Salt Lake City Building Futures

Youth gangs continue to have a significant adverse impact on youth, families, and communities across America. A growing number of communities have adopted multi-strategy, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and preventing gang activity. The OJJDP FY 2010 Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention Program provides funding for localities to replicate selected secondary gang prevention and intervention programs that are considered promising or effective. These programs must be a part of an existing community based comprehensive anti-gang initiative. This program is authorized by the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-117.

The Salt Lake City Building Futures project is a cooperative approach to gang prevention and intervention that seeks to redirect the behavior of gang-affiliated youth and potential gang recruits to improve their chances of leading fulfilling lives and to increase the stability and safety of the neighborhoods in which they reside. The program targets youth ages 10-17 in Salt Lake City's most gang active neighborhoods. The project adapts the core components of the Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development Detention (BUILDD) Program: (1) in-school gang prevention taught by gang specialists using the Skillstreaming curriculum for grades 5-8; (2) intervention utilizing a street outreach worker to identify gang-involved youth and potential recruits for participation in recreational activities and other intervention services; (3) community resource development that connects adult mentors with gang members; and (4) rehabilitation to provide transitional services and cognitive behavioral skills training to youth detained a minimum of 10 days. Performance measures will include a reduction in delinquent behavior and gang activity among targeted youth, demonstrated competency in newly acquired behavioral and social skills, increased number of youth involved in pro-social activities, and reductions in gang related incidents.

CA/NCF