Bagley Youth Development (BYD) www.bydllc.com and First TEAM America www.firstteamusa.org (FTA, formerly offered as The CHEM LAB) have formed a partnership to offer the “Enhanced Mentoring Encouraging Responsibility Growth and Empowerment” (EMERGE) project. BYD and FTA are collaborating with other partnering organizations including non profits, and government entities, to provide mentoring for at least 150 children and youth (50 each year over a three year period), between the ages of 9 and 17, who live in Fulton County, GA. The EMERGE project will annually match foster care children and/or youth with a trained adult mentor of the same sex, who has made a commitment to interact with project participant for at least one hour each week, for at least a full year. The EMERGE project will involve independent contractors who will provide a comprehensive evaluation that will include a baseline, 6 month, and 12-month surveys collected from all project participants assessing changes in their attitudes and behaviors regarding a number of issues including substance abuse, disciplinary issues and academic performance. Other data collection methods will include reviews of participant files, site visits, interviews and focus groups. Funding for the EMERGE project is made possible through a grant by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs of the United States Department of Justice.
Fulton County is committed to ensuring that youth discharged from foster care, at the age of 18 or older, will have attained a high school diploma or GED, hereby increasing their opportunities for a successful and productive future. By partnering with the EMERGE project, a partnership of Bagley Youth Development and First TEAM America, Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services FCDFCS has at least one more tool in its tool chest to equip foster care youth with the skills necessary to achieve self sufficiency.
The EMERGE Project will primarily work with OM 24 participants which requires that the percentage of youth discharged from foster care at age 18 or older with a high school diploma or GED will increase over baseline by 10 percentage points by the end of the second reporting period and by the end of the fourth reporting period, the percentage will increase by an addition 10 percentage points.