The Impact of Motivational Interviewing and CBT-based mentoring on Youth on Probation in NYC

• In Event: Individual-focused Approaches to Crime Prevention

Abstract

Research shows that mentoring programs, traditionally intended to meet the socioemotional and cognitive needs of all youth, may be especially useful for justice-involved youth. Youth on probation in particular face significant barriers in avoiding subsequent contact with the justice system. Disproportionately, these youth return to communities marked by concentrated disadvantage, where crime rates are high and opportunities for education and employment are limited, leading to obstructed reentry pathways, and in some cases recidivism. But, evidence shows that mentoring justice-involved youth can reduce recidivism, especially when there is a high frequency of contact between the mentor and mentee.

This presentation focuses on findings from the Urban Institute’s evaluation of Arches, a NYC-based transformative mentoring program serving young people on probation, ages 16 to 24, intended to reduce inequities between young men of color and their white peers in the areas of education, employment, health, and justice. Funded by the Center for Economic Opportunity, Urban conducted an impact and implementation evaluation of 8 of the 18 Arches sites. Discussion will include lessons learned and recommendations drawn from an in-depth, qualitative examination of Arches’ implementation, as well as a quasi-experimental impact evaluation assessing Arches’ capacity to reduce re-arrests and re-conviction.

Authors

• Sino Esthappan, The Urban Institute

• Mathew Lynch, Urban Institute

• Nan Astone, The Urban Institute