Starting a Program to Prevent Youth Violence
Begin by checking out Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action (2002) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Injury Center. Best Practices look at the effectiveness of specific violence prevention practices in four key areas: parents and families; home visiting; social and conflict resolution skills; and mentoring. These programs are drawn from real-world experiences of professionals and advocates who have successfully worked to prevent violence among children and adolescents. The sourcebook also documents the science behind each best practice and offers a comprehensive directory of resources for more information about programs that have used these practices.
Next, visit the National Crime Prevention Council Web site for ideas and tools to help you reduce violence in your community. You may also want to check out the National PTA's Violence-Kids-Crisis resource, which includes an online Community Violence Prevention Kit.
Consider working with teens in your community to develop youth violence prevention efforts. Browse summaries and full texts of Youth In Action online publications developed by teens for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Some provide information about different types of delinquency and violence-prevention programs that youth have implemented around the country, while others provide important guidance on how to plan and start programs, make presentations, work with the news media, and evaluate the effectiveness of efforts. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention also funds the Teens, Crime and the Community program, a national youth program that supports the concept of education and action to create safer, more caring communities for youth by youth. Their Web site provides a number of ideas for adults interested in supporting and guiding teens in their violence prevention efforts.
If you are interested in developing positive after school activities for children and teens, the Afterschool.gov Web site provides links to a wealth of information about starting an after school program in your community. The Afterschool Alliance's Afterschool Action Kit (available in English and Spanish) is another useful tool to help parents, community members, and practitioners find or start an after school program, identify program needs, and locate resources. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice describe the benefits and best practices of exemplary after school programs around the country, in Working for Children and Families: Safe and Smart After-School Programs (2000). The organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids's report, America's After-School Choice: The Prime Time for Juvenile Crime or Youth Enrichment and Achievement (2000), explains the importance of after school programs in preventing youth violence and risky behavior.