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SPECIAL POPULATIONS
This comprehensive citywide program matches an array of ěhigh riskî youth under the age of 18 (court involved/ adjudicated youth, delinquent youth, and siblings of referred youth) with specially screened and trained volunteers. The police, family and criminal courts, probation, the department of juvenile justice, and social service personnel help refer participating youth. BBBS NYC provides a full range of services to these youngsters and their families. The program has yielded a high degree of success, with an overall recidivism rate for male participants of 23 percent, versus a 46 percent re-arrest rate for non-participants. To date, only five percent of female participants have been re-arrested, compared to a 27 percent rate nationally.
This program matches youth between the ages of 7and 17, who have a parent currently serving time in jail. They are referred to the program from community agencies such as Legal Aid and courthouse social workers that work with families where a parent has been sentenced. Most of the youth participating in the program have not had run-ins with the law, but rather look to their “Big” for support, guidance and direction. Youngsters are matched in a one-to-one relationship with an adult mentor who meets with them regularly. It adds a prevention component to our Juvenile Justice Mentoring Program.
Adolescents are a uniquely vulnerable part of the foster care population. Many will not return home to their parents or be adopted. Rather, they will age out of the foster care system without jobs, stable homes, savings, or people they can count on. The majority of these teenagers lack consistency in their lives and are looking for someone to have fun with while sharing their life experiences and help support them in striving for a positive future. The Building Futures Mentoring Program has two mentoring options: the Community-Based Mentoring Program and the Workplace Mentoring Program. The adolescents are placed in either model based upon his or her individual needs, interests and background. The Community Based Mentoring Program involves a one-to-one relationship with an adult mentor in which the matches meet at mutually convenient times. The Workplace Mentoring Program is an educational, vocational and cultural activity program that matches volunteers from a corporation with the adolescents. |
