Dear Governor Mike Beebe,

Before jumping into my proposal I would like to formally introduce myself, Im

TaShayla Meekins, a Criminal Justice major at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Ive
been studying criminal justice at UALR for two years now and Im also currently taking a
juvenile delinquency course where we study the basis for juvenile delinquency. Taking this class
Ive grown an appreciable interest in juveniles, specifically Little Rocks juveniles, and
developing knowledge on what makes adolescents become delinquents as well as ways to
prevent this. With that being said this brings me to the issue at hand which is constant increase in
juvenile delinquency and death rates in the Little Rock community.
K.M. Banham Bridges stated that causes behind juvenile delinquency can be broken
down within 6 general factors: physical factors, mental factors, home conditions, School
conditions, neighborhood conditions, and occupational conditions (4). It is an ongoing research
on the actual causes of delinquency but most are narrowed down to the psychological and
physical conditions (7).
Over the last two years Ive seen an abundance of adolescents I knew from around town
and even those I attended school with losing their lives to graves and cells. It is becoming an
increasing problem amongst our community parents have to say goodbye to their children earlier
than expected. This problem also causes the community to live in fear for our children, parents
have to wonder when they see their child walk out of the front door will they see them return. It
is a very uncomfortable feeling to live with. It is about time that we take back control of our
community and give the members back that sense of safety in their own town. Not only have I
recognized this as a problem but also local activists who have reached out to the THV news after
Little Rock experienced 3 homicides within a 48 hour time span during October of 2014 (10).

According to the Arkansas Crime Information Center, in the city of Little Rock juveniles
ranked high in committing crimes such as simple assault, intimidation, burglary, vandalism,
shoplifting, drug/narcotic violations, weapon law violations, and disorderly conduct (8). Not only
is crime a problem amongst our juveniles, but crime is a problem throughout Little Rock as a
whole. If we can create a foundation to decreasing crime starting with juveniles we will progress
in decreasing crime throughout Little Rock all together. Max Brantley wrote in February of 2014
that Little Rock was named the 5th most dangerous mid-sized city. A Uniform Crime Report
released by the FBI showed that 7 out of the 10 cities had a decrease in crime compared to the
same time in the previous years but Little Rock did not (1). According to the LRPD Little Rock
has reached its 38th homicide as of October 2014 (10).
Executing a plan for a new building that holds safe and positive incentives and activities
is sure to reduce juvenile crime in the Little Rock community. In support of my proposal, Little
Rock would likely see a decrease in crime of every aspect. Allowing a building that provides
safe and positive incentives such as an open rec center, counseling services, and volunteer
opportunities would spread a new light amongst our youth. Little Rock has many outreach
programs for the youth but they seem to only target the African American race, typically males.
In order to decrease juvenile delinquency we need to develop an outreach center that targets all
adolescents, whether labeled at risk or not. I solely believe that developing a Youth Outreach
center of our own would drastically decrease crime amongst the youth by providing genuine help
to not only those teens at risk but any teen that would be willing to participate.
What I hope to gain from this program is not only bettering the youth, but developing
lifetime relationships between the youth and their mentors, giving the youth a sense of hope and
stability, instilling trust in the youth as well as goals and dreams.

The O.K. program of Little Rock is a law enforcement based mentoring program, which
fosters partnerships between police agencies, schools, students, community members
(teammates) and the faith and business community to provide positive guidance and support to
African-American males (3). Although this program is considered a very successful youth
outreach program it only focuses on African-American males, where as in order to decrease
juvenile delinquency we need to expand who we focus on. African-American males may be the
most troubled, but although the solution may start with them it ultimately does not end with
them. If we decrease crime amongst African-American youth males is it supposed to decrease
crime amongst African-American youth women and all other races? We must work to decreasing
crime amongst all types of youth not just one.
With developing youth programs there are risks involved. Mentors must be carefully
trained and paired with the right adolescent, if things are rushed and the mentors are not correctly
prepared or matched with their mentee it could be detrimental to the youth that needs help (6).
Jean E. Rhodes stated that vulnerable children are best left alone than paired with mentors who
cannot hold up their end of the relationship (6). It takes a lot of time and preparation when
developing a youth outreach program there are many factors that must come into play. These
factors are:
1. Assessing every need for mentoring in the community
Common areas programs look at when doing a needs assessment are: school test scores,
juvenile crime rates, dropout rates, percentage of students on free/reduced lunch programs
(indicator of socioeconomic status), teen pregnancy rates, substance abuse estimates, gang
activity, and number of youths engaged in other social services, such as foster care or transitional
housing (2).
2. Creating or getting support from a board or advisory committee
3. Cultivating a strong knowledge of mentoring and youth development research
4. Developing a mission statement, a vision, and a logic model

5. Developing partnerships to deliver services effectively

6. Planning implementation carefully
7. Mentor screening
8. Pre-match training for mentors and mentees
9. Matching mentors and mentees
10. Monitoring matches
11. Program evaluation
Every aspect that could possibly be a need for mentoring must be looked into in order to
provide successful mentors. You must also assess all services that are available in the community
to determine if there are already programs offering the type of programming you are thinking of
doing. It is not something that is done overnight it will take time and preparation to successfully
put together a youth outreach program. It wouldnt necessarily mean building a location from the
ground up to host this program, but finding an accessible location to hold the program is also an
important factor. We could consider various rec centers or schools to host the youth outreach
program. The funding for this program could range anywhere from $100,000 to $800,000
depending on the programs provided (9).
While every program may be successful I have yet to find a program that reflects the idea
that I have in mind for this program. Most of the programs that are similar to what I have in mind
target only at risk youth, or youth of a certain caliber. With my program I plan to knock down all
barriers I plan to open doors to every youth in the community. If we show the youth that we are
willing to invest time and care into them it will go a long way. Ultimately, this program will steer
youth in the right path away from the things that may deter them. With your help I know the
program would be very successful and also establish a foundation for our youth. I look forward
to hearing from you.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,

TaShayla Meekins
TaShayla Meekins

Works Cited
1. Brantley, Max. "Little Rock Makes Top 10 Crime List." Arkansas Times. Arkansas Times, 28
Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
2. "Developing a Successful Street Outreach Program: Recommendations and Lessons
Learned." NATIONAL COUNCIL ON CRIME AND DELINQUENCY, Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Oct.
2014.
3. Dubois, D.L., Holloway, B.E., Valentine, J.C., & Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of
mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community
Psychology. 30(2),
4. "Home-Little Rock OK Program." Home-Little Rock OK Program. N.p., 2010. Web. 04 Nov.
2014.
5. Jenkins, Macy. "3 Homicides in Less than 24 Hours Prompt LR Crime Discussion." 3
Homicides in Less than 24 Hours Prompt LR Crime Discussion. THV 11, 20 Oct. 2014. Web.
22 Oct. 2014.
6. K. M. Banham Bridges. Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency. 17 Am. Inst. Crim. L. &
Criminology 531 (1926-1927)
7. Q Jekielek, S., Moore, K.A., & Hair, E.C. (2002). Mentoring programs and youth
development: A synthesis. Washington, DC: Child Trends.
8. Rhodes, J.E. (2002). Stand by me: The risks and rewards of mentoring todays youth.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
9. Siegel, Larry J. Juvenile Delinquency: The Core. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2014. Print.
10. "Uniform Crime Reporting Program." Age of Persons Arrested - State: 2013 (n.d.): n. pag. 1
June 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.