OJJDP's State and Community Development Awards program was established to provide grants and cooperative agreements to organizations that OJJDP has selected for funds in prior years. This program has been authorized by an Act appropriating funds for the Department of Justice.
The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (Forum) was established by the White House in 2011 and is a network of cities united in their drive to prevent youth violence with federal agencies and private partners. The Forum has expanded to a total of 10 cities across the country implementing strategies and evidenced-based programs to reduce youth violence. The Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor as well as the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Office of National Drug Control Policy provide key supports to the Forum cities.
OJJDP provides funding to support the core activities in Forum cities linked to the approved comprehensive plans. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) has provided funding to the Forum cities to improve or expand the use of a "School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports" (SWPBIS) framework.
Philadelphia's Youth Violence Prevention Collaborative (PYVPC) has indentified seven key areas of focus for the plan, including school safety. Moving forward, working groups devoted to coordinating the themes identified in the strategic plan will have significant requests for technical assistance around implementing the programs and initiatives identified by the plan. The technical assistance will benefit the School District and the other partners invested in improving outcomes for youth, both in the 22nd Police District and citywide.
The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is to close twenty-three schools throughout the city in Fall 2013. Of those, five schools are located in the 22nd Police District, the highest concentration of closing schools in the city, putting extra pressure on the schools in the 22nd Police District. To address this need, SDP plans, amongst other things, on implementing Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports (PBIS) in two high need schools withh significant numbers of suspensions and violent incidents -- Tanner Duckery and Richard W. Wright elementary schools.
When implemented, the School District expects a twenty to sixty percent reduction in office discipline referrals and out-of-school suspensions, an increase in the amount of time students spend in the classroom, improved academic gains, decreased teacher and administrator involvement in discipline, and improvements in school climate, school safety, and mental-health related protective factors.
The SDP will partner with the local nonprofit Devereux's Center for Effective Schools, which has a proven and successful track record of implementing PBIS in 35 schools in Philadelphia. The School District is a key partner in the implementation of Philadelphia's strategic plan to reduce youth violence in the 22nd Police District. NCA/NCF
