Fuel the Future on #Giving Tuesday!

Our Mission: The Four Corners Group mission is to reduce recidivism in the Cobb County Juvenile Court  and Detention System through a multi-week cohort providing character education, job readiness training,  and employment/internship opportunities. Our programming currently supports youth referred to us by  the Cobb Juvenile Court System, alternative schools and Cobb Youth Detention Centers. 

Our Vision: To restore hope for youth in crisis by providing pathways to a thriving adulthood and to build  on our success in Cobb County to expand to additional communities and states in the coming five years. 

Our Goal for Each Youth We Impact: By the close of the cohort, each individual will be enrolled in public  or post-secondary school, secure employment, and/or enroll in vocational training. 

Organization History Description: In 2006, a first visit to a juvenile facility by William Johnson, a youth  mentor and pastor, turned into a 14-year journey of working with at-risk youth. Johnson quickly realized  that the best opportunity to make a difference in the future of young people who, based on their  neighborhood, family structure, and income level are at greater risk for turning to crime for survival, is to  begin the work when they are still in school. He began to work with youth at detention centers and  traditional school settings to mentor, encourage, and offer tools to change the direction their lives were  heading. Other passional mentors and community leaders joined his work and Four Corners Group, Inc.  was born.  

Four Corners Group provides at-risk youth, who are recently released from juvenile detention centers,  involved in the juvenile court system, enrolled in alternative school, or have dropped out of school with  education to empower. Programming includes sessions with industry experts, trained coaches, and  mentors. Youth receive job training, internships, and employment opportunities. Our programming also  works to build supportive relationships between youth and parents. The 1625 Initiative educates and  empowers youth caught in the vicious cycle of recidivism, offering an alternative training program to  those who have found themselves intertwined in the juvenile justice system and are predominately  attending alternative schools or have been released from juvenile detention centers. 

The Pathway to Success curriculum-based program launched in December 2019, and the pilot project  proved successful in leading students through a proven curriculum covering character education,  strengths assessment, and job readiness training.  

Statement of Need: Four Corners Group collaborates with local juvenile justice systems to serve court involved and at-risk youth. An estimated 2.1 million youth under the age of 18 are arrested in the United  States. 50,000 Juvenile offenders are currently held in residential placement including detention and  correction facilities across the United States. Many of the at-risk youth involved in the juvenile justice  system are from low-income neighborhoods, do not have needed educational support, or are trapped in  addiction. Very few of the youth we serve have positive role models in their neighborhoods.