This study rigorously tests the effectiveness of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) community-based mentoring program for crime and delinquency prevention through a randomized control trial conducted in 20 BBBSA affiliates with approximately 2,500 youth, age 10 or older at enrollment.

Youth and parent surveys will be administered to all participants at baseline and 18 months later; official records of delinquency/crime will be collected twice: once at the end of the 18-month data collection period and again 2.5 years later.

Primary analyses will use generalized linear and nonlinear mixed-effects models to test for program effects on the likelihood of different court-related arrests for different types of offenses as well as severity of delinquent behavior as reported by youth and parent.