Next Steps Mentoring

The New York City Department of Probation (DOP) helps build stronger and safer communities by working with and fostering positive change in their decision-making and behavior, and expanding opportunities for them to move out of the criminal and juvenile justice systems through meaningful education, employment, health services, family engagement and civic participation.

Program Overview

Next STEPS is an initiative of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP for Neighborhood Safety) that offers one-on-one and group mentoring within a cognitive behavioral therapy-based curriculum designed to help young adults make the attitudinal and behavioral changes necessary to avoid criminal activity and reengage with education, work and community. DOP contracts with nonprofit organizations in targeted neighborhoods to provide a transformative mentoring designed intervene at a critical point in the lives of young adults who are: actively engaged and/or involved in serious violent activity (including domestic violence) and/or gang‐affiliated, who reside in or near targeted NYCHA housing developments throughout New York City.

The core components of the Next STEPS model includes:

1. Group process that encourages participants to become an important support system for each other.
2. Curriculum based on cognitive behavioral principles delivered by culturally appropriate mentors, “credible messengers”.
3. Mentors who are available for intensive support, advice, and guidance.
4. Incorporation of positive youth development values, principles and practices.
5. Case management.
6. Participant stipends.

Program Summary

• Participants Served Annually: Approximately 200 annually
• Participant Age and Profile: Probation clients between the ages of 16-24
• Duration: 9 months
• Locations: NYCHA developments in the Bronx, (Castle Hill, Patterson, Butler); Queens (Queensbridge North & South), Staten Island: (Stapleton), Brownsville/East NY, (Brownsville, Boulevard , Van Dyke I&II); Red Hook/Fort Greene: (Red Hook East & West, Ingersoll), Bushwick/Bedford Stuyvesant, (Bushwick, Tompkins), Manhattan: (Saint Nicholas, Wagner, Polo Grounds Towers)

More About MAP for Neighborhood Safety

In June 2014, Mayor Bill deBlasio announced the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP for Neighborhood Safety), a $210.5 million comprehensive, citywide plan to reduce violent crime in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments through targeted law enforcement efforts, immediate physical improvements, aggressive community engagement and outreach efforts, and the expansion of work and education programs. The initiative is a collaboration between ten city agencies (NYCHA, NYPD, DYCD, OCDV, DFTA, DOP, CEO, HRA, Parks, and OCJ), as well as community groups, non-profits, and residents of public housing.