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Statement of the Problem: In concise terminology, describe thejuvenilejustice problem the program <br />!ntends to address. <br /> <br /> Every community in the nation is faced with the rising problems concern!ng <br />youth. Many of today's youth spend a great deal of time, outside of school, <br />~lone. Much of this time is spent in unstructured and unsupervised <br />activities that can lead them into risky behaviors such as criminal and early <br />sexual activity. <br /> By matching these youth with carefully screened and trained adult mentors <br />the Champions of Youth program hopes to reduce the behaviors that lead to <br />youth delinquency. <br /> <br />Program Goal: State the effect that the program is designed to have on solving the problem described <br />above. <br /> <br />The program matches at-risk youth, ages 7-16, with carefully screened and <br />trained adult mentors. Through developing friendships with the youth, <br />volunteers impact positively on every aspect of the youth's social, emotional, <br />intellectual and physical lives. Examples of this interaction includes: <br />teaching ways to channel energy constructively, tutoring'to improve school <br />grades, offering encouragement to stay in school, teaching social skills and <br />providing preparation for and help in finding a job. All of these increase <br />self-esteem and alter youth delinquency patterns. <br /> <br />Target Population: Describe the target population and the steps that the program has taken to insure that <br />the target population is served. <br /> <br />The program's target population are youth referred by the juvenile justice <br />system and classified as delinquent or undisciplined and/or "at-risk". 50% of <br />our referrals come from local juvenile court counselors or law enforcement. <br />The other 50% of our referrals are received from Department of Social Services <br />Mental Health and the school system. <br /> <br />Measurable Objective(s): State in measurable terms the intended effect of the program on specific <br />undisciplined and/or delinquent behaviors. At a minimum, state anticipated reductions in court referrals, <br />runaway behavior, disruptive behavior at school, anticipated improved school attendance and academic <br />achievement. <br /> <br />1. The program will see a 75% improvement in school performance and increased <br /> class attendance amoung youth who successfully complete the program. <br />2. The progam will see a 80% reduction in new court referrals amoung youth who <br /> successfully complete the program. <br />3. The program will see a 80% decrease in runaways in youth that successfully <br /> complete the program. <br />4.The program will see a 85% reduction is school suspensions amoung youth who <br /> successfully complete the program. <br /> <br />Information Maintained for Effectiveness Measurement: List the data elements and records the <br />program will maintain to document its effectiveness. <br /> <br />-The program director monitors the mentor and youth through progress notes <br /> that are kept in the mentor and youth's files. Each youth and parent <br /> are monitored bimonthly and the mentor is monitored biweekly <br />-School counselor contacts are made on a regular basis.-The program completes client tracking forms for each youth matched. The form <br /> is sent to the Office of Juvenile Justice for admission and termination <br /> information compiling. Once compiled, court referrals, runaways, and <br /> school referral information on each youth is reported to the program <br /> quarterly. <br /> <br />4 <br /> <br /> <br />