Justice innovation INC. Doing business as center for justice innovation (center) aims to improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system through the brownsville mentorship, b[me],…

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded a $500,000 Project Grant to Justice Innovation Inc., doing business as the Center for Justice Innovation, to implement the Brownsville Mentorship (B[ME]) program in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The goal of the 3-year program is to improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system by increasing access to evidence-based mentoring services, training a diverse pool of credible messengers as mentors, and developing programmatic enhancements aligned with effective mentoring approaches. Key activities include staffing five mentors, incorporating restorative justice practices, and actively engaging families through a working group, community events, and group sessions. The funding supports the Center's efforts to empower youth, improve academic performance, and reduce recidivism, substance use, and gang participation.

Justice innovation INC. Doing business as center for justice innovation (center) aims to improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system through the brownsville mentorship, b[me], program in brownsville, brooklyn. To achieve this goal, the center will implement a holistic transformative mentoring model that staffs five credible messengers to 1) increase access to mentoring services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system; 2) increase the number of screened and well-trained mentors, with an emphasis on ensuring the mentors selected reflect the youth they serve; and 3) develop and implement program design enhancements that align with research and evidence on effective mentoring approaches. B[me] will incorporate an array of evidence-based mentoring approaches included in ojjdps elements of effective practice for mentoring; such as strategies for recruitment, mentor screening, training, matching, and monitoring and support; and mentoring enhancements; such as being peer-based and peer led, utilizing restorative justice practices, and participation in interest-based skill development, motivational interviewing, and support system involvement. B[me] aims to increase access to mentoring services for youth in the juvenile justice system to improve academic performance and reduce school drop-out rates, recidivism, substance use, and gang participation. B[me] aims to empower youth to become successful, resilient, and disconnect from the juvenile justice system and is built on the strategies of transformative mentorship, healing-centered interventions, project-based learning, and community and civic engagement. The center recognizes the importance of including family support in the mentoring process and will actively include them through their involvement in a working group, engagement in family nights, community events, soliciting feedback throughout the program, and group family sessions with the youths mentor.