Centenial Celebration

Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.

Date: November 25, 2024 Mon

Time: 8:10 pm

Results for youth homicides

1 results found

Author: Seattle. Human Services Department

Title: Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Needs Assessment

Summary: The Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (SYVPI) constitutes the City's core programming in youth violence prevention with an annual budget of approximately $5.8 million per year. SYVPI is intended to be a coordinated violence prevention and intervention program providing wrap-around services for youth between 12- 17 years who are involved in or thought to be at risk of becoming involved in violence. However, while SYVPI has been operating since 2009, it has been unable to clearly articulate how its program works to reduce youth violence. In 2013, the City Council asked the City Auditor to conduct an "Evaluability Assessment" of SYVPI with the goal of developing a rigorous evaluation of the program. In October 2014, the City Auditor issued a report by MEF Associates that concluded SYVPI could not be evaluated due to several operational and program design issues. MEF identified several issues that would need to be addressed before SYVPI could be evaluated (while MEF was asked to focus on an evaluation design for SYVPI, the problems it identified have broader implications for SYVPI's efficacy). MEF also recommended the City conduct a youth violence needs assessment. This report is in response to this recommendation. Findings A. City's current approach to youth violence lacks an overarching strategic vision The City's current approach to youth violence prevention lacks an overarching strategic vision that recognizes the complexity and multi-faceted nature of youth violence. A substantial body of research recommends viewing youth violence through a public health lens, which posits youth violence can be prevented before it occurs. Adopting a public health approach means viewing the problem from a systems perspective and recognizing the environments in which youth grow and develop have the ability to influence norms and behaviors. A public health perspective also acknowledges that no stand-alone program or entity can effectively address youth violence. Thus, an effective strategy will seek to identify the relative strengths and respective roles and responsibilities of different institutions and systems that play a role in youth violence prevention. Ideally, this will lead to more effective partnerships, the identification of shared goals, and improved service alignment and coordination across systems. B. SYVPI's programming is limited in scope SYVPI is largely focused on the provision of pro-social activities for individual youth between 12- 17 years. As noted in a recent City Auditor report on SYVPI, While these services are important for youth who might otherwise have barriers to these opportunities, this strategy does not address issues with the criminal justice system or schools. In addition, research has identified several risk factors.

Details: Seattle: City of Seattle Human Services Department, 2015. 71p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2016 at: http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/HumanServices/Reports/Final_SYPVI_NeedsAssessment.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/HumanServices/Reports/Final_SYPVI_NeedsAssessment.pdf

Shelf Number: 145416

Keywords:
At-Risk Youth
Delinquency Prevention
Needs Assessment
Violence Prevention
Youth Homicides
Youth Violence