Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199) grants for Mentoring and Other Transitional Services to Juvenile Offenders

Second Chance Act (P. L. 110-199) grants for Mentoring and Other Transitional Services to Juvenile Offenders is sponsored by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

These grants support mentoring and other transitional services essential to reintegrating juvenile offenders into their communities, including during secure confinement, through transition back to the community, and post-release.

# PERFORMANCE REPORT July –December 2020 This report was produced by Booz Allen Hamilton under contract number DJO-BJA-16-S-0272, awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice.

The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The accuracy of the data in this document is dependent on the precision of grantee data entry. All information included reflects self-reported data provided by OJJDP grantees.

Data during the July-December 2020 activity period was impacted by the Covid-19 global pandemic. Grantees and service providers experienced a disruption to services, which raised obstacles for service delivery and data collection. The following data reflects services adapted to and provided during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is important to note that accurate data rely on correct data tracking and entry by the grantees and those agencies reporting to grantees, as such the data and analysis findings provided reflect the information as reported.

The Office of Justice Programs makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the data presented, nor does it make any inferences as to the effectiveness of grant funded programs and the associated outcomes. OJJDP envisions a nation where our children are free from crime and violence. If they come into contact with the justice system, the contact should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them.

OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to youth delinquency and victimization. The Office helps states, localities, and tribes develop effective and equitable juvenile justice systems that create safer communities and empower youth to lead productive lives.

Publication date: Fall 2022 2Second C h ance A c t J uvenile M entoring P erformance R eport: J uly–December 2020 The Second Chance Act (SCA) (P. L. 110-199) authorizes grants to government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide services to support adults and juveniles as they transition from incarceration or detention back into the community.

The SCA Juvenile Mentoring grant program, administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), combines mentoring with other transitional services for medium- to high-risk offenders. This includes young fathers and mothers, and Latino/a youth confined of-home placement facility prior to their twenty-fifth birthday.

The SCA program supports the target population’s successful return to their families and communities from detention, out-of-home placement, or incarceration. For young mothers and fathers, mentoring and reentry services reduce recidivism by teaching effective parenting skills and promoting positive parent/child engagement.

For Latino/a youth, reentry services include one-to-one, group, or peer mentoring; case management; civic and family engagement; and life skills training. The SCA Strengthening Families and Children of Incarcerated Parents program is also authorized under P. L.

110-199 and responds to the needs of incarcerated parents who have children younger than age 18. This program supports activities that foster positive family engagement between incarcerated parents and their children within detention and correctional facilities.

OJJDP requires grantees to report on performance measures to demonstrate whether the SCA Juvenile Mentoring program achieved its goals and to improve program and policy decisions. This report presents the SCA Juvenile Mentoring program activities occurring between July and December 2020 and highlights grantee results achieved with OJJDP funding > 1U. S.

Government Publishing Office. Public Law 110-199-Apr. 9, 2008.

https://www. gpo. gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-110publ199/pdf/PLAW-110publ199.

pdf > 2Confined is defined as held in a secure facility, such as a juvenile detention center, juvenile correctional facility, staff-secure facility, jail, or prison of a local or state > juvenile or adult correctional agency. > 3Award recipients may continue to implement a reentry plan for individuals beyond their twenty-fifth birthday if deemed therapeutically necessary or on a case-by-case > basis with approval from OJJDP.

> 4Short term includes youth tracked for the behavior of interest who received services during the activity period or youth who exited the program during the activity period. > 5Long term includes youth tracked for the behavior o f interest who exited the program 6 to 12 months before the start of the activity period.

3Second C h ance A c t J uvenile M entoring P erformance R eport: J uly–December 2020 ## EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS OJJDP encourages grantees to use evidence-based programs. Evidence-based programs include models shown, through rigorous evaluation and replication, to be effective at preventing or reducing juvenile delinquency or related risk factors.

For Latino/a youth, grantees integrate evidence-based and/or culturally specific mentoring principles into their mentoring services to respond to the unique needs of Latino/a youth. During the July– December 2020 activity period, 100 percent of SCA Juvenile Mentoring awards used one or more evidence-based programs or practices ( n = 11).

During the July–December 2020 activity period, SCA Juvenile Mentoring grantees served a total of 185 youth, of which 69 percent ( n = 127) were served using an evidence-based program. Grantees served 48 recipients for the first time. > 6Funding amounts represent the total funding for the life of the award and does not represent actual grantee spending during the activity period.

> 7This percentage includes compliant grantees with operational and non-operational statuses. > 8Operational grantees expended grant funds toward program activities. > 9The total funding for the activity period was $3,700,510.

> 10 Youth served includes young fathers, young mothers, and Latino/a youth. > Figure 2. Youth Matched with a Mentor > Figure 1.

Award Details ## YOUTH MATCHED WITH A MENTOR Grantees recruited 12 new mentors during the July–December 2020 activity period (figure 2). The training program saw a 100 percent completion rate by the mentors who began it. Grantees successfully matched 86 percent of enrolled youth with a mentor during the activity period.

Additionally, grantees achieved high mentor retention, with 80 percent of mentors remaining active with the program at the end of the activity period. ## OVERVIEW OF AWARD INFORMATION During the July–December 2020 activity period, OJJDP’s SCA Juvenile Mentoring program funded 19 awards (and 2 subawards), all representing nonprofit community-based organizations.

A total of 11 awards were operational (or provided mentoring and supportive services during the activity period) and received funds that totaled over $3. 7 million in OJJDP funding (figure 1). 64Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Performance Report: July–December 2020 The SCA Juvenile Mentoring program promotes positive outcomes, such as improved academic performance and increased positive parenting behaviors.

To measure the impact of SCA Juvenile Mentoring programs on the lives of enrolled youth, grantees report on behavior changes in several targeted areas (e.g., prosocial behavior, family relationships, and employment status).

During the July–December 2020 activity period, grantees observed the largest short-term improvement among youth receiving services for community involvement, substance use, and high school completion with 100 percent of youth demonstrating a positive change (figure 3). In the short term, 79 percent of youth in the program showed improvement in targeted behavior.

SCA Juvenile Mentoring programs create and define the specific requirements for youth to successfully complete their program. Youth who fulfilled all program obligations and requirements successfully exited, while those who failed to complete the requirements, such as those who were expelled or who left voluntarily, are considered to have unsuccessfully exited the program.

Of the 40 youth who exited the SCA Juvenile Mentoring program during the activity period, grantees reported 35 percent of youth ( n = 14) successfully exited the program (figure 4). ## YOUTH EXITING SUCCESSFULLY > 11 Others include antisocial, family relationships, social competence, school attendance, GED, perception of social support, occupational skills, and employment status.

> 12 Other sentences could include probation or electronic monitoring. > Figure 3. Short-term Outcome Percentages for the Specified Target Behaviors > Figure 4.

Percent of Youth Successfully Exiting To track program success at reducing recidivism, grantees monitor youth for adjudication during and following a youth’s involvement in the grantee’s program. An adjudication includes youth committed to a juvenile residential facility, sentenced to adult prison, or who received some other sentence.

Grantees tracked 48 program youth for adjudication for a new delinquent offense during the July–December 2020 activity period. During this time frame, 2 percent of program youth reoffended in the short term (figure 5). In the long term, 10 percent of program youth tracked during the activity period reoffended (figure 6).

5Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Performance Report: July–December 2020 The SCA Strengthening Families and Children of Incarcerated Parents program is also authorized under P. L. 1101-199 and has similar goals, objectives, and per-formance measures to SCA Juvenile Mentoring: During the July–December 2020 activity period, 17 awards were active (and there were 13 subawards).

Eighty-two percent of awards were compliant with reporting requirements (n=14). Of the 14 awards compliant awards, 12 were operational. Of the 13 subawards, 6 were opera-tional.

OJJDP funds totaled $8,399,330 for compliant and operational awards. Data for the following performance measures were reported: A total of 833 individuals were served during the activity period (385 parents, 254 youth, and 194 additional family members).

Of the parents served, 84 percent (n = 274/327) were served with an evidence-based program or practice; of the youth served, 87 percent (n = 166/189) were served with an evidence-based program or practice. Overall, 81 percent of parents (n = 119/147) and 81 percent of youth (n = 35/43) successfully completed program requirements.

In the short term, overall, 77 percent of parents exhibited a change in positive parenting behaviors (n = 263/343) and 70 percent of program youth (n = 247/353) showed improvement in targeted behaviors (antisocial behavior, family relationships, social competence, perception of social support, and prosocial behavior). National Institute of Justice. Mentoring.

https://www. crimesolutions. gov/TopicDetails.

aspx? ID=290. OJJDP’s SCA Juvenile Mentoring program strengthens and expands the delivery of high-quality mentoring opportunities for youth placed in the juvenile justice system.

Mentoring can strengthen at-risk youth’s protective factors by improving academic performance, social, and job skills; supporting behavioral and personal development; and reducing substance use and other risky behaviors. The results reported by OJJDP’s SCA Juvenile Mentoring grantees for this activity period reinforces previous research on the positive impact that mentoring has on at-risk youth.

During the July–December 2020 activity period, 11 operational SCA Juvenile Mentoring awards served a total of 185 youth with the support of OJJDP funding. Grantees recruited 12 new mentors of which 100 percent successfully completed training. Eighty percent of mentors remained with the program at the end of the activity period.

Overall, 79 percent of program youth showed behavioral improvement, including improvements in community involvement, substance use, and high school completion. Performance measure data indicates that support provided by grant programs aided in reducing recidivism. Ninety-eight percent of youth did not offend in the short term.

These results demonstrate the positive impact of SCA Juvenile Mentoring programs at improving outcomes for at-risk youth returning to the community from out-of-home placement and reducing risk factors associated with further involvement in the justice system. Figure 5. Short-term Recidivism Outcomes Figure 6.

Long-term Recidivism Outcomes