Caruth Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Initiative

BBBS Spectrum of Rescue

Three Indicators of Potential Criminality

1. Youth who have failed the Third Grade Assessment Test

2. Truant Youth

3. Adjudicated Youth

Inspired By…

Karen Hughes is a political adviser having been the head speech

writer for President Reagan. She is from the state of Texas. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State with the rank of Ambassador.

Highlight in Texas Monthly

And when asked the question how to make Texas a better place?

Karen replied: “Make a Statewide commitment to enlist community organizations, businesses, and religious congregations in providing volunteer classroom mentors for every child who fails the TAKS test in the third grade, with the goal of getting them back on track within a year.”

Endorsements

• Karen P. Hughes

U.S. Department of State Ambassador

• Harriet Miers

Former White House Counsel

• T. Boone Pickens

Philanthropist

Endorsements (Cont.)

• Governor Rick Perry

STATE OF TEXAS

• Robert Scott

Commissioner of Education

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY

• Raymund Paredes

Commissioner of Higher Education

TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD

Endorsements (Cont.)

• State Representative Jerry Madden

Vice Chair, Corrections Committee

STATE OF TEXAS

• Christina Melton Crain

Immediate Past President, DALLAS BAR ASSOCIATION

Past Board President, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

• Brad Livingston

Executive Director

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Endorsements (Cont.)

• Michael Hinojosa

Superintendent

DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

• Judge Aurora Madrigal

Associate Judge, IV-D Court No. 3

FIRST ADMINISTRATIVE JUDICIAL REGION OF TEXAS

• Richard Hoefer, Ph.D.

Professor, School of Social Work

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON

• Byron Johnson, Ph.D.

Director, Institute for Studies of Religion

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Not Business as Usual…

For the first time, Big Brothers

Big Sisters of North Texas will

simultaneously and systematically address the three indicators of

potential criminality.

How BBBS will change potential criminal behavior…

Theory of Transformative Change

• Determine the root problems compromising public safety

• Design an evidence-based solution that optimizes best practices and emerging innovations in the field

• Leverage its strong community network to obtain buy-in from the right partners, in the right locations, at the right time

How BBBS will changepotential criminal behavior…

(Cont.)

• Secure the assistance of a leading third-party evaluator to help design the program with long-term outcomes in mind

• Identify an institutional investor with shared priorities

Project Description

• An explicit focus on long-term outcomes for public safety.

• An emphasis on youth initiated mentoring.

• Individual Educational Assessment and Consultation.

Project Description (Cont.)

• An investment in highly-specialized, intensive case management.

• Enhanced, accessible mentor training.

• A new focus on engaging parents/caregivers.

Project Description (Cont.)

• On-going risk assessment and mitigation.

• Unprecedented collaboration.

• A model designed for growth.

How will BBBS Measure these Changes?

By Evaluating the Following:

• Increased parental trust• Increased sense of social acceptance• Increased confidence in school abilities• Increased educational expectations• Improved grades• Improved school attendance

How will BBBS Measure these Changes? (Cont.)

By Identifying the Number of Youth…

• Retained in the same grade post match

• Engaging in unhealthy behaviors

• Arrested post-match

• Incarcerated post-match

• Who drop out of school post-match

Projected Risk

Top 3 Risks

1. Not recruiting enough Bigs who live near their Littles

2. Not recruiting enough mentors willing and able to work with adjudicated youth

3. Not recruiting enough male mentors and men of color

Solutions for Risks

1. Not recruiting enough Bigs who live near their Littles

Solution:

- Focus on neighborhood-based recruitment

- Leverage Web technology to target populations

- Youth Initiated Mentoring

- Give incentives for Bigs to recruit other Bigs

Solutions for Risks

2. Not recruiting enough mentors willing and able to work with adjudicated youth

Solution:

- Recruit Juvenile Justice Department volunteers- Recruit people who work with troubled youth- Create specialized marketing materials - Provide adequate match support

- Youth Initiated Mentoring- Offer both community and school-based mentoring

- Give incentives to Bigs to recruit other Bigs

Solutions for Risks

3. Not recruiting enough male mentors and men of color

Solution:

- Create specialized marketing materials - Youth Initiated Mentoring- Partner with African American affinity groups- Leverage Web technology to target populations- Explore creating an advisory board

- Give incentives to Bigs to recruit other Bigs

Strength through Partnerships

The End Result of the Caruth Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Initiative

• Changed lives

• Improved public safety

• A savings of $66.7 million to the State of Texas over 5 years based on 1,525 mentored youth