We All Winn Second Chance Mentoring

The Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199) authorizes grants to government agencies and nonprofit groups to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims support, and other services to help adult and juvenile ex-offenders make a successful transition from incarceration to the community. In support of the goals of the Second Chance Act, OJJDP will provide grants to support mentoring and other transitional services essential to reintegrating juvenile offenders into the community. The grants will be used for mentoring juvenile offenders during confinement, through transition back to the community, and post-release; transitional services to assist the reintegration of youth offenders into the community; and training in offender and victims issues.

The legislative authority for this initiative can be found in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 and the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2009, Pub. L. 111-8. The Kennedy Center of Louisiana (TKCL), located in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, proposes the expansion of the We All Winn Mentoring program to include second chance youth in Shreveport. The program is a continuation of a multi-faceted collaboration between TKCL and local partners. The main goal is to reduce recidivism among released juvenile. Additionally, the program proposes to lower the academic achievement gap between minority or low-income youth and their white or more affluent peers, increase job readiness and employability, and reduce risky behaviors in a target population of low-income youth, ages 13-18, who are at risk of academic failure, truancy, risky behaviors, and juvenile delinquency. The program components include mentoring relationships with adult role models, academic assistance, career exploration, parental engagement, and psychological counseling. We All Winn will serve 50 youth per year who reside in Shreveport. The outcomes are to increase academic achievement/graduation rates/GED completion; reduce truancy, disciplinary referrals, and suspensions; strengthen bonds to family and community; reduce gang involvement and the potential for violence. Progress will be measured through academics; school and program attendance records; pre/post surveys of youth, parents, mentors, and other staff. CA/NCF