NYC Opportunity Evaluation Shows AIM Program Helps Improve Juvenile Justice Outcomes

NYC Opportunity has released an evaluation of Advocate, Intervene, Mentor (AIM), a court-mandated mentoring program for juvenile probation clients ages 13 to 18 who are at high risk for re-offending. The evaluation finds that AIM successfully helps participants avoid out-of-home placement (equivalent to prison in the adult context) and recidivism, and supports them in pursuing and achieving individualized goals to reduce their risk of re-offending.

AIM uses a one-on-one mentoring model with a paid ‘advocate-mentor’ available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Advocate-mentors are credible messengers, defined as individuals who are respected in the communities served, typically coming from the same neighborhood and backgrounds as the participants, including prior justice system involvement. Advocate-mentors work with participants to co-create individualized service plans designed to transform attitudes and behaviors, reduce recidivism and improve participants’ personal outcomes.

The evaluation was conducted by the Urban Institute. The October 2018 report (link below) presents findings from an implementation and outcome evaluation conducted between September 2016 and March 2017. The evaluation documents AIM program operations, participant outcomes, stakeholder experiences, and best practices, and presents recommendations to address identified program challenges. Key findings include:

• Over two-thirds of participants completed AIM without an out-of-home placement. When excluding placements due to non-criminal technical violations of probation conditions (e.g., truancy), this figure rises to over 80 percent.
• Over 90 percent of participants avoided felony rearrest within 12 months of enrollment — far exceeding the program target of 60 percent.
• Participants, alumni, caregivers, program staff, and other stakeholders all expressed positive feelings about their experience with the AIM program. Participants valued one-on-one interactions with advocate-mentors, and caregivers value the family team meetings and providers’ responsiveness to participant needs.

Launched in 2012, AIM is implemented in all five New York City boroughs by local nonprofit service providers, and is managed by New York City Department of Probation as a component of the Young Men’s Initiative.

To learn more, read the Evaluation Report on New York City’ s Advocate, Intervene, Mentor Program.

Read the New York City Department of Probation press release.