Youth Development & Violence Prevention

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Program Area Description

The Mayor and Commission voted to authorize $7 million in American Rescue Plan funding for youth development and violence prevention during the March 1, 2022 commission meeting. 


Relevant History

March 1, 2022M&C approved to allocate $7 million of ARPA funding for Youth Development and Violence Prevention.
May 3, 2022M&C awarded $500,000 to six non-profit organizations serving Athens youth in the summer of 2022.
November 1, 2022M&C authorized a second $500,000 allocation of ARPA funds for Youth Development and Violence Prevention programming for summer of 2023.
January 9, 2023 Release of the Summer 2023 RFP to expand the accessibility of youth development and violence prevention programming that serves Athens-Clarke County youth, under 18 years of age. 
April 4, 2023M&C awarded a total of $336,164 to six agencies offering youth development and violence prevention programming during summer 2023.
May 11, 2023 Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens submitted an unsolicited proposal to serve as facilitators of youth development and violence prevention, and workforce development programming for Athens-Clarke County youth. 
May 26, 2023ACCGov staff asked the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens to submit a completed programmatic risk assessment and draft outcomes for their proposed programming.
June 6, 2023M&C approved the grant award of $2.875M of the ARPA Youth Development and Violence Prevention designated funds to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens for purposes of expanding their programming in two Athens Housing Authority community centers and serving as an umbrella entity for smaller youth-serving organizations.
July 10, 2023BGCA submitted a revised scope of work and budget.
August 1, 2023M&C approved an intergovernmental agreement between CCSD and ACCGov for Youth Development Initiative and strategic plan.
January 31, 2024Participants selected by Dr. Lakeisha Gantt and Mayor Kelly Girtz were invited to participate in the Youth Development and Violence Prevention Advisory Committee
March 5, 2024 M&C voted to approve the revised scope of services and budget proposed by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Athens to spend the $2.875M of the ARPA Youth Development & Violence Prevention funds previously allocated to the agency.
May 14, 2024M&C voted to use ARPA funding to provide full funding for four CDBG Public Services applications which either received partial or no funding through CDBG. The four projects receiving funding are YWCO Summer Girls Club ($30,000), Chess and Community Project Rewire Program ($46,894), ACC High School Completion Initiative ($20,000), and Georgia Conflict Center ($4,200).
June 5, 2024M&C voted to accept the priority goals and recommendations developed by the Youth Development and Violence Prevention Advisory Committee
August 6, 2024M&C voted to approve an extension of the Clarke County School District's youth development initiative for the 2024-2025 school year.
October 1, 2024M&C voted to allocate the remaining ARPA funds in advance of the December 31, 2024 obligation deadline. Of the remaining $3.2 million within the Youth Development and Violence Prevention bucket, M&C allocated an additional $300,000 to Boys and Girls Club violence prevention programming, and an additional $165,000 to the CCSD Youth Development Initiative. The remainder of unobligated funds in the Youth Development and Violence Prevention bucket were allocated to other projects outside of the bucket.