2011
2010
2009
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African Caribbean American Parents of Children with Disabilities (AFCAMP)
Hartford, CT
$40,000
Advocacy Training & Support to Families
To support outreach and training activities to help parents of children involved in or at risk of involvement with the juvenile justice, education, mental health or child welfare systems learn about and advocate on behalf of their rights and those of their children. This grant enables the staff to handle individual cases and to conduct monthly trainings and workshops in Hartford, Waterbury and New Haven designed to inform parents about state and federal education, juvenile justice and mental health policies and practices. Key Partners: community providers, local mental health collaboratives, legislators, families, state agencies, and local schools
Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition (BCAC)
Bridgeport, CT
$35,000
Unrestricted Funding
To provide general support for this advocacy agency, which is a coalition of 80 area organizations committed to improving the lives of Bridgeport’s 35,000 children and their families through research, community planning, education and mobilization. BCAC’s three task forces identify gaps in services and propose solutions relating to health, education and early care, and family economic empowerment. Focus areas for 2011 include family access to health care and health insurance, teacher recruitment and turnover, reduction in out-of-school suspensions, teacher and principal evaluations, job training and affordable housing. BCAC publishes an annual report called “State of the Child in Bridgeport” and hosts an annual Bridgeport Children’s Issues Forum to help influence public policies and improve services for children.
Campaign for Youth Justice
Washington, D.C.
$15,000
Unrestricted Funding
To support advocacy efforts to end the practice of trying, sentencing and incarcerating youthful offenders under the age of 18 in the adult criminal justice system and to win support of the U.S. Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act. This grant helps the Campaign to support individual states, such as Connecticut and New York, that are interested in raising the age a juvenile can be prosecuted in adult court and reducing juvenile transfers to the adult criminal system.
Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)
Hartford, CT
$40,000
Truancy Court Prevention Project
To support this collaborative project, which provides a school-based truancy court using volunteer judges and offers case management services for youth who attend two middle schools in Hartford with high truancy rates to improve their attendance, academic performance and pro-social engagement. An educational specialist evaluates the needs of targeted truant youth and prepares their individual education plans. Case managers from the Village for Families and Children in Hartford work directly with these students and their families. An attorney from the Center for Children’s Advocacy represents students who have legal and special education issues.
Center for Children’s Advocacy (CCA)
Hartford, CT
$60,000
Unrestricted Funding
To support CCA’s advocacy and oversight efforts on behalf of all children in the juvenile justice system, with particular emphasis on mental health, school discipline, truancy and girls issues. A current priority is that state facilities improve discharge plans for youth returning to their communities and schools from residential placement. This grant also helps CCA replicate the successful school-based truancy court in Hartford at a school in Bridgeport with local partners.
Child and Family Guidance Center of Greater Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT
$30,000
Strategic Intervention for High Risk Youth (SIHRY) Program
To support a family mentoring and enrichment program for youth ages 9 to 13 from the East Side of Bridgeport who are at risk of academic failure, truancy, criminal behavior and substance abuse. SIHRY family mentors provide a minimum of six months of services to youth, mostly Latino, identified by school staff, probation officers or police. They make home visits, monitor the youths’ academic performance and behavior in school, communicate with and support parents, link families to local services, attend school and treatment planning meetings and take youth and families to cultural and recreational activities to enrich their lives. The University of Colorado’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence is evaluating SIHRY as a potential evidence-based “Blueprint Model Program.”
The Children’s Center at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Bedford Hills, NY
$40,000
The Teen Program
To provide transportation for prison visits and enrichment activities for the adolescent children of inmates at this women’s prison. The program is designed to preserve and strengthen the family ties between incarcerated mothers and their children. Staff and volunteers address the youths’ educational needs to help them stay in school and provide recreation and counseling services for them. They conduct parenting classes for the mothers and help them stay connected with services and schools outside the prison with which their children are involved. In addition, the staff and volunteers work with the children’s caregivers, link them to services and attempt to strengthen their relationship with the mothers to improve outcomes for the youth.
Clifford W. Beers Guidance Clinic
New Haven, CT
$50,000
Intensive Outpatient Services for Youth with Problem Sexual Behavior
To support the Juveniles Opting for Treatment to Learn Appropriate Behaviors (JOTLAB) therapeutic services for youth ages 8 to 17 who are referred by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families or Juvenile Court for problem sexual behavior. Most of the youth have juvenile or adult criminal records. Each youth receives trauma-informed individual, group and family therapy; social skills development; supervised recreational activities; alternative therapies, such as biofeedback, mindfulness and yoga, and life skills counseling during a minimum 18 months of treatment. This grant also supports the extended day treatment program for males ages 13 to 17 with borderline intellectual functioning and a new in-home service for those youth not ready for the outpatient program or returning from residential placement.
Community Mediation
New Haven, CT
$20,000
Juvenile Review Board Mediation Program
To provide mediation services that engage juvenile offenders and their victims prior to the offenders’ appearance before the Juvenile Review Board (JRB). The JRB is a panel of community volunteers that reviews first-time or low-level delinquency cases referred by police or Probation as a diversion from court. Mediators meet with the youth and victim (or co-defendant) to allow both parties to share their stories and clarify issues. If an agreement is reached to resolve the conflict, the mediators present this information to the JRB for consideration in the case. Community Mediation will document the impact of mediation services on the outcome of JRB cases with the goal of replicating these services at other JRBs around the state.
Connecticut Ballet
Stamford, CT
$30,000
Unrestricted Funding
To support the Juvenile Justice Outreach Program and to expand it by offering performances and dance and drumming classes at five state-funded juvenile residential facilities, including the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, the state’s most secure facility for youth under age 17. This grant also supports accelerated community-based training and mentorships for a select group of talented youth who are identified while participating in the juvenile detention program when they are discharged back to Hartford, New Haven or Bridgeport.
Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance (CTJJA)
Bridgeport, CT
$50,000
Unrestricted Funding
To strengthen CTJJA’s advocacy, communications and youth and family organizing efforts to promote juvenile justice reform in Connecticut. CTJJA’s priorities include monitoring the implementation of the Raise the Age law that returned 16-year olds to the juvenile system in January 2010 and will return 17 year olds in 2012; ensuring appropriate services are put in place to address the needs of these older youth; addressing the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system, and advocating for changes in school disciplinary policies that lead to the overuse of suspensions, expulsions and arrests. CTJJA also advocates for the expansion of community-based services for status offenders (for example, runaways and truants) and provides research and support to local juvenile justice coalitions based around the state.
Connecticut Legal Services (CLS)
Middletown, CT
$50,000
Stop the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STOPP) Project
To provide legal advice and representation in partnership with New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA) for children and youth who are suspended, expelled or referred to Juvenile Court for disciplinary issues by Waterbury or New Haven schools and to advocate for reform of school disciplinary policies within those districts and statewide. CLS and NHLAA attorneys help youth obtain the educational services and accommodations to which they are entitled, and, wherever possible, help to overturn suspensions and expulsions. They also represent those youth involved with Juvenile Court on disciplinary matters related to their school issues and advocate for statewide reform of zero tolerance policies and disparate treatment of students of color and youth with disabilities. CLS and NHLAA provide trainings for court, school, and police personnel, as well as parents, on students’ rights and what schools are required to provide them in order to help improve outcomes for youth.
Connecticut Voices for Children
New Haven, CT
$35,000
Fellowship in Juvenile Justice and Related Issues
To support a fellowship program for a recent college graduate that offers hands-on policy work experience in the areas of juvenile justice, foster care, mental health, and education. The fellow conducts research on critical juvenile justice, child welfare, and school disciplinary policies and practices to help inform legislators, government officials, and advocates; collects data and prepares reports; attends Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance meetings, and helps Connecticut Voices’ staff prepare and present testimony before the Connecticut legislature. Among the goals are the reduction in truancy, dropout, pushout and school arrest rates and training of youth to advocate for themselves.
The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT
$25,000
Janus Center for Youth in Crisis
To provide short-term shelter, counseling, mediation, and other services to youth ages 11 to 17 at risk of involvement with the judicial system and their families. Typical issues include truancy, defiance of school rules, indecent or immoral conduct, running away, or being beyond control of the family. This respite and diversion program was created to address the families’ needs and prevent commitment of the youth to detention or other out-of-home placement.
Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY)
New York, NY
$5,000
Drama Therapy Training Program
To design and demonstrate a trauma-informed drama therapy training program and curriculum for public and private clinicians working with youth involved in the mental health and juvenile justice systems. The goal is to encourage the use of drama therapy as part of the continuum of services for children and youth offered in both state and privately operated facilities and outpatient programs.
Dispute Settlement Center (DSC)
Wilton, CT
$45,000
Juvenile Mediation Program
To provide mediation services at four juvenile courts and for two Juvenile Review Boards around Connecticut to resolve conflicts between low-level offenders and the victims of their crimes and divert the cases from the courts. The offender must take responsibility for the harm done and comply with the terms of the agreement or the case is returned to court for prosecution. This grant also supports conflict resolution and mediation trainings for schools and after-school providers to help reduce reliance on zero-tolerance measures that can lead to excessive use of suspension, expulsion and arrest.
Domus Foundation
Stamford, CT
$50,000
Family Advocate Program
To support the director of the high school family advocates.
The Domus Family Advocate Model is a collaborative
partnership among the school, family and advocate that helps youth make successful life transitions by removing barriers to academic success. Family advocates build trusting, caring relationships with youth and families and help them identify and make progress toward agreed-upon goals that will keep students engaged with the educational process while developing their social and emotional skills. They conduct monthly home visits, attend school and out-of-school meetings and link parents and students with needed wrap-around services provided by Domus and its community partners.
FSG Social Impact Advisors
Boston, MA
$60,000
Reform of the New York Juvenile Justice System
To bring together key local and state agencies and stakeholders, including law enforcement and education, to discuss and create consensus and alignment over a vision for New York’s juvenile justice system by March 2011. The goal is to achieve joint accountability toward common goals and to create a common vision that will help align priorities, coordinate activities and data sharing, and contribute to the transformation of New York’s approach to juvenile justice to improve outcomes for youth and families without risking public safety. The work toward this vision will lead directly into a statewide strategic planning and implementation process. The project is funded collaboratively by eight private foundations and the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services.
FSW
Bridgeport, CT
$50,000
Juvenile Case Management Collaborative
To provide case management, clinical services, career exploration opportunities, and job-readiness and financial literacy training to youth ages 12 to 18 on probation or parole or at high risk of delinquent behavior. The youth participate in and receive stipends for apprenticeships at the Youth Business Center in such areas as boat-building, guitar-making, music and video production, cosmetology, photography and computer design. Youth learn how to fill out job applications and properly conduct themselves on job interviews and in the workplace. Those who advance in the program are offered paid apprenticeships or employment.
Families in Crisis
Hartford, CT
$35,000
Fatherhood Initiative
To support a caseworker to provide parenting classes and individual and family counseling for fathers ages 16 to 20 committed to the Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire, an adult prison, and to provide aftercare services when they transition back to their communities from prison. The caseworker meets with families during the fathers’ incarceration and also accompanies the fathers on visits with their children after they leave the institution. Case management services are provided for a minimum three months pre-release and three months post-discharge. Fathers who participate in the program are allowed contact visits with their children and the children’s mother, which is not allowed for other inmates.
Family ReEntry
Norwalk, CT
$40,000
Beacon Ex-Offender Mentoring Program
To support one-on-one and group mentoring by trained ex-offenders with youth ages 8 to 17 who are involved in or at risk of involvement with the justice system. The mentors are successful participants in Family ReEntry’s Fresh Start prisoner reentry program who have a growing interest in community leadership and want to divert young people from a life of
judicial involvement. They participate in a 20-hour training program to prepare them to work with youth and serve as positive role models. Mentors and youth meet at least twice weekly during and after school. Activities include homework help, field trips, counseling, recreation and educational enrichment.
Groundwork Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT
$25,000
Green Team
To support selected Bridgeport high school students to participate in the summer component of this landscape maintenance training and environmental restoration program for high-risk high school students. The program aims to keep youth in school, advance their life and job-readiness skills, and prepare them for employment in the horticultural field. The paid summer internships are part of a two-year, school-based horticulture program that provides motivated youth with teaching and service learning opportunities and hands-on landscaping and gardening experience through projects designed to enhance public spaces, including a national park, urban gardens and hiking trails. Students develop a strong work ethic and leadership skills and learn how to be a member of a team.
Hall-Brooke Behavioral Health Services
Westport, CT
$40,000
Justice for Juveniles Behavioral Health Treatment Program
To provide mental health and family support services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system who have mental health and/or substance abuse issues. This grant enables the agency to provide eight weeks of intensive outpatient counseling and case management followed by two years of aftercare on a graduated basis to monitor recidivism, hospitalization, school performance and compliance with aftercare plans.
Human Services Council of Mid-Fairfield
Norwalk, CT
$40,000
Briggs High School Health Center
To support the health and mental health staff at the school-based health center at Briggs High School, an alternative school primarily serving at-risk, uninsured and court-involved youth in Norwalk. Services include physical exams, immunizations, dispensation of medication, crisis intervention, counseling, weight management, and nutrition classes. This grant enables the health center to provide services for 25 hours a week, including before and after school. Approximately 1,500 student visits are documented annually. Staff also provides medical care to babies in the school-based nursery.
Jingles for Juveniles
New Haven, CT
$1,500
Holiday Gifts for Children in Detention Centers
To purchase gifts for children detained during the holiday season at three state-operated juvenile detention centers and provide materials for other holiday celebrations throughout the year.
Juvenile Law Center (JLC)
Philadelphia, PA
$30,000
(first installment of a two-year, $60,000 grant)
Juvenile Life Without Parole Advocacy Campaign
To support advocacy and litigation work that builds on recent success in limiting juvenile life without parole sentences. This grant enables the JLC to work to frame legal arguments for the field that will support new Eighth Amendment challenges to life without parole or extremely long sentences in felony murder and murder cases and transfers to the adult criminal system. JLC seeks to ensure that the criminal justice system is aligned with principles of adolescent development, honors human rights, and gives youth access to education, physical and behavioral health care and other supports they need to be productive adults.
Kids in Crisis
Cos Cob, CT
$30,000
Safe Haven for Teens
To support the Teen House emergency shelter for youth ages 12 to 17 dealing with such issues as family conflict, abandonment, abuse, neglect or court involvement. Youth who reside at the 10-bed short-term shelter receive education, health, counseling, advocacy with the court, and other services.
National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN)
Washington, DC
$10,000
Fiscal Policy Center
To create a resource center for juvenile justice advocates around the nation that will provide research and data that document the high cost of incarceration and the cost-benefit of current and prospective juvenile justice reforms in an effort to curb wasteful spending practices and spur state-based policy changes to improve outcomes for youth. The center will provide adaptable web-based tools for use by states, a public information campaign and a forum for peer-to-peer support. Anticipated outcomes include increased spending on community-based services and development of more champions for reform.
Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters
Hartford, CT
$40,000
Mentoring Program for Children with Incarcerated Parents
To support a one-on-one mentoring program for children whose mothers or fathers are incarcerated. The mentoring program is committed to improving the children’s confidence level and academic performance, as well as preventing delinquent behavior. This grant provides the local match of a federal grant.
Our Piece of the Pie (OPP)
Hartford, CT
$50,000
Pathways to Success Program
To provide academic, job-readiness and support services for high risk youth ages 14 to 24, many of whom have been out of school or involved in community violence or juvenile justice. Youth development specialists help youth create an individualized plan to achieve their goals to complete high school, go on to college or trade school, graduate from a two- or four-year college, receive a vocational certification and/or secure and retain a job. Youth also participate in OPP’s youth businesses, including boat-building, arts, multi-media and technology.
New York Juvenile Justice Initiative of Philanthropy New York
New York, NY
$2,000
New York Juvenile Justice Initiative
To support the salary of a part-time coordinator to facilitate the work of a coalition of foundations to improve juvenile justice policies and practices in New York City and state and to support the meetings and program activities of this group. FJC is the fiduciary of this grant.
Public Allies Connecticut
Bridgeport, CT
$35,000
Unrestricted Funding
To support the Nonprofit Leadership Program that provides leadership training and nonprofit work experience for young adults ages 18 to 30 through a 10-month apprenticeship. Allies also participate in weekly leadership trainings and conduct team service projects that help to build the capacity of their host organizations and benefit the Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport communities. The Public Allies program was designed to help train the next generation of nonprofit leaders. Goals include increased public awareness of the Allies’ work and development of stronger alumni programming and advocacy efforts.
Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP)
Bridgeport, CT
$25,000
Unrestricted Funding
To enable RYASAP to strengthen its leadership team, provide technical assistance to local juvenile justice coalitions around the state, create a fund development plan and enhance its work with youth and families through parent advocacy and engagement efforts. RYASAP is the host of many local initiatives, including the Greater Bridgeport Juvenile Justice Task Force, and the fiduciary for the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance and Public Allies.
Waterbury Youth Service System
Waterbury, CT
$50,000
Entrepreneurial Program
To provide life skills education and job-readiness training in organic gardening and the construction trades for high risk youth ages 13 to 18, some of whom are truant or first-time juvenile or youthful offenders. The youth learn the basics of the commercial construction trades, including sheetrocking, plumbing, electrical work, woodworking and painting. In addition, they design and sell original products and invest the profits back into the program. Involved youth can also get tutoring and participate in graphic arts and journalism instruction.
Westchester Mediation Center
Yonkers, NY
$30,000
Restorative Justice Project
To facilitate group conferences where disputes between adolescent offenders and the victims of their crimes can be mediated and to help divert these cases, some of which involve weapons, from the court. Offenders must take responsibility for the harm done and make financial or other restitution, including a letter of apology or community service. This grant also supports a Parent/Teen mediation program to help resolve family conflicts before they require court involvement.
Youth Continuum
New Haven, CT
$50,000
Skills for Life Construction Program
To engage high risk youth ages 16 and 17 in the construction of a house – from planning and design through construction – for a low-income family identified by Habitat for Humanity, a partner in this project. During Phase 1, youth participate in a six-week training that covers Habitat’s Homebuyers Education Program, architectural planning, finances and safety. During the seven to 12 month construction phase, youth participate in daily group discussions about safety and the tasks ahead, learn how to use tools and read construction plans, and undertake various trades. After completion, youth will be coached about potential careers and introduced to apprenticeships. Case management, educational support, and job coaching will continue for up to 12 months.
Youth Rights Media
New Haven, CT
$40,000
Unrestricted Funding
To engage high risk urban youth in media projects that help raise public awareness of issues impacting their lives and communities. Youth learn technical skills and produce public service announcements and a documentary on topics of their choice that they feel are relevant to their lives. The current focus is on high school graduation, dropout and pushout rates in New Haven schools. The spring documentary is screened around the state, after which youth take questions from the audience. This grant also supports youth organizing efforts and training on their legal rights.
Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG)
Chicago, IL
$10,000
Unrestricted Funding
To support this coalition of national and regional foundations. YTFG’s mission is to improve the lives of our nation’s most vulnerable young people ages 14 to 24 and to help them become successful adults. YTFG’s three workgroups focus on juvenile justice, foster care, workforce development, teen parents, and out-of-school and struggling students. The group advocates reform of the public systems that impact these young people’s lives. YTFG’s report, “Connected by 25: Effective Policy Solutions for Vulnerable Youth,” informs grantmakers, public policymakers and strategic partners how to help advance YTFG’s reform agenda.