Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program Announced

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced funding for the 2013 Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program.

In recent years, several communities have recognized spectrum of challenges associated with violence and, in response, have adopted multi-strategy, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing violence and improving the lives of the children, youth and families living in communities affected by violence. The Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration program supports partnerships that will replicate existing programs, such as the Boston Gun Project and the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model, in order to reduce violence in a targeted community. The replication of these models should include the coordination of existing resources in the communities, as well as complementary anti-violence strategies. These strategies must be evidence-based and have demonstrated effectiveness through research and evaluation.

The Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program has three main goals:

• Change community norms regarding violence 
• Provide alternatives to violence within the community 
• Increase awareness of the perceived risks and costs of involvement in violence among high-risk young people 

Recognizing that a single entity – such as a police department – cannot along prevent violence, this requires that communities use multi-disciplinary partnerships that develop and implement solutions that meet the specific needs of the community and local residents. For example, community- and faith-based organizations should be involved in promoting youth programs and other strategies that will reduce violence.

Eligible applicants include states and local governments. In addition, applicants must demonstrate significant challenges with youth-related crime and violence (specifically, high levels of aggravated assaults, shootings and killings over an extended period of time) to be eligible. DOJ anticipates making six awards ranging from $250,000 to $1.5 million.  Applications are due April 22, 2013.

To learn more about the Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program, click here.  You can also learn more about community-focused violence prevention strategies by checking out DOJ's Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation initiative.