National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention

In April, 2010, the US Department of Justice launched the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention.  Modeled in part on the California Cities Gang Prevention Network, a 13-city initiative based on the belief that successful violence reduction must be based on blending prevention, intervention enforcement and reentry, thus engaging all key community entities, the National Forum helps coordinate the energies of all key cabinet agencies.  Co-led by the Departments of Justice and Education in conjunction with the White House, the Forum has brought in other federal agencies such as Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, the Centers for Disease Control to name a few. As this path-breaking efforts asks the participating cities of Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Detroit (MI), Memphis (TN), Salinas (CA) and San Jose (CA) to change how they do business, so the federal government through the Forum is attempting to do the same by better-focusing and coordinating a variety of funding streams.

Mission Statement

The Department of Justice and the Department of Education, along with other federal agencies, will establish a National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (the “Forum”) for localities to share knowledge and experience in what works and what doesn’t in preventing youth and gang violence. Through the development of comprehensive networks and strategies that blend prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry, localities will work across agencies towards a common goal: preventing youth and gang violence. The federal government will reciprocate, offering interagency technical assistance and exploring how federal agencies, by working together, can better support promising efforts at the local level.

Rationale

Youth violence and gang activity continue to pose serious problems for communities across the nation. Years of hard experience and careful study tell us that the most effective approaches for preventing youth violence are built around careful assessment and planning, as well as the use of multi‐disciplinary partnerships.

Localities should not be left to struggle with these challenges alone. The federal government can help connect localities to one another, provide a context for sharing information about promising strategies and common challenges, and better coordinate current federal funding in support of local strategies.

Participating Localities

A small number of localities were invited to participate in the Forum on the basis of need, geographic diversity and willingness/capacity to engage with a federal interagency effort relating to youth and gang violence. Rural and Tribal representation were also considered. The final participants in this initial stage of the Forum are Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas and San Jose.

Timeline

May – July: Local listening sessions took place. Interagency federal teams visited with and heard the experiences of local leaders, stakeholders, and youth. Federal team members varied from session to session, but consistently included representatives from the Departments of Justice and Education. These visits were intended to establish a candid local/federal dialogue about the youth violence issues and strategies employed by the participating localities. To promote open communication at these initial sessions, a number of small and informal meetings were held. A broad array of local stakeholders participated in the sessions, including senior members of the mayor’s office, local and federal law enforcement, education, public health, social service providers, community and faith‐based organizations, research partners, and the private sector.

June – September: Planning meetings for the Working Session (below) began. By September, localities had identified leads to (a) participate in the Forum and organize it at the local level, (b) attend the Forum Working Session in Washington, and (c) to spearhead the development of comprehensive plans that blend prevention, intervention, enforcement and reentry strategies.

October 4th and 5th: The Forum Working Session (“Working Session”) takes place in Washington. The Working Session is the official starting point for the development of the localities’ comprehensive plans. At the Working Session, participating jurisdictions will discuss current efforts to prevent youth and gang violence and explore how they can be improved. Localities will share experiences and topical experts will offer information on best practices. Representatives from federal agencies will partner with localities to explore how existing federal resources can be identified and coordinated in support of local efforts.

October – February: Building on the Working Session, participating localities visit each other to engage in peer‐to‐peer learning and develop their comprehensive plans. Federal interagency teams work with localities, providing technical assistance as needed.

March: Localities complete their comprehensive plans.

April: The Summit on Youth Violence Prevention (“Youth Violence Summit”) takes place in Washington, DC. At the Youth Violence Summit, localities will present their comprehensive plans. Promising strategies will be highlighted, and implementation challenges will be identified. Representatives from federal agencies will continue to partner with localities to explore how existing federal resources can be identified and coordinated in support of local efforts. Portions of the Youth Violence Summit will be open to the media in order to showcase the localities’ efforts and the federal government’s support of those efforts. Private, state, and local funders will also be invited to provide additional opportunities for localities to secure additional funding for their efforts.

National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention-Logic Model.pdf