Juvenile Mentoring Program
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.726
- Agency
-
Office of Justice Programs
Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 843 $1,428,222,024 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- Mentoring
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Block Grant
- Cooperative Agreement
- Treasury account
-
- 15-0405-0-1-754
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funds mentoring services for at-risk and high-risk youth through one-on-one, group, peer, and hybrid mentoring approaches, with most recent awards disbursed October 1, 2025.
The program has maintained steady activity over the past five years, awarding 42–47 grants annually through 2024 before dropping to 2 awards in 2025 (a data snapshot effect reflecting incomplete year-end reporting). Since the program's inception in 1995, 843 federal grants have been awarded, obligating $1.43 billion in combined federal dollars. The program supports mentoring for youth populations at risk for delinquency, victimization, juvenile justice involvement, and substance use, as well as youth with family members experiencing substance use disorder. Recent awards reflect heavy emphasis on opioid-affected youth, children of incarcerated parents, justice-involved youth, and rural and underserved communities.
Assistance types are predominantly Project Grants (93%, or 785 awards), with smaller shares of Block Grants (6%, or 49 awards) and Cooperative Agreements (1%, or 9 awards). Funding concentrates heavily in OJJDP's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which accounts for 348 awards and $883.9 million in federal dollars obligated—substantially more than the broader OJJDP fund ($530.5 million across 485 awards). The National Institute of Justice and DOJ proper fund smaller shares (6 and 4 awards respectively).
Recent awards range from $400 thousand to $28 million. Representative funded projects include Big Brothers Big Sisters of America connecting 9,000 youth nationwide to mentors across 85 affiliate agencies ($11 million); Boys & Girls Clubs of America serving 29,514 youth across all 50 states ($28 million); U.S. Soccer Foundation's Soccer for Success expanding to 10 states ($2 million); and specialized programs serving children of incarcerated parents, youth with disabilities, rural youth, and credible-messenger mentoring for justice-involved youth of color.
Two recent solicitations remain open: OJJDP FY 2026 Mentoring for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Other Substance Use (O-OJJDP-2026-172743, due November 16, 2026) and OJJDP FY 2026 Multistate Mentoring Programs (O-OJJDP-2026-172745, due October 29, 2026). Both support one-on-one, group, peer, and hybrid mentoring for at-risk youth. Preapplication coordination and environmental impact statements are required. E.O. 12372 intergovernmental review applies when programs are designed to benefit a particular state.
Objective and description
- Objective
Program goal(s) name: Reduce negative outcomes for at risk youth through mentoring. Program goal(s) description: Improve outcomes for at-risk and high-risk youth, and reduce negative outcomes (including juvenile delinquency, substance use, and gang
- Description
This program supports the implementation and delivery of mentoring services to youth populations that are at risk or high risk for delinquency, victimization, juvenile justice system involvement, or youth who are currently using or dependent on substances, as well as youth at risk of substance use or who have close family members experiencing substance use or dependency. Mentoring services can be one-on-one, group, peer, or a combination of these types
Eligibility
- Beneficiary eligibility
See applicable program announcement for details
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Length and time phasing of assistance vary by project--see applicable program announcement.
How to apply
- Preapplication coordination
Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact statement is required for this listing. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. See program announcement regarding preapplication coordination (if any), environmental impact information, and coverage under E.O. 12372. Generally, E.O. 12372 does not apply to grants for technical assistance, research that is national in scope, or research that is not designated to benefit a particular state
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Award procedure
All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.
- Time to approval or disapproval
The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.
- Renewals
See applicable program announcement.
- Appeals
Applicable rights to appeal are provided in the notice of denial of funding
Grant opportunities
Show all 44
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 843 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boys & Girls Clubs Of America | $466,741,666 | 33% |
| 2 | Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America Corporation | $123,105,793 | 9% |
| 3 | National 4-H Council | $73,219,941 | 5% |
| 4 | National Association Of Police Athletic / Activities Leagues Inc. | $37,244,485 | 3% |
| 5 | SR. Foundation CAL Ripken | $31,764,763 | 2% |
| 6 | Youthbuild Global, Inc. | $24,248,712 | 2% |
| 7 | National Casa Association | $23,026,150 | 2% |
| 8 | Mentor: The National Mentoring Partnership, Incorporated | $22,100,717 | 2% |
| 9 | Youth Collaboratory Inc. | $18,530,322 | 1% |
| 10 | Sea Research Foundation, Inc. | $17,000,000 | 1% |
10 of 263 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | -$3,011,242 |
| FY2025 | -$3,225,981 |
| FY2024 | $90,928,391 |
| FY2023 | $94,569,062 |
| FY2022 | $171,436,730 |
| FY2021 | $79,994,440 |
| FY2020 | $242,098 |
| FY2019 | $82,068,443 |
| FY2018 | $117,823,056 |
| FY2017 | $57,311,526 |
| FY2016 | $51,359,231 |
| FY2015 | $89,181,294 |
| FY2014 | $77,648,413 |
| FY2013 | $75,101,147 |
| FY2012 | $68,228,196 |
| FY2011 | $100,423,839 |
| FY2010 | $99,240,439 |
| FY2009 | $75,376,366 |
| FY2008 | $56,387,426 |
| FY2007 | $8,200,000 |
| FY2006 | $1,899,982 |
| FY2005 | -$329,177 |
| FY2004 | -$676,940 |
| FY2003 | $15,998,831 |
| FY2002 | $14,486,435 |
| FY2001 | $14,316,971 |
Show all 26
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.726?
Assistance Listing 16.726 is Juvenile Mentoring Program, a federal grant program run by Office of Justice Programs (Department of Justice).
What is the CFDA number for Juvenile Mentoring Program?
Its CFDA number is 16.726: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.726 awarded?
843 grant awards under 16.726 have obligated $1,428,222,024 in federal funds to 263 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 16.726?
The recipients obligated the most under Juvenile Mentoring Program are Boys & Girls Clubs Of America ($466,741,666), Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America Corporation ($123,105,793) and National 4-H Council ($73,219,941).
How much did 16.726 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 16.726 obligated -$3,225,981 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.726?
2 listed opportunities under 16.726 are open or forecasted. The latest, OJJDP FY 2026 Mentoring for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Other Substance Use, was posted on October 9, 2026.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
- Every grant award and opportunity under it
- Funding by recipient, agency and assistance type
- Alerts for new opportunities
- Ask GovTribe AI about this program