Dreamcatcher initiative will provide 300 youth with mentors over the three years of the grant

The Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded a $500,000 Project Grant under the Juvenile Mentoring Program (CFDA 16.726) to the Dreamcatcher Initiative Inc. in Fitchburg, MA. The grant will fund the Dreamcatcher Initiative's mentoring programs, which aim to provide 300 at-risk and high-risk youth with one-on-one and group mentoring services over the 3-year grant period. The goal is to improve academic performance, reduce school dropout rates, and decrease negative outcomes such as continued juvenile justice system involvement, substance use, and gang participation among the youth served. The mentoring programs will focus on increasing access to mentoring, recruiting and training screened mentors, and implementing evidence-based mentoring approaches.

Youth participants will engage with mentors for 12 months following participation in DCI's core programming. Dreamcatcher initiatives programs include group and one-on-one mentoring opportunities to empower youth and advance their success. The overall goals of the program are to improve outcomes such as improved academic performance and reduced school dropout rates for youth involved in the juvenile justice system and to reduce negative outcomes including continued involvement in the juvenile justice system, substance use, and gang participation through mentoring. Dreamcatcher mentoring programs aims to achieve the following objectives: increase access to mentoring services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system; increase or maintain the number of screened and well-trained mentors, with an emphasis on ensuring the mentors selected reflect the youth they serve, and develop and implement program design enhancements that align with research and evidence on effective mentoring approaches.