Youth Violence: Prevention Strategies and Links
Youth violence prevention is a relatively
young field that is rapidly advancing. A number of prevention programs have
been developed and implemented, with a growing body of data available on
their outcomes. This literature has been summarized and promising programs
have been identified. For additional information, see the following sources:
-
Best Practices of Youth Violence
Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action is a CDC
publication designed to help communities develop and implement youth
violence prevention programs. The sourcebook presents four key strategies
for preventing youth violence: school-based programs, mentoring programs,
parenting and family-based programs, and home visiting. The sourcebook
builds upon lessons learned from the first CDC-funded evaluation projects
and draws upon the expertise of more than 100 of the nation’s leading
scientists and practitioners. It provides communities with instructions
for developing, implementing, and evaluating prevention programs. Best
Practices is available in Spanish for organizations who address violence
in Hispanic and Latino communities.
- Blueprints for Violence Prevention
is a project conducted by the Center for the Study and Prevention of
Violence (CSPV), University of Colorado at Boulder, with funding from the
Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The
project was designed to identify effective violence prevention programs.
Eleven prevention and intervention programs have been identified; all meet
a strict scientific standard of program effectiveness. Additional
information is available from the
University of Colorado at Boulder website.
- Youth Violence: A Report of the
Surgeon General identifies actions that all Americans can take to
address the problem of youth violence. Building a legacy of health and
safety for our young people strengthens our Nation as a whole. Additional
information is available from the
Surgeon General website.
Links to Additional Information
National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (NYVPRC)
PO Box 6003
Rockville, MD 20849-6003
Phone: (866) 723-3968
www.safeyouth.org
Developed by CDC in partnership with 10 other Federal agencies, the Resource
Center provides current information pertaining to youth violence. The
Resource Center is a gateway for professionals, parents, teens, and others
interested in obtaining comprehensive information about youth violence and
suicide prevention.
ACT—Adults and Children Together—Against
Violence
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5817
www.actagainstviolence.org
This violence prevention campaign focuses on adults who raise, care for, and
teach children age 8 or younger. It prevents violence by providing young
children with positive role models and supportive environments that teach
nonviolent problem solving.
American Psychological Association (APA)
750 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (800) 374-2721
helping.apa.org/warningsigns/index.html
APA and MTV are encouraging young people to become proactive in identifying
the warning signs of violent behavior in themselves and their peers.
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
PO Box 42557
Washington, DC 20015
Phone: (800) 789-2647
www.mentalhealth.org/schoolviolence/default.asp
The CMHS initiative on school violence focuses on the collective involvement
of families, communities, and schools to build resiliency to disruptive
behavior disorders.
Center for the Prevention of School
Violence
1801 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1801
Phone: (800) 299-6054
www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv
The Center serves as a resource and think tank for efforts that promote
safer schools and foster positive youth development. The Center provides
information and technical assistance to any and all stakeholders involved
with safe schools and youth development.
Center for the Study and Prevention of
Violence (CSPV)
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado at Boulder
439 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0439
Phone: (303) 492-8465
www.colorado.edu/cspv
The Center works from a multidisciplinary platform on violence to bridge
gaps between the research community, practitioners, and policy makers. An
Information House collects research literature on the causes and prevention
of violence and provides direct information. In 1996, the Center initiated a
project to identify ten violence prevention programs that met high
scientific standards of program effectiveness and could provide the
foundation for developing a national violence prevention initiative. The
results, Blueprints, describe practical and effective violence prevention
programs.
Children’s Defense Fund
Education and Youth Development Division
25 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 628-8787
www.childrensdefense.org/education/prevention/default.asp
The goal of Children’s Defense Fund’s Education and Youth Development
Division is to give every child a safe start in life. The Division does so
by identifying and promoting programs and policies that keep children out of
trouble, protect them from violence, and provide them with a safe and
productive learning environment.
Choices for Youth: A Public Education
Campaign to Prevent Violence Against Youth
PO Box 423445
San Francisco, CA 94142-3445
www.preventviolence.org/main.html
The goal of this public education campaign is to inform policy makers,
opinion leaders, and the general public about the need to increase resources
for youth violence prevention.
Children’s Safety Network (CSN)
National Injury and Violence Prevention Resource Center
55 Chapel Street
Newton, MA 02458-1060
Phone: (617) 969-7100 x2722
www.childrenssafetynetwork.org
The Network provides resources and technical assistance to maternal and
child health agencies and organizations seeking to reduce unintentional
injuries and violence toward children and adolescents. This is one of four
Children's Safety Network Resource Centers funded by the Maternal and Child
Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Community Toolbox
Work Group on Health Promotion & Community Development
4082 Dole Human Development Center
1000 Sunnyside Avenue
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045-7555
Phone: (785) 864-0533
ctb.ku.edu
The Tool Box provides over 6,000 pages of practical skill-building
information on over 250 topics. Each topic includes step-by-step
instructions, examples, checklists, and related resources.
Connect for Kids (formerly known as Kids
Campaign)
1625 K Street NW
11th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
www.connectforkids.org
This site presents issues relating to crime and youth violence.
Division of Adolescent and School Health
(DASH)
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
(NCCDPHP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(HHS)
4770 Buford Highway, NE
Mailstop K12
Atlanta, GA 30341
www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/index.htm
DASH strives to prevent the most serious health risk behaviors among
children, adolescents, and young adults. DASH offers publications and
information on preventing violence in schools including: The
School Health Index and
School
Health Guidelines to Prevent Unintentional Injuries and Violence.
Family Education Network
20 Park Plaza, 12th Floor
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: (617) 542-6500
www.familyeducation.com/home
This website provides parents and teachers with information and resources on
coping with school violence.
Keep Schools Safe
34 Main Street
Amherst, NH 03060
Phone: (603) 478-0555
www.keepschoolssafe.org
A project of the National Association of Attorney Generals and the National
School Boards Association, Keep Schools Safe helps communities develop safe
schools and provides current information on successful programs.
National Academic Centers of Excellence on
Youth Violence
CDC set up ten National Academic Centers of Excellence on Youth Violence to
foster collaborative efforts between university researchers and communities
that address the problem of youth violence. Five centers focus on developing
and implementing community response plans, training health care
professionals, and conducting small, pilot projects to evaluate effective
strategies for preventing youth violence. The other five centers conduct
comprehensive activities, including researching risk factors for youth
violence and evaluating prevention strategies. Information about and links
to funded centers are available from Youth
Violence: CDC Activities.
National Alliance for Safe Schools
Ice Mountain
PO Box 290
Slanesville, WV 25444-0290
Phone: (888) 510-6500
www.safeschools.org
This website promotes the National Alliance For Safe Schools and its central
goal: to make schools’ educational environments safe and orderly.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD)
PO Box 1248
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Phone: (800) 999-0960
www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/index.html
NACJD facilitates and encourages research in the field of criminal justice.
It does so by preserving and sharing data resources and providing
specialized training in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data.
National Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health
Maternal and Child Health Library
Knowledge Path: Adolescent Violence Prevention
Georgetown University
Box 571272
Washington, DC 20057-1272
Phone: (202) 784-9770
www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_adolvio.html
National Center for Hate Crime Prevention (NCHCP)
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street
Newton, MA 02458-1060
Phone: (617) 969-7100
www.edc.org/HHD/hatecrime/id1.htm
NCHCP works in partnership with professionals from various disciplines to
address the root causes of hate crime. Because many hate crimes are
perpetrated by youth, and because early intervention can stop prejudice and
violence, NCHCP directs its efforts toward educators, juvenile justice
practitioners, and others who work with young people.
National Center for Suicide Prevention
Training (NCSPT)
55 Chapel Street
Newton, MA 02458-1060
Phone: (617) 618-2418
www.ncspt.org/default.asp
The National Center for Suicide Prevention Training provides educational
resources to help public officials, service providers, and community-based
coalitions develop effective suicide prevention programs and policies.
National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC)
1000 Connecticut Avenue NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 466-6272
www.ncpc.org
The National Crime Prevention Council is a private, nonprofit, and
tax-exempt organization whose mission is to prevent crime and build safer,
more caring communities.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
PO Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
Phone: (800) 851-3420
www.ncjrs.org
An extensive source of information on criminal and juvenile justice,
providing a collection of clearinghouses supporting all bureaus of the U.S.
Department of Justice, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the
Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
6001 Executive Boulevard
Room 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
Phone: (866) 615-6464
www.nimh.nih.gov
This Institute carries out educational activities and publishes and
distributes research reports, press releases, fact sheets, and publications
intended for researchers, health care providers, and the general public.
National Mental Health and Education Center
4340 East West Highway
Suite 402
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: (301) 657-0270
www.naspcenter.org/safe_schools/safeschools.htm
A public service program of the National Association of School Psychologists
that provides resources for safe-school programs and crisis response and
offers information on current issues and programs.
National School Safety Center
141 Duesenberg Drive, Suite 11
Westlake Village, CA 91362
Phone: (805) 373-9977
www.nssc1.org
The Center provides training materials on school crime prevention and
safe-school planning to educators, law enforcers, and other professionals
who work with youth. Educational information is also provided for parents.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP)
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
810 Seventh Street NW
Washington, DC 20531
Phone: (202) 307-5911
www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org
The OJJDP was created to help communities and states prevent and control
delinquency and improve their juvenile justice systems. This website has
information on gang-related legislation, publications of interest, and
funding opportunities.
Partnership Against Violence Network (PAVNET)
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
www.pavnet.org
Pavnet Online is an interagency, electronic resource created to provide
information about violence prevention initiatives.
RAND Corporation
PO Box 2138
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
Phone: (310) 393-0411 x7517
www.rand.org
The mission of RAND’s Criminal Justice Program is to minimize the level of
harm to U.S. residents associated with criminal violence, theft, illegal
drug use, and any policies or programs intended to lessen these problems.
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202
Phone: (800) USA-LEARN
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/index.html
The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program is the Federal government's
primary vehicle for reducing violence and the use of drugs, alcohol, and
tobacco through education and prevention activities in our nation's schools.
Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon
General
Office of the Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18-66
Rockville, MD 20857
www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/
This report, the first Surgeon General’s report on youth violence in the
United States, summarizes an extensive body of research. It clarifies trends
in youth violence, identifies risk factors, and reviews the effectiveness of
specific prevention strategies.
Youth and Violence: Medicine, Nursing, and
Public Health: Connecting the Dots to Prevent Violence
American Medical Association
515 N. State Street
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: (800) 621-8335
www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/8197.html
This manual was developed to help physicians and others discuss youth
violence with professional and community groups.
U.S. Department of Justice: Youth Violence
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
www.usdoj.gov/youthviolence.htm
This site offers information that focuses on the concerns of family members
who have experienced, witnessed, or been victimized by school violence and
gang activity. The substance abuse subpages guide parents and others to
helpful resources, support groups, publications, and organizations. The site
also provides resources on keeping our schools safe.
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