Big Brothers Big Sisters Shares Best Practice Data on Long-term Mentoring in Reducing Juvenile Delinquency

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT: Big Brothers Big Sisters joins the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) as they host leading experts and researchers who address key issues and best practices in juvenile justice, delinquency prevention and victimization. Big Brothers Big Sisters holds itself accountable to helping its mentees achieve measurable outcomes – avoidance of risky/delinquent behaviors; educational success; and higher self-esteem and aspirations.

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WHY: Big Brothers Big Sisters' evidence-based mentoring programs are proven to help children facing adversity break negative cycles often linked to single-parent homes, low-income families and parental incarceration.  The organization is committed to impacting educational achievement, delinquency and diverting young people from entering the juvenile justice system.   Mentees in Big Brothers Big Sisters' programs are 46% less likely to use drugs, 52% less likely to skip school, and also have improved relationship with their parents and peers.  With support from OJJDP, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been able to intentionally expand its programs to engage at-risk youth, including children on tribal lands and military bases, and to improve the organization's research on best practices in the mentoring field.  

WHERE: Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center, 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, Maryland 20745

WHO: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America President and CEO Karen J. Mathis, President and CEO Paul Bliss of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington, D. C., military mentoring matches from Washington D. C., and Selwyn I. Ray of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Maryland Mentoring Partnership will take part in OJJDP's three-day conference.  For additional information on Big Brothers Big Sisters' participants, please see below.  

WHEN: Wednesday, October 12 – Friday, October 14, 2011

Wednesday, October 12, 3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. – Selwyn I. Ray of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Maryland Mentoring Partnership joins the panel for the session The Baltimore Mentoring Collaboration in Chesapeake D-F.  The Baltimore Mentoring Collaboration is a targeted, citywide project with the Baltimore City Office of the Mayor that pairs positive adult mentors with children in communities that experience historically high levels of juvenile crime.  Panelists will discuss how the initiative engages community organizations with proven mentoring programs, like Big Brothers Big Sisters, as partners and shares resources and expertise to support services for youth to improve their safety, community and family engagement and opportunities for their future.  

Thursday, October 13, 10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – Karen J. Mathis presents during the session OJJDP's National Mentoring Programs—Serving America's Youth in Potomac 4-6, which will highlight national programs that provide a variety of mentoring programs targeted for at-risk youth across the county.  Mathis will discuss Big Brothers Big Sisters' professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships and how the program's evidence-based practices lead to positive, measurable outcomes for children, such as educational success and risky behavior avoidance, especially juvenile delinquency.  Mathis will also share information about the national mentoring organization's Military and Native American Mentoring Programs, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters' goal to expand its services to more children who face adversity with the goal of preventing juvenile delinquency.  

Friday, October 14, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Amy Pugh, her son Jordan and Jordan's Big Brother Major Colby Hammond will join Big Brother Wilfred Haynes, Sr., his Little Brother Ervin and Ervin's mother Serita Fontaine for a special presentation by Dr. Jill Biden and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.. Both matches are part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington D.C.'s Military Mentoring Program.  

ABOUT BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS' PARTICIPANTS:

Karen J. Mathis:  Karen Mathis is president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA), the nation's oldest and largest youth mentoring organization. BBBSA works with children (ages 6 to 18) of single, low-income, and incarcerated parents. Ms. Mathis, a former Big Sister herself, joined BBBSA in 2009 after serving as executive director of the Prague-based CEELI Institute, which provides post-graduate professional legal training to jurists and other legal professionals in emerging democracies. She was previously president of the American Bar Association, where she created the Youth at Risk program, and practiced law for more than 30 years. Ms. Mathis is a national director of Volunteers of America, a past board leader for the Mile High Girl Scout Council and continues to serve on international and domestic legal and judicial boards. She has received numerous awards and five honorary doctorates. She has addressed audiences on six continents. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Denver, she received a law degree from the University of Colorado Law School.

Paul F. Bliss: Paul Bliss is the President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington, D.C., one of the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations in the nation with over 6,500 children, single parents, and mentors that benefit locally from professionally supported mentoring services.

Selwyn I. Ray, J.D.: Selwyn I. Ray is Vice President of Community Engagement and Partnership for Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Maryland Mentoring Partnership and was formerly Executive Director of The Maryland Mentoring Partnership (MMP), where he oversaw initiatives to increase the number and quality of mentoring programs providing children with caring adult mentors in their lives throughout the state. He previously served as MMP's Director of Recruitment and Partnerships, and expertly led a number of strategic initiatives to fortify mentoring activities, establish partnerships, and galvanize support for the mentoring movement. He also directed the development of the Church Mentoring Initiative, which continues to expand MMP's reach in the faith community.  Before joining MMP, Mr. Ray held various positions in the private and public sector including Policy Advisor to the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City and Director of Community Relations for the Safe and Sound Campaign. He established numerous networks of adult and youth partnerships for constructive activities relating to homicide reduction. As former associate faculty for Morgan State University and Johns Hopkins University's School of Public Health, he taught principles of community outreach and organizing. Mr. Ray continues to maintain his relationship with these institutions and is presently working with the University of Maryland School of Social Work assisting with their Public Allies Young Leaders mentoring project. Deeply committed to youth development and his community, Mr. Ray is an active volunteer. He has served as Police Chaplain for Baltimore City since 1999. He has been honored with numerous awards recognizing his service, including The FOCUS Mentoring Program award in 2010, Black Professional Men's Ray of Hope Award for Community Service in 2009, the Baltimore City Council President's Top Neighborhood Dads Award in 2007, the Baraka Youth Empowerment Team Source Service Award in 2006. Mr. Ray holds degrees from Dickinson College and the University of Maryland School of Law, and has pursued studies at the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary.

Military Mentoring Relationships: Ms. Pugh was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army for more than nine years.  Her son Jordan was matched with his Big Brother, Major Colby Hammond, in 2010 when Pugh sought out Big Brothers Big Sisters in search of male companionship for her son.  Jordan and Major Hammond are both sports enthusiasts—in fact Jordan's mother thinks that Jordan's favorite activity with his Big Brother was when the two went white water rafting last year.  Hammond, a graduate of North Carolina University, is an Action Officer in the Army and has served several deployments in Iraq.  What Hammond likes best about Big Brothers Big Sisters is how the program allows you to give back by influencing a young person who is still growing up.  He says that Big Brothers Big Sisters has given him the most rewarding experience he's ever had.  

Major Serita Fontaine is a 20-year reservist and combat veteran who served in both Kuwait and Iraq and is a Sergeant in Prince George County's Police Department in her civilian life.  Her son Ervin is a sixth grade honor roll student and was recently matched with Big Brother Wilfred Haynes, Sr. Fontaine brought Ervin to Big Brothers Big Sisters because she felt he would benefit from male companionship and the program could lend some additional support to her son.  Haynes, a retired Washington D.C. police officer, believes "it is better to build a boy than rebuild a man," and is a strong proponent of mentoring and the difference it can make in the life of a child.  He and Ervin are a new match for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington, D.C..  

Big Brothers Big Sisters: For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters' mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children ("Littles") with screened volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and monitors and supports them in one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course. The organization holds itself accountable for children in the program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as higher aspirations; greater confidence and better relationships; educational success; and avoidance of delinquency and other risky behaviors. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. Headquartered in Philadelphia with a network of about 370 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 250,000 children. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life, donate or volunteer at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

SOURCE Big Brothers Big Sisters