MAN UP!
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Man Up! is a life skills and leadership development program designed to encourage mature behavior in adolescent males. It helps answer the following types of questions for participants:
• What is a REAL Man?
• How Do I Become a Real Man?
• How can I and others know when I have become a real man?
These are REAL questions that need to be addressed in the lives of adolescent males. Many acting out behaviors for males are due to the desire to "prove their manhood" to themselves and the world in
which they live. The Man Up! Program is designed to help adolescent males to understand what true manhood is and thereby do away with the need for them to “prove their manhood” by acting out.
PROGRAM PLACE(S) AND SCHEDULE
The classes are held weekly at variouse times and locations. (See Program Calendar for more information.)
PROBLEM STATEMENT
A very significant number of male referrals to the juvenile justice system indicates that gender-specific life skills programming is needed to address the differential issues leading to male arrests and at-risk behavior at both primary and secondary prevention levels.
National FBI statistics for the year 2000 show 72% of juvenile arrests were male.
GOAL STATEMENT
The goal is to provide a community-based psycho-educational program which recognizes the different developmental issues leading to boys’ delinquent behavior and addresses the unique needs of boys involved in the justice system. The program intends to reduce risky and criminal behavior, and is rendered more effective and affordable by the inclusion of an adult male role model in the intervention.
TARGET GROUP
The intervention is targeted for males, both adjudicated and non-adjudicated, 10 to 17 years of age. Referred juveniles may number up to 300 per year. Additional groups may be added should referrals warrant it. Materials are provided in English; a Spanish language program is available if sufficient referrals are received. Minimum 5, maximum 15 referred juveniles per group.
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
Four 1.5 hour seminars of classroom-style education, role-playing, small group discussion, individual family/mentor discussions, and activities designed to address gender-specific issues related to risky and criminal behavior, including
• Self respect • Healthy relationships • Reducing victimization
• Assertive coping skills • Education and vocation
OUTPUT MEASURES - Quantitative measures show the level of project activity through number. They are not intended to measure the program’s success.
In order to successfully complete this program, referred young men must attend all sessions preferably with at least one male adult (father/legal guardian/mentor) and participate in group activities. Participation is assessed by facilitator observation and home work completion.
OUTCOME MEASURES - Qualitative measures show the correlation between the work of the project and its results.
Program evaluations will be used to assess perceived benefits, e.g., quality of information and knowledge provided, perception that the individual learned from the program, and participants' satisfaction with the program. Summary data will be provided on an annual basis.
BUDGET
The program is $25.00 per family per session for a four session course; typically 1.5 hours per week. (Price can be negotiated depending on the family’s ability to pay. No one is turned away for inability to pay, but the price adds perceived value helping to ensure the family’s full participation in the program.)