An inmate at Rikers Island juvenile detention facility carries a plastic fork behind his back as he walks with other inmates. A recent report found that juvenile detainees are subjected to routine violence, both by other inmates and by correction officers. (Julie Jacobson/AP)(CNSNews.com) – The Justice Department through its Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention is spending up to $4,200,000 in taxpayer dollars to help young fathers who have been incarcerated be better fathers.
The goals of the grant are to “reduce recidivism among young fathers; improve outcomes for young fathers, their children, and family members; and promote responsible fatherhood.”
As many as 10 non-profit groups will be awarded up to $420,000 each for a grant total of $4.2 million. The closing date for applications for the grant, titled “Second Chance Act Strengthening Relationships Between Young Fathers and Their Children: A Reentry Mentoring Project, was March 2, 2015.
“Section 211 of the Second Chance Act authorizes grants to nonprofit groups to provide mentoring and other transitional services, family programming, and employment assistance to help juvenile ex-offenders transition successfully from out-of-home placement and incarceration to the community,” the grant stated.
The target population for the grant is medium-to-high risk offenders. Young fathers must be confined in secure confinement facilities like a juvenile detention center, juvenile correctional facility, staff-secure facility, jail, or prison of a local or state juvenile or adult correctional agency.
Fathers must be admitted to the program before their 25th birthday, although they may continue to take part in the program beyond their 25th birthday. There is no set timeline for terminating services, the grant said, so fathers can continue with the program “as long as is deemed therapeutically necessary.”
According to the grant solicitation, programs should focus on increasing positive parenting behaviors like helping with homework, offering words of encouragement, setting limits, affection and praise, and family activities.
Via: CNS News
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