Aiding At-Risk Youths and Their Families Through a Mentoring Program I. TOPIC Ottawa Youth Project II. LOCATION Ottawa, Kansas III. SUBJECT Aiding At-Risk Youths and Their Families Through a Mentoring Program IV. SUMMARY Violent and criminal acts committed by young people are increasingly common in U.S. cities. The Ottawa Youth Project is a mentoring project of the East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corporation (ECKAN) that links youths and their families with businesses and other organizations in their community. The organizations help participating youths and their families directly, and they work together to identify community-level opportunities that will make a more positive living working environment. A project director and four student interns support the efforts of these mentors, and a community-based steering committee provides policy direction. The project director solicits mentor organizations and assists them by providing training, technical assistance, and trouble shooting support. The director serves as a single referral point to assist families in acquiring needed services and assistance. Four student interns from Ottawa University provide positive feedback and support to youth, offer tutoring assistance, provide informal counseling, and lead activities around Ottawa. A steering committee has been created for the project that includes representation from youths and their families, mentors, Ottawa University, the Ottawa Police Department, and three local funding sources. V. SUCCESSFUL PRACTICE Developed a program to assist at-risk youths and their families through a cooperative effort with the community, including the youths and their families and mentoring organizations that provide support and opportunities for the participants. VI. CONTACT Richard Jackson, Executive Director Jeff Welton, Project Director East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corporation (A Community Action Agency) 203 West 3rd, P.O. Box 100 Ottawa, Kansas 66067 913-242-7450 FAX: 913-242-0305 VII. CASE STUDY The Problem: Violent and other criminal acts committed by young people are increasingly common in Ottawa, Kansas. Many factors have been identified that propagate these acts: violence has become acceptable behavior; violence is a by-product of poverty; low wage scales and expensive housing cause enduring problems for many American families; firearms are readily available; children are offered "violent idols"; and many children are being raised in "custodial" settings. The Approach Adopted: The East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corporation (ECKAN) established the Ottawa Youth Project, a mentoring program that links youths and their families with community organizations. These businesses, churches, and other community organizations help participating youths and their families directly, and they work together to identify community-level opportunities making for a more positive living and working environment. A project director and four student interns support the efforts of these mentors, and a community-based steering committee provides policy direction. How They Implemented The Approach: The total first year budget for the program came from a Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and local contributions. By the third year, the program will be totally locally funded. A project director solicits mentor organization participation and assists them by providing training, technical assistance, and trouble shooting support. The director serves as a single referral point to assist families in acquiring needed services and assistance. Four student interns from Ottawa University work with the project director and participating youth. They provide positive feedback and support to youth, offer tutoring assistance, provide informal counseling, and lead activities around Ottawa. A minimum of 20 mentor organizations are paired with 20 families. Mentors help the youth and their families by providing positive role models, offering job search assistance, providing summer and part-time employment, offering a place to "check-in" before and after school, offering a place to go or call in a daytime emergency, providing resources, and making expressions of concern at holiday and other special times. An eight- to 10-person steering committee was created for the project that includes representation from youths and their families, mentors, Ottawa University, the Ottawa Police Department, and three local funding sources (the school district, City of Ottawa, and ECKAN). ECKAN is the fiscal agent for the project funds, but in terms of project direction and oversight, plays a role similar to that of the steering committee partners. Results: Currently, there are 22 youths matched with 17 volunteers. Twelve volunteers are currently in the process of being matched, and 32 youths have been referred to the program and are currently unmatched. There are four principle indicators of success for youth and their families participating in the project. Measurement in this regard involves comparisons made of similar target groups in communities that do not have a comparable project in place, and the objective is to show a statistically significant improvement in violent and other criminal acts and in other areas of concern. VIII. KEY WORDS At-Risk Youth Community Action Agency Crime Mentor Parents Truancy Vandalism Violence Youth ref: eckan.doc