National Mentoring Program
The 4-H National Mentoring Program provides funding to land-grant universities for replicating three evidence-based Extension 4-H programs serving at-risk populations.
Goals
- Increasing youth social competency
- Improving family relationships
- Increasing academic success.
Sub-recipient grants will be awarded within all 50 states. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs supports this project by Award No. 2010-JU-FX-0016. The performance period is October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012.
Model Programs
Successful applicants implement, monitor, and assess mentoring strategies. Because structured support is critical for mentoring relationships, best practices necessitate training for the mentor, volunteer screening, matching based in part on youth and volunteer preferences, oversight of the relationship, and data collection to track the relationship and positive outcomes arising from it. Factors critical to implementing effective mentoring programs include significant contact between mentor and mentee and a relationship in which the mentor is perceived as a friend rather than simply an authority figure.
Outputs and Outcomes
Results are tracked using performance measures including
- increase in mentors
- mentor retention
- numbers of youth served
- percentage of youth completing the program
- percentage of youth exhibiting the desired program outcomes.
The universities are engaged throughout the program to provide initial training and ongoing technical assistance.
Target Sites
Grantees replicate a program at two sites (sites can replicate different programs), reaching a minimum of 60 youth per site for a total of 120 youth per LGU. Sites must target at-risk or high-risk youth populations ages 8 through 17 years. OJJDP uses the term “at-risk” to denote youth exposed to high levels of risk in their families, homes, communities, and social environments to such a degree that could lead to educational failure, dropping out of school, or involvement in juvenile delinquency, including gang-related offenses. The term “high-risk” is used to designate youth with present or past involvement with the juvenile justice system.
Targeted sites must be located in communities with a Community Distress Index (CDI) of 7 or higher. CDI is available through the SMART system. The CDI summarizes the general socio-economic conditions of an area using US Census data, and combines three weighed census tract measures: the percent of persons living below the federal poverty line, the percent of persons receiving public assistance, and the percent of families with minor children which are female-headed.