Youth Reengagement Program
Growing up today, especially in a post COVID world, has presented many challenges to attending and succeeding in school. Some of these challenges have caused many youth to become disengaged in learning, and progress toward successful completion of school has gotten off-track. Without a diploma of GED, it can be hard to secure gainful employment, join the military, or get vocational training to reach one’s full potential.
Mentoring and activities through the Youth Reengagement Program is one way to give extra support to youth who might be struggling with grades, school attendance, physical or emotional health, and other challenges and barriers. Participating in this program can help youth set goals, and provide connections to other community agencies for getting back on-track to earning a diploma or GED. This program is provided to our community through grant funds awarded by the Oregon Department of Education’s Youth Development Division.
FAQ’s
How are youth referred to the program?
Youth who have been identified as needing extra support and guidance for reengagement, and meet the program’s criteria, can be referred by schools/ school districts, Tribes, OYA, JDH, or juvenile court. Youth (and parent/guardian if under 18) will be contacted by the referring agency, offered service- and, if interested- referred to the Youth Reengagement Program. when the referral is received, youth will be interviewed by the Reengagement Coach. Youth must be 14 to 21 and in dropout status or be 16 to 21 and lacking 3 or more credits after being enrolled for 1+ years.
Will Parents/Guardians be contacted?
We recognize that parent/guardian involvement is vital to a youth’s academic, social, and career success. Phone calls, letters, and other strategies by the youth’s school will be utilized to inform parents of their youth’s disengagement. When a youth is referred, the school or community agency and the Reengagement Coach will contact parent/guardian to proactively offer program support services in order to reengage youth back to school, offer tutoring services, and/or connect youth with other services that include vocational training, social and mental health services, and other services such as transportation and peer support.
What is a Reengagement Needs Assessment and how are they used?
To assist partnering community agencies and the Youth Reengagement Program in identifying challenges and circumstances that can add to youth disengagement, the Reengagement Needs Assessment will be administered to both youth and parent as part of the intake process. this assessment identifies possible causes for youth disengagement, helps to determine what community services can help eliminate barriers and challenges, and serves as a tool to measure program and youth outcomes. The Reengagement Needs Assessments will also help in designing a Youth Reengagement Action Plan for youth.
What kinds of activities are done to reengage youth?
As a regular part of mentoring, youth will work with the Reengagement Coach to utilize the SMART Goal Setting tool to determine youth goals, steps to achieve them, and milestones reached in the process. Milestones reached will be recognized with incentives, in which hard work will be rewarded. Other activities to reengage youth include tutoring, outreach by the program on behalf of youth to set up workforce training, college, employment supporting services, and other opportunities that will benefit youth and their families- all with the ultimate goal or reengagement to promote success and completion of GED, diploma, or workforce goals.