded two grants totaling $6.3 million to National 4-H Council. In support of its national youth mentoring programs, $5.3 million will go toward the OJJDP National Mentoring Program (NMP), and $1 million will support the 4-H Tribal Youth National Mentoring Program. The grants come as a part of the OJJDP’s national effort to strengthen, expand and implement youth mentoring activities nationwide to improve the lives of millions of young Americans.

“This is an exciting and unique opportunity to deliver high-quality positive youth development resources and programs to at-risk populations in communities throughout the nation,” said Donald T. Floyd Jr., National 4-H Council president and CEO.  “Moreover, through the 4-H Tribal Youth National Mentoring Program, land-grant institutions will have the opportunity to  adapt an evidence-based 4-H program that will lead to positive outcomes such as reduced juvenile delinquency and strengthened family relationships.”

The $5.3 million grant will support a second year of the NMP. In 2010, OJJDP awarded National 4-H Council a $5 million grant in support of the 4-H NMP, allowing state 4-H programs to select from three of Cooperative Extension’s successful mentoring programs to implement in their local communities: 4-H Mentoring: Youth & Families with Promise, created by Utah State University; 4-H Tech Wizards, created by Oregon State University; and 4-H  LIFE, created by the University of Missouri.  The primary focus of the second year of NMP funding is to continue the high-quality 4-H mentoring programs started in the first year of the program, and to expand existing and new programs to serve military families and their children.

The $1 million grant will support the 4-H Tribal Youth National Mentoring Program as it  adapts the 4-H Mentoring: Youth and Families with Promise (4-H YFP) program in up to 29 tribal communities, reaching 1,100 Native American youth ages 10 to 17.

Developed by Utah State University Cooperative Extension, 4-H YFP is an evidenced-based program designed to decrease juvenile delinquency, improve social competencies, and strengthen family bonds. 4-H YFP utilizes 4-H club activities, family nights out, and one-on-one or group mentoring sessions to engage children, families and community mentors.

4-H is currently serving more than 60,000 Native American youth - with the majority still living on reservations. Additionally, through the land-grant university network, 4-H delivers programming in partnership with the 33 Tribal Colleges. This unique affiliation and infrastructure draws upon the assets of on-campus activities and programs, college student-mentors, and university faculty and experts in high-quality positive youth development.

4-H Mentoring: Youth and Families with Promise has been replicated in 15 counties throughout Utah and 22 additional sites across the United States including two tribal communities.

About 4-H
4-H is a community of six million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of 4-H National Headquarters at the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within USDA. 4-H programs are implemented by 111 land-grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System through their 3,100 local Extension offices in every county across the country.  Learn more about 4-H at www.4-H.org.

Contact:
Victoria Houghton, vhoughton@4-h.org, 301-961-2915