OJJDP FY 09 National Youth Mentoring Training and Technical Assistance Initiative

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) supports wide-ranging mentoring initiatives aimed at reducing juvenile delinquency, gang involvement, academic failure, victimization, and school dropout rates. In 1992, Part G of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act was enacted to fund mentoring efforts that reduce factors placing youth at risk for delinquency. Under this solicitation, OJJDP intends to expand its national leadership role in the youth mentoring arena by advancing the capacity of State and local jurisdictions and Indian tribal governments to develop, implement, expand, evaluate, and sustain youth mentoring efforts that incorporate research-based findings of best practices and principles. In addition, OJJDP anticipates that training and technical assistance under this Initiative will provide support to mentoring programs and initiatives funded by OJJDP, including the Recovery Act National Mentoring Program and the Recovery Act Local Youth Mentoring Initiative. The legislative authority for this initiative can be found in the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2009, Pub. L. 111-8.