Goals & Objectives
Montana National Guard Youth ChalleNGe
790 East Cornell Street
Dillon, MT 59725
1-877-367-6927
FAX (406) 683-7545
OVERVIEW
MISSION STATEMENT
The Montana Youth ChalleNGe Program assists at-risk Montana youth in developing skills and abilities necessary to become productive citizens through focusing upon the physical, emotional and educational needs of the youth within a highly structured environment.
PROGRAM HISTORY
The ChalleNGe Program has been in existence nationally since 1993. The goal was to establish a quasi-military program with the intent to use proven military techniques of discipline and motivation to assist youth in turning their lives around. To date, ChalleNGe Programs exist in 27 states with over thirty programs.
The Montana ChalleNGe Program was brought into existence in 1999. The program has now been in existence for over seven years and has been successful in graduating some 1,045 youth.
PROGRAM GOALS RESIDENTIAL
Academic Excellence: Each youth will increase their grade level status as measured against a pre and post test of the Test of Adult Basic Education (T.A.B.E.)
General Education Diploma: The program will strive to obtain better than a 68% GED success rate for all graduating classes.
Community Service: Each youth will complete 40 service to the community hours.
Physical Fitness: Each youth will show improvement in their physical fitness as measured against the President's Physical Fitness Program.
Leadership: Each youth will hold a minimum of three leadership positions.
Graduation Rate: The program will work to graduate 180 youth annually from the residential portion of the program.
Develop a 100% Mentor Match: The program's goal is to achieve a 50% mentor match for all youth by week 13 of the residential program and 100% by week 20 of the residential program.
PROGRAM GOALS POST-RESIDENTIAL
Life Plan Development: Each youth will have in hand a completed life plan that outlines a realistic plan for success after completion of the residential-phase of the program.
One Year Tracking: Using both the mentors and post-residential case managers all youth will be tracked for one year following graduation to measure continued success.
Academic Excellence: The ChalleNGe Program is tasked with advancing the academic status of each youth who enters the program. This advancement is primarily accomplished through the efforts of five hours a day of academic instruction, followed by two hours of study hall. Volunteer tutors are made available if necessary. The data below reflects average academic advancement of all graduates as measured against the T.A.B.E. Each cadet measured individually showed positive academic advancement.
Average Grade Level Increase:
READING : 1.9
MATH: 1.5
General Education Diploma: Although a youth does not need to receive a G.E.D. to successfully complete the ChalleNGe Program, we have set 68% as the minimum standard the program would like to achieve on an annual basis. This number was determined by the average percentage of high school graduating students who can pass the test. The data listed below reflects the number of graduates who achieved their G.E.D while attending MYCP.
GED Success Rate for MYCP at Graduation:
82%
Community Service: Each youth is required to perform forty service to the community hours. The below listed data represents an average per cadet. Each cadet on an individual basis preformed a minimum of forty service to the community hours.
Average Service to the Community Hours per Graduate:
52.63 hours
Service to the Community Hours Performed By Graduates to Date:
Over 55,001.85 hours
Graduation Rate: The program strives to graduate 180 youth per year. This is perhaps the program's most challenging goal for three reasons. The first is the relatively low population base of the State of Montana. Of the twenty-seven states currently hosting a ChalleNGe Program, Montana ranks lowest in total population. Second is the relatively low number of dropouts Montana has each year. Lastly is the geographic size of the state. With a state this large and relatively sparse population centers, it is difficult to locate the existing dropouts who might be eligible for the program.
Graduates from the Completed Fourteen Classes:
1045
Ethnic Breakdown
The ChalleNGe Program is directed with recruiting youth that reflect the current demographics of the state in which the respective ChalleNGe is established. In the state of Montana, our only minority population that ranks over 1% is Native American. Currently Native Americans make up about 6% of the total population of Montana. To that regard, we have always felt optimistic that our Native American population within ChalleNGe has ranged between 14% and 20%. Females are also an area that the program pays particular attention to. Nationally the program attracts approximately a 19% female to male ratio. In Montana we have been successful in attracting slightly more than the national average.
Percent of Native American Graduates:
16%
Percent of Female Graduates:
25%
Mentor Match
It is a program requirement that each youth have a mentor assigned to them who will assist in positive life development in the twelve months after completing the residential phase of the program. The following is the data reflecting the success rate of making those matches.
MYCP Mentor Matches at Graduation:
89%
ONE YEAR TRACKING
The ChalleNGe Program has an obligation to track youth twelve months after completion of the residential phase of the program. The following is a breakdown of the graduates and their status as of their last report. Please note, that Class Twelve graduates (Year 6) are only halfway through their first year. ChalleNGe would like to see 100% of the youth who graduate the program stay successful. We understand however that a 100% success rate when working with at-risk youth is not realistic. An 80% success rate has been set as an acceptable goal for the number of youth who stay on a positive track after graduation. We believe this sustained success rate more than justifies the validity of the program.
Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7
(Classes) (1 & 2) (3 & 4) (5 & 6) (7 & 8) (9 & 10) (11 & 12) (13 & 14)
Total number of grads
134 163 159 156 144 166 123
Full Time Employment
32% 31% 38% 38% 34% 36% 31%
Military
21% 35% 18% 20% 15% 14% 12%
Part time employment
10.5% 5% 2% 4% 15% 7% 15%
Post Secondary Education
9% 7% 4% 7% 9% 4% 5%
Adult Education
4.5% 4% 1% 4% 7% 11% 12%
High School
1% 2% 1% 2% 2% 7%
Total 78% 84% 64% 73% 82% 74% 82%
Seeking Employment
7% 5% 5% 3% 4% 3% 5%
Homemaker
6% 3% 2% 1%
Unknown/Incarcerated/Deceased
15% 11% 25% 21% 14% 21% 12%
Total 22% 16% 36% 27% 18% 26% 18%
FOUR YEAR TRACKING
One of the questions asked of the program is the long-term impact on youth who graduate. As already indicated, the program is tasked with tracking youth for one year after they leave the residential phase. Mentor and Case Manager data shows that approximately 80% of our youth are still on track and doing something positive one year after leaving ChalleNGe.
Recent data shows that of all Class One through Class Seven graduates, approximately 80% of our graduates are still on a positive track.
