By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Three organizations – Hype 4 Life, One Step Further, and BOTSO (Brothers Organized To Save Others) – will each receive a $10,000 grant to reduce the number of African American youths in the juvenile justice system.
The recipients were selected by the Guilford County Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee. The committee’s management team is housed at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships.
Hype 4 Life, a life skills training program focused on self-esteem, attitudes and personal responsibility will be offered at four sites: Kirkman Park Elementary, Cone Elementary, Welborn Middle and High Point Central High schools.
One Step Further will implement a program called ParentTalk to provide a forum for parents of undisciplined and delinquent youths to share juvenile justice experiences and explore successful alternative parenting techniques.
BOTSO is designed to empower African American youth though mentoring, support for academic achievement and character building education.
Each program includes specific goals and evaluation measures. The grants are paid by the Governor’s Crime Commission and expire June 30.
The grants are intended to help fill four gaps in local services:
1. Aftercare – support for youths after suspension or incarceration
2. Mentoring – one-on-one mentoring for at least two hours each week
3. Mediation – school-based conflict resolution/peer mediation
4. Parenting Support – guidance from parent/youth advocates
The 69-member DMC Committee has spent the past year analyzing data provided by Guilford County Schools, Greensboro and High Point police departments, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, and the juvenile justice system. It also has held focus groups to hear from youths, parents, court counselors and others.
The DMC Committee itself is supported by a two-year grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission. The crime commission awarded grants to demonstration sites in Guilford, Forsyth, Union and New Hanover counties. Each county is researching the overrepresentation of minority youths in its juvenile justice system and devising a plan to address the issue.
