2023 Multistate Mentoring Programs Initiative (US)

Deadline: 30-May-23

The Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention is pleased to announce a call for applications to promote civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community.

OJJDP’s guiding philosophy is to enhance the welfare of America’s youth and broaden their opportunities for a better future. To bring these goals to fruition, OJJDP is leading efforts to transform the juvenile justice system into one that will Treat Children as Children; Serve Children at Home, With Their Families, in their Communities; and Open Up Opportunities for System-Involved Youth. OJJDP encourages all proposed applications that work with youth to highlight how the proposed program aligns with these priorities.

OJJDP envisions a juvenile justice system centered on the strengths, needs, and voices of youth and families. Young people and family members with lived experience are vital resources for understanding and reaching persons involved or at risk of involvement with youth-serving systems. OJJDP asks stakeholders to join us in sustainably integrating bold, transformative youth and family partnership strategies into their daily work. OJJDP believes in achieving positive outcomes for youth, families, and communities through meaningful engagement and active partnerships, ensuring they play a central role in collaboratively developing solutions.

Applicants must describe how their proposed project/program will integrate and sustain meaningful youth and family partnerships into their project plan and budget. Depending on the nature of an applicant’s proposed project, youth and family partnership could consist of one or more of the following:

• Individual-level partnership in case planning and direct service delivery (before, during, and after contact with youth-serving systems).
• Agency-level partnership (e.g., in policy, practice, and program development, implementation, and evaluation; staffing; advisory bodies; budget development).
• System-level partnership (e.g., in strategic planning activities, system improvement initiatives, advocacy strategies, reform efforts).

Goals: The program’s goal is to improve outcomes (such as improved academic performance and reduced school dropout rates) for at-risk and high-risk youth, and reduce negative outcomes (including juvenile delinquency, substance misuse, and gang participation) through youth mentoring.

Objectives

• An applicant should address each objective listed in the Goals, Objectives OJJDP has identified the following specific program objectives:
  • Increase or expand reach to the number of at-risk or high-risk youth receiving mentoring services.
  • Increase or maintain the number of screened and well-trained mentors, with an emphasis on ensuring the mentors selected reflect the youth they serve.
  • Develop and implement program design enhancements that align with research and evidence on effective mentoring approaches.

Categories

• The following provides additional guidance for each of the funding categories:
  • Category 1: Mentoring Organizations (1 state)
    • For Category 1, the maximum amount of funding applicants can apply for is $1,000,000.
    • The expectation is that applicants will use the funding to expand their existing mentoring services to an additional state or an additional jurisdiction within the state where they are already providing mentoring services.
  • Category 2: Mentoring Organizations (2 to 10 states)
    • For Category 2, the minimum amount of funding applicants can apply for is $1,000,000.
    • However, OJJDP is interested in providing more robust support (up to $4,000,000) for those applicants who can demonstrate their program has the “broadest reach” across their affiliates.
  • Category 3: Mentoring Organizations (11 to 44 states)
    • For Category 3, the minimum amount of funding applicants can apply for is $2,000,000.
    • However, OJJDP is interested in providing more robust support (up to $4,000,000) for those applicants who can demonstrate their program has the “broadest reach” across their affiliates. See the description for guidance on how to demonstrate “broadest reach.”

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $25,000,000
• Award Ceiling: $4,000,000.
• Period of Performance Duration (Months) 36.

Eligibility Criteria

• Category 1: Mentoring Organizations (1 state)
  • Eligible entities are those mentoring organizations that have been in existence for at least 3 years and are currently delivering a structured, standalone mentoring program (i.e., “program x”) in one state. Applicants must submit a separate attachment labeled Program Model Overview to demonstrate the existence of this standalone mentoring program.
  • As part of the funded program, the primary applicant must either propose to expand the existing mentoring program to one additional state OR one additional jurisdiction within the state where they are already providing mentoring services.
  • The primary applicant must be the headquarters office of the mentoring organization. The primary applicant may deliver services through affiliate or partner subawards; however, the proposed subawardees must implement the same mentoring (i.e., “program x”) or established curriculum as the primary applicant.
• Category 2: Mentoring Organizations (2 to 10 states)
  • Eligible entities are those mentoring organizations that have been in existence for at least 3 years and are currently delivering a structured, standalone mentoring program (i.e., “program x”) in 2 to 10 states. Applicants must submit a separate attachment labeled Program Model Overview to demonstrate the existence of this standalone mentoring program
  • The primary applicant must be the headquarters office of the mentoring organization. The primary applicant may deliver services through affiliate or partner subawards; however, the proposed subawardees must implement the same mentoring program (i.e., “program x”) or established curriculum as the primary applicant.
  • For the purposes of this category, a primary applicant that forms a partnership with one or more organizations that are delivering different mentoring program models for the purposes of meeting the multistate requirement is not eligible to apply.
• Category 3: Mentoring Organizations (11 to 44 states)
  • Eligible entities are those mentoring organizations that have been in existence for at least 3 years and are currently delivering a structured, standalone mentoring program (i.e., “program x”) in 11 to 44 states. Applicants must submit a separate attachment labeled Program Model Overview to demonstrate the existence of this standalone mentoring program.
  • The primary applicant must be the headquarters office of the mentoring organization. The primary applicant may deliver services through affiliate or partner subawards; however, the proposed subawardees must implement the same mentoring program (i.e., “program x”) or established curriculum as the primary applicant.
  • For the purposes of this category, a primary applicant that forms a partnership with one or more organizations that are delivering different mentoring program models for the purposes of meeting the multistate requirement is not eligible to apply.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.