TRENTON
- The New Jersey Governor’s Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP)
Committee has awarded a grant to the Township
of Edison to expand delinquency prevention
services to young people who are considered
at-risk of delinquent behavior. The award
is in the amount of $95,000.
This Prevention Program is designed to
reduce the risk factors associated with
delinquent behavior. The program entitled,
“Middle School BRIDGES (Building
Relationships In Diverse Groups of Edison
Students)”, will be presented at
the Herbert Hoover, Thomas Jefferson,
Woodrow Wilson, and John Adams middle
schools of Edison Township. Students will
engage in four different sub-programs:
Extended Services Schools (ESS), CASA
Striving Together to Achieve Rewarding
Tomorrows (START), Project Achieve and
Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BEST).
ESS is an after-school recreation program
that provides tutoring and homework assistance.
The CASASTART program allows community
and school organizations work together
to provide social support for the students.
Project Achieve provides parent training
and behavioral consultation. The BEST
program focuses on the prevention and
elimination of risk factors associated
with substance abuse.
“First,
I would like to thank the JJDP Committee
for approving the Edison Middle School
BRIDGES grant. This funding will allow
Edison to provide comprehensive after
school programming to disaffected youth
throughout all four of our middle schools.
Our goal is to prevent substance abuse,
violence, and delinquency through mentoring,
tutoring, recreation, education and counseling
services across a continuum of seven years,”
said Lisa Gulla, Project Director, Edison
Middle School BRIDGES Program.
The Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC),
as the designated planning authority for
the allocation of federal grant funds,
works with the JJDP Committee to identify
youth serving appropriate programs, award
funds and monitor their success. The JJDP
Committee is responsible for the distribution
of more than $3 million in federal grant
awards annually to local and state agencies.
The JJDP Committee reviews proposals for
programs that aim to reduce delinquency
and/or seek to create local delinquency
prevention strategies. Programs that receive
funding work with individuals, families
and communities to reduce the risk factors
associated with delinquency. Programs
that demonstrate success are eligible
for continued funding for a maximum of
three consecutive years.
The JJC is committed to helping local
communities address the specific needs
of their young people. We are proud to
be part of a partnership that takes a
proactive approach to help adolescents
and their families, said Howard L. Beyer,
Executive Director, JJC. We know that
the earlier we reach out to children,
the better chance we have of ensuring
that they lead productive lives.
Created in 1995 to unite services for
delinquent young people, the JJC is the
single state agency responsible for providing
juvenile correctional rehabilitation and
parole services. The JJC also funds local
prevention programs that divert young
people from involvement in the juvenile
justice system.
The project is monitored by staff from
the Program Development and Prevention
Services arm of the JJC’s Office
of Local Programs and Services.
For more information on the JJC, please
visit www.njjjc.com.
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