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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:07 pm
Time: 9:07 pm
Results for delinquency prevention programs
5 results foundAuthor: Totten, Mark Title: Evaluation Report for the North Central Community Association Regina Anti-Gang Services Circle Keeper Project Summary: The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the evaluation activities for the Circle Keeper Program of the Regina Anti-Gang Services Project for the period of December 2010 – March 2011. The RAGS Project is a unique initiative for gang-involved Aboriginal youth and young adults aged 16 – 30 years living in the North Central neighbourhood of Regina. It is the only Canadian project of its kind. The RAGS program engages clients in intensive daily services aimed at reducing their involvement in gang life and facilitating their exit from gangs. Circle Keeper is one of the four core programs. The other programs are Life Skills Programming for Young Men; Intensive Gang Exit Counselling; and Outreach to schools and institutions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized in the evaluation. Fourteen young women completed a baseline interview and eight completed a follow-up survey. Two of the young women who completed baseline surveys died prior to completion of the follow-up surveys. A pre and post design was used for the measurement of change over time. The post measure was administered three months following the baseline measure. It is clear that the Circle Keeper intervention has had a positive effect on the treatment group. The mean and median ages of the fourteen participants were 21.4 years and 20 years respectively. Of the eight young women who completed follow-up surveys, all continued to have close friends who were gang members. Seven young women reported that they frequently partied with gang members at baseline, and these same seven reported having continued partying with gang members throughout the three month program. The one participant who did not party with gang members at baseline did not party with them during the program. Seven participants had a gang-involved boyfriend at baseline whereas only four had gang-involved boyfriends at the time of the follow-up survey. The remaining young woman was in a relationship with a severely abusive partner at baseline and she terminated this relationship during the program. Two exited their gangs and another remained an active gang member. Three participants who were using intravenous drugs daily at baseline got off these drugs in February 2011 and were in a methadone program. An additional woman stopped hard drugs during the program and was only using marijuana at the three-month follow-up. Three women continued their intravenous drug usage throughout the group. Two participants stopped dealing drugs whereas three continued to deal drugs at follow-up. Six decreased their involvement in non-violent crime and four women decreased their involvement in violent crime. Four were active in the sex trade at both time periods, two had reduced their involvement, and one young woman had gotten out of prostitution completely at follow-up. Seven participants engaged in frequent binge drinking at both baseline and follow-up. Seven had frequent contact with police at baseline, whereas only one woman had contact with the police during the group program. Each participant attended on average 38% of all group sessions, or 21 days of programming. On average, the total cost per case was $10,053.86, or $2,513.46/month. This includes all administration costs, such as rent, staffing, evaluation and participant stipends. Given the relatively low attendance rate, this was an expensive program to deliver. Costs are considerably higher compared to the average male RAGS client. Key conclusions of the evaluation include reductions in the overall risk levels and individual risk levels of participants over time. The Circle Keeper program should be replicated in Canada. Details: Gatineau, QC: Totten and Associates, 2011. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2012 at: http://www.nccaregina.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Circle-Keeper-Report-Totten-May-10-2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Canada URL: http://www.nccaregina.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Circle-Keeper-Report-Totten-May-10-2011.pdf Shelf Number: 126166 Keywords: Aboriginal YouthDelinquency Prevention ProgramsGangs (Canada)Youth Gangs |
Author: Brash, Rachel Title: Youth Violence Prevention and Reduction: Strategies for a Safer Baltimore Summary: A wide spectrum of strategies has been developed to combat youth violence across the country. Some interventions focus on preventing violent behavior in the first place, while others focus on reducing such behavior after it has developed. Interventions fall into three broad categories: individual-level interventions, neighborhood-level interventions, and gun and police strategies. Individual-level interventions include parent training, prenatal and early childhood interventions, and social-cognitive and behavioral training. Each of these types of intervention has been associated with reductions in antisocial behavior or violence. Neighborhood interventions include comprehensive strategies and school-based programs. Comprehensive strategies—which provide extensive services to youth and their families and aim to improve social and economic conditions within neighborhoods—have gained popularity over the past decade. Because of their complexity, these types of strategies are difficult to implement and evaluate. School-based interventions are widespread and research suggests that they can help reduce risk factors associated with violence and violence itself. Lastly, many cities have implemented strategies involving gun and police policies. Some of these, including intensive patrols targeting gun possession and gun crimes, have been shown to be very promising. The research reviewed has several important implications for Baltimore and cities like it. Because of the wide range of programs that have been found to help reduce violence, cities do not need to focus all their resources on any one type of intervention. City leaders should keep in mind that not all popular programs have been found effective. For example, evidence suggests that mentoring programs help reduce substance abuse, but they have not been shown to reduce violence. As for gun buyback programs, evidence suggests they do not reduce violence either. Public resources might be better spent on other types of interventions. Additionally, policy makers and service providers should keep in mind that evidence suggests that parent training may not benefit families if parents have limited economic resources, mental health problems, little social support, or serious marital conflict. Given that these conditions are prevalent in Baltimore, parenting training may not be a successful strategy. The evidence from Baltimore and the rest of the country suggests that a successful violence prevention strategy for Baltimore should include at least five components: Wrap-around services for youth most at risk of violence; Targeted handgun patrols in high-violence areas; Home visitation by nurses and paraprofessionals; Evidence-based prevention instruction in schools; and, Intensive family therapy. Evidence from Baltimore also suggests that attention needs to be paid to continuity of programming over time, communication and collaboration among agencies and organizations, monitoring of programs, and sharing of information from past and current efforts. If Baltimore addressed these communication and programming issues and implemented, with integrity, the five strategies described above, the city could greatly improve its chances of significantly reducing the number of young people killed in its neighborhoods. Details: Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, 2004. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2012: http://ips.jhu.edu/elements/pdf/ips/abell/brash.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://ips.jhu.edu/elements/pdf/ips/abell/brash.pdf Shelf Number: 126518 Keywords: Crime Prevention ProgramsDelinquency Prevention ProgramsGun ViolenceIntervention ProgramsYouth Violence (Baltimore, Maryland)Youth Violence Prevention |
Author: Delfabbro, Paul Title: Programs for Anti-Social Minority Youth in Australia and New Zealand - A Literature Review Summary: A review was undertaken to describe and critically evaluate programs designed to meet the needs of Australian and New Zealand minority youth with anti-social behaviours. For the purposes of the investigation, minority youth was defined as an adolescent aged 10-18 years identifying themselves as being an Aboriginal/ Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) or of a Maori cultural background. ATSI people constitute approximately 2% of the Australian population, whereas Maori people constitute approximately 15% of the New Zealand population. Anti-social behaviour was defined as any behaviour inimical to the well being of young people in a personal, interpersonal, legal, or educational context. Particular attention was given to substance abuse, offending behaviour, and truancy because of the significant problems that these cause for indigenous youth. The review methodology involved a keyword search of all available sociological, juvenile justice and psychological databases available in Australia and New Zealand, as well as extensive Internet searches, contact with key researchers, and manual searches of Government agency libraries. Almost no research was found concerning the formal evaluation of intervention programs. Almost all program and intervention studies were descriptive, and did not employ standardized measures, or control samples. The review highlighted the significant over-representation of indigenous people in every form of social disadvantage, including offending, arrest and incarceration rates, school retention rates, health, and economic well being. This was found to be more so in Australia than in New Zealand because of the stronger historical representation of Maori people in New Zealand political affairs. The most significant health issue affecting indigenous people in remote communities is petrol sniffing. A review of primary, secondary and tertiary interventions indicated that secondary interventions appeared to be the most effective. Strategies such as increased policing, curfews, removal of leaded petrol from communities did not work, and the best programs were those involving established relationships with the indigenous community, structured activities, and placement of young indigenous people in outstation programs away from the source of the problem. In many cases, the locations were culturally relevant to young indigenous people, had ongoing funding support, and assisted in the development of practical life skills in a non-threatening environment. The review of juvenile justice revealed significant problems with existing strategies to dealing with minority offending. The review questioned the established assumption that the justice system is necessarily biased against young indigenous people because of the prescriptive nature of sentencing and processing that occurs in response to established offence records. ProbUELLT 8 lems were felt to be more strongly attributable to broader hardships in the community that contribute to higher offending rates in young indigenous people. The causes of indigenous offending were considered numerous, and included the breakdown in traditional family structures, substance abuse, unemployment, poverty, psychological distress, and homelessness. The best programs in both countries were those in New Zealand involving community aid workers that visited the homes of families at risk and provided a range of supports. These included family mediation services, assistance with psychological and substance abuse problems, and employment assistance. Programs that were considered less effective included those involving more forceful policing (curfews) and police aide workers, diversionary programs, family conferencing, and police liaison programs. The report also documents several successful schemes to enhance school retention rates in remote communities. The best of these programs involves practical support (the provision of clothes, books and food) as well as a culturally relevant curriculum and school committees involving members of the indigenous community. The report provides a critical assessment of existing research programs developed via Government agencies and research centers. A greater emphasis on practical skill-based programs and solutions is emphasized in preference for the tendency towards bureaucratic research involving repeated reviews of exiting problems and/or discussions of the need for greater cultural awareness and political accountability. Details: Stockholm: Centre for Evaluation of Social Services, 2003. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 26, 2013 at: http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/10643/2003-110-19_200311019.pdf Year: 2003 Country: Australia URL: http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/10643/2003-110-19_200311019.pdf Shelf Number: 127723 Keywords: Aboriginal YouthAntisocial Behaviors (Australia, New Zealand)Delinquency Prevention ProgramsIndigenous Youth |
Author: Philadelphia. Mayor's Office Title: Philadelphia's Strategic Plan to Prevention Youth Violence Summary: Since Mayor Michael Nutter took office in 2008, Philadelphia has reduced violent crime by 15% and property crimes by 9%. This modest success does not change the fact that a shocking number of the city's children, particularly African-American children, are growing up in one of the most violent cities in the United States. That is, if they manage to grow up. The goal of the newly-created Philadelphia Youth Violence Prevention Collaborative (YVPC) is nothing less than a reversal of the current situation for far too many of Philadelphia's youth. This Youth Violence Prevention Plan creates the blueprint for the initial strategy to mobilize the collective resources of our community-- including business, academic, non-profit, philanthropic, religious and government-- to turn one of the nation's most violent cities into one of its safest. This goal requires that Philadelphia government: 1) embeds youth violence prevention and reduction in the work and priority of every relevant city agency through accountability metrics; 2) ensures that youth and high impact communities are engaged in the work; and 3) takes a long-term approach. The Collaborative was created when the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) selected Philadelphia to be among the ten cities participating in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. The Forum is a network of communities and federal agencies that work together, share information and build local capacity to prevent and reduce youth violence. The Forum brings together people from diverse professions and perspectives to learn from each other about the crisis of youth and gang violence and to build comprehensive solutions at the local and national levels. Over 30 leaders from government, academia and other stakeholder groups in Philadelphia are part of the Collaborative, which is co-chaired by Anne Marie Ambrose, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Kevin Dougherty, Administrative Judge of the Family Court of Philadelphia, and Charles Ramsey, Philadelphia Police Commissioner. The Collaborative members represent the city's leadership across a wide cross-section of disciplines in recognition that many factors contribute to and can alleviate youth violence. Details: Philadelphia: Mayor's Office, 2013. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2015 at: http://www.phila.gov/Newsletters/Youth_Violence_Strategic_Plan_%20FINAL%20September%202013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.phila.gov/Newsletters/Youth_Violence_Strategic_Plan_%20FINAL%20September%202013.pdf Shelf Number: 134940 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention ProgramsJuvenile OffendersPartnershipsViolence PreventionViolent OffendersYouth Violence (Philadelphia) |
Author: Beckman, Kara Title: BIG Ideas on School-Based Mentoring: Evaluation of the Big Brother Big Sisters - Greater Twin Cities School-Based Mentoring Program Summary: For nearly 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities (BBBS-GTC) has been making meaningful matches between adult volunteers (Bigs) and children (Littles) in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The BBBS-GTC school-based program matches elementary-aged Littles with Bigs and brings them together for typically about an hour each week during the school year to eat lunch, work on crafts or homework, play a game, read a book, or just talk about their week. This report summarizes evaluation findings about the school-based mentoring program based on qualitative and quantitative data gathered during 2013 and 2014. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 Bigs and focus groups were held with 12 BBBS-GTC staff who coordinate matches. Quantitative data consisted of survey results from 304 Bigs who filled out an initial (T1) survey near the beginning of the 2013-14 school year and 283 Bigs (93% of the 304) who also completed a second survey (T2) after the school year ended. Findings shared are largely descriptive, illuminating strengths while also highlighting areas for possible improvement. Details: Minneapolis, University of Minnesota, School of Nursing and the Healthy Youth Development - Prevention Research Center, Department of Pediatrics 2015. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 18, 2017 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250582.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250582.pdf Shelf Number: 148261 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention ProgramsMentoring Programs School-Based Programs |