Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2010, $324,901)
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 Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) will enhance their existing community-based, comprehensive anti-gang strategy. The prevention and intervention component, youth empowerment centers (YECs), are located in hotspot areas (ranking 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 in delinquency referrals) within the county and will be enhanced with targeted outreach and case management to mirror the Boys and Girls Clubs Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach. The population is youth at-risk of gang activity, delinquency, and violence residing in the hotspot areas identified by law enforcement, courts, school personnel or parents. The overarching goal is to reduce delinquency and gang activity by enhancing the current prevention strategy of providing 150 hours per month of pro-social activities in a socially positive format. Key outcomes include: decrease in gang-joining and violence, increase in length of youth participation; and decrease in arrests/re-arrests. Outcomes will be achieved by implementing the following enhancements: outreach and mainstreaming of 75 high-risk youth, case planning/management of the youth, and improved coordination of countywide anti-gang efforts. The CJC provides oversight and evaluation of the YECs and will ensure fidelity to the enhanced community-based, comprehensive, anti-gang strategy.
CA/NCF