Violence Reduction Network Webinar: Innovative Strategies to Address Youth Violence

Youth violence, while steadily decreasing in the U.S. since 1994, remains a continuous issue in many communities. Youth violence refers to physically and social emotionally harmful behaviors that a young person experiences, inflicts or witnesses. Youth violence can exist in school, outside of school and in the home. With an issue that affects entire communities, addressing it requires different agencies to pool resources and work together.

On January 27, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. (ET), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Violence Reduction Network (VRN), in partnership with the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, will host a Webinar on Innovative Strategies to Address Youth Violence that will engage participants in discussions about innovative approaches to working with high-risk and gang-involved youth, based on the city of San Jose’s Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and the application of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission process on Juvenile Case Review. In addition, local police department representatives will share their expertise. The specific objectives of this session are:

• Describe the Juvenile Justice Review process, including successes and challenges. 
• Illustrate successful, collaborative initiatives and programs developed as a result of the review process. 
• Examine the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission process and how it can apply to youth violence. 
• Discuss the structure and staffing of the Safe School Campus Initiative (SSCI). 
• Discuss partnerships with local agencies. 
• Review the process to develop a SSCI program. 

State and local law enforcement command-level officers, gang unit officers, and personnel from school police and juvenile justice agencies would benefit from this session. Participants will have the opportunity to submit questions to the presenters when registering and during the Webinar. In addition to learning from these speakers, there will be time for peer-to-peer discussion to allow VRN and National Forum on Youth Prevention sites to share their experiences, challenges, and successes in addressing youth violence in their communities.

The webinar will be moderated by Ms. Kristie Brackens, VRN Co-Director, and Mr. Theron Pride, Senior Policy Advisory, Office of the Assistant Attorney General. To register, follow this link.

Youth Violence Prevention Grant Opportunities

Two funding opportunities aimed at preventing youth violence have been announced by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Expansion Project
In 2010, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education launched the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention in an effort to begin a national conversation about youth and gang violence and work with localities to design strategies that reduce violence and improve the well-being of children and their communities. Since 2010, several cities - Boston, Camden, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Salinas, and San Jose – have participated in the Forum as they strive to align and coordinate existing resources and engage youth, the faith community, law enforcement, victim services, and other key partners in youth violence prevention efforts.

The Forum is expanding and invites applications from localities that are invested in preventing youth violence. The primary objective of the Forum expansion project is to guide successful localities to develop a draft comprehensive action plan to address youth violence within the first six months of the award. Comprehensive plans will include strategies for prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) anticipates selecting as many as five new sites to join the Forum’s participating sites. Eligible applicants are limited to units of local government, including state agencies (only if targeted to a local community), and federally recognized tribal governments that are currently implementing violence prevention strategies. Applications are due June 23, 2014.

Click here to learn more about the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Expansion Project.

Minority Youth Violence Prevention (MYVP): Integrating Public Health and Community Policing Approaches
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognizes that, although the health of our nation has improved in recent decades, youth violence remains a great challenge among racial and ethnic minority populations. According to the announcement, homicide is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24 years old. However, among African American young people between the ages of 10 and 24, homicide is the leading cause of death.

HHS has launched the Minority Youth Violence Prevention (MYVP) initiative to integrate public health and violence prevention approaches in communities struggling with youth violence. Specifically, MYVP will support interventions that integrate violence prevention and crime reduction models with public health and community oriented policing approaches. Recognizing that tackling these complex challenges requires the support and expertise of community partners, this work will be doing in partnership among law enforcement agencies, public health agencies and other community entities.

HHS anticipates making 8-10 awards between $300,000 and $400,000. Eligible applicants include state and local governments, public health agencies, law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations. Applications are due June 13, 2014.

Click here to learn more information about this funding opportunity.

Department of Justice: Program Plan Tool

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched Program Plan - a new, searchable online resource that provides communities with several tools, including a list of current funding opportunities and new initiatives within OJP.

OJP is dedicated to building the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime by improving the criminal and juvenile justice systems, increasing knowledge about crime and related issues, and assisting crime victims. Given the complex of crime-related issues, OJP provides a number of tools, resources and technical assistance opportunities to communities throughout the nation. The Program Plan is divided into 10 thematically organized sections that capture the latest and most complete information about competitive and noncompetitive grants, training and technical assistance, research and other resources. These sections include:

• Initiatives to Address a Wide Range of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Issues
• Breaking the Cycles of Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and Crime
• Preventing and Intervening in Juvenile Offending and Victimization
• Managing Offenders To Reduce Recidivism and Promote Successful Reentry
• Effective Interventions To Address Violence, Victimization, and Victims' Rights
• Enhancing Law Enforcement Initiatives
• Supporting Innovation in Adjudication
• Advancing Technology To Prevent and Solve Crime
• Innovations in Justice Information Sharing
• Resources to Address Justice Issues in Tribal Communities

The Program Plan also includes instructions on how to apply for Formula Grants and assistance, a Glossary of acronyms and definitions, answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and an alphabetical Index of the programs found in the Plan.


Want to learn more? Check out the Office of Justice Programs website.

Apply for Criminal Justice Researcher-Practitioner Fellowship Program

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) are seeking proposals for the Criminal Justice Researcher-Practitioner Fellowship Placement Program. The program will help criminal justice practitioners build their capacity to measure program effectiveness and adjust practice based on real-time learning.

The fellowship supports the placement of a researcher within a criminal justice practice-based organization. The researcher will work directly with the organization to conduct criminal justice research and/or evaluation that relates to the needs of the organization but also has implications for local, state and national practice or policy.

Eligible practitioners include public, nonprofit, or community-based agencies at federal, state and local levels directly involved in:

• Crime and violence prevention programs
• Crime victim services and programs
• The juvenile justice system 
• Law enforcement
• Corrections, including pretrial, parole, probation, supervised release, and offender reentry
• The criminal judicial system
• Forensic sciences for criminal justice purposes 

All applications must include a signed written agreement between the research- and practice-based organization which: (1) outlines the roles of the researcher(s) and practitioners; (2) provides a statement of work; (3) details partnership activities, including periodic partnership meetings and communication activities; (4) addresses on-site accommodation for the researcher(s); (5) proposed a dissemination plan for project findings; and (6) indicates agreement of both the researcher(s) and placement organization to co-author a report describing the placement effort, obstacles experienced and solutions put into practice.

NIJ anticipates that up to a total of $2 million may become available for awards under this solicitation. From the total amount, NIJ anticipates that it will make up to four awards for a project period of 36 months. All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 28, 2014, submitted via grants.gov. To see the complete grant solicitation and selection criteria (the fellowship is detailed under “area two” ), click here.

Webinar: Building Organizational Capacity to Prevent Crime and Violence

On February 19, the U.S. Department of Justice's Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is collaborating with the Missing and Exploited Children's Program to present a webinar intended to help strengthen community-based organizations working to prevent crime and violence. Entitled "Building Capacity Within Your Organization," the webinar will offer participants tools to help them build organizational capacity through needs assessments and the development of strategic plans. Other issues to be covered include developing staff in order to improve program quality and the establishment of a board of directors.

The webinar will feature Oscar Grant, one of the co-authors of "Faith and Communities in Action: A Resource Guide for Increasing Partnership Opportunities to Prevent Crime and Violence," a resource published by the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. (This presentation will be the second in a series of three webinars related to this guide. An archived version of the first webinar, "A Partnership Approach to Program Sustainability," can be viewed here.)

This webinar will take place on Wednesday, February 19, from 2:00 - 3:00pm ET.

To register for this webinar, as well as the third and final installment in the series, please go here.

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.

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Grant Webinar

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the release of the 2013 grant application for the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Grant.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance will be hosting a webinar for potential applicants on Thursday, January 31st at 3:15pm (ET). The webinar will include: 

1. A brief overview of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (of which BCJI is a core component) and other centerpiece programs; 
2. A brief overview of the BCJI model, including information about researcher/practitioner partnerships, and what a successful application should look like; 
3. A brief overview of what a BCJI applicant budget should include; and
4. A brief overview of BCJI training and technical assistance 

To register for the webinar, please click here.  Grant applications for BCJI are due March 4, 2013.

DOJ Awards Second Chance Act Funds & Utilizes Pay for Success Model

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced $58 million in grant awards to reduce recidivism and build safe communities. As part of the Second Chance Act, this funding will help communities develop and implement comprehensive strategies that address the various challenges faced by ex-offenders as they return to their communities. Providing services and resources, such as substance abuse treatment, mental health services, mentoring and job training, can have a significant impact on the lives of individuals as they return from confinement by reducing the chances that an individual will return to jail. Reductions in recidivism may reduce crime and, ultimately, improve public safety. Of the $58.5 million awarded today, $10.5 million will support evaluation, training and technical assistance for the grantees and the reentry field at large.

Today’s announcement also highlights DOJ’s use of the “Pay for Success” (PFS) model. Two of the awards – an implementation award on Cuyahoga County, Ohio and a planning award in Lowell, Massachusetts – will be utilizing the Pay for Success model, which utilizes external funding to support the initiative and relies on government support only if the initiative demonstrates positive results. The Department of Labor is also utilizing the PFS model. To learn more about the PFS model, click here.

Four Cities Added to the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that four new cities will be added to the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. The four new cities include: 

• New Orleans, LA
• Philadelphia, PA
• Minneapolis, MN 
• Camden, NJ 

A White House initiative, the Forum is a network of communities that have come together to share information and support best practices that aim to reduce and prevent youth violence. With participation and support from federal agencies -  including the Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Labor - the Forum connects communities with various stakeholders, funders and organizations that can enhance the capacity of communities to effectively tackle youth violence. 

The first six communities participating in the Forum have leveraged new partnerships and implemented new violence reduction and prevention strategies. For example, Target awarded grants to the Forum sites to hire a youth director in each community. In San Jose, youth are participating in a new media training program, which allows youth to interview community leaders.

To learn more about to access tools and strategies created by the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, please click here.

DOJ Announces National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Expansion Project

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the 2012 National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Expansion Project. This funding opportunity seeks to select up to four new localities to join the Forum and work collaboratively with the federal government and other cities to address the challenges of youth violence.

Launched by the Departments of Justice and Education, the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention is an initiative that strives to help local communities effectively maximize the use of limited resources and provide an opportunity to learn about and share strategies that effectively target youth violence in other communities. With support from various federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor (DOL) and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Forum brings together communities and their various stakeholders to raise awareness of youth and gang violence, enhance the capacity of local communities to prevent youth violence and promote increased coordination and communication among national , state and local stakeholders. Currently, there six communities participating in the Forum: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas (CA) and San Jose (CA).

According to DOL, the Expansion Project will offer $20,000 to up to four new localities that will activities participate in the Forum. Interested applicants must commit to developing comprehensive youth violence prevention plans. The Forum will provide participating localities with technical assistance and support in strengthening local partnerships and improving access to data-driven practices. In addition, the Forum offers a community of practice, which connects participating cities and encourages the sharing of information about the success of local violence prevention models.

The Forum offers communities a unique opportunity to partner with the federal government, as well as other communities working to prevent youth violence.  Recognizing that issues such as youth violence are unique to each locality and require support from various sectors, The Forum encourages participation from a diverse group of stakeholders in each community.  For example, the Forum recognizes that representatives from local health, education, law enforcement and economic development organizations will have a critical role in developing comprehensive violence prevention plans that target the needs of youth and families in their communities.

Eligible applicants include units of local government, including state agencies (only if tartged to a local community), public agencies and tribal governments. Applications are due June, 25 2012. For more information about the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Expansion Project, including detailed application information, please click here.

HHS & ED Re-Launch StopBullying.Gov

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education recently announced the re-launch of StopBullying.gov, a federal website filled with information, resources, and tools to assist children, families, schools, and communities in their efforts to stop and prevent bullying.

Students who are the victims of bullying may become disengaged from school, are more likely to abuse drugs, and are at a greater risk for suicide. But as HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius notes, "'Bullying is not just an education or health problem, it is a community problem.'" For this reason, StopBullying.gov has a variety of resources, including factsheets and training materials, targeted at a wide range of community members, from individuals who are the victims of bullying and their families, to educators and community based organizations.

Of particular note is the "Working in Communities" section of the website, which presents strategies and tools for addressing and preventing bullying including:

• Assessments schools can use to determine the extent and severity of bullying among their students as well as the adequacy of staff responses;
• Guidelines for developing bullying prevention policies in schools and communities; and
• A toolkit to aid the development of broad partnerships between community-based organizations and government agencies to prevent bullying and other problems, such as truancy, and improve outcomes for students.

Department of Justice Provides Grants to Support Reentry and Community Safety

In recent weeks, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced several grant opportunities aimed at building safe communities. Using the criminal justice system as an anchor for improving community safety, DOJ recognizes that several programs, strategies and initiatives are required to meet the comprehensive needs of individuals and communities that interact with the criminal justice system. As a result, DOJ has announced grants that target prevention strategies, improvements to the organization and functioning of programs within the justice system, the successful reentry of former offenders in to their communities and comprehensive community-based violence prevention models.

A critical element of any community change initiative, community safety can be approached in several ways. Below you will find a list of some of opportunities that may be of particular interest to communities as they consider how to improve community safety by addressing the needs of residents who may be at risk of entering the criminal justice systems and the needs of former offenders striving to successfully reenter their communities.

For a comprehensive list of DOJ grant opportunities, as well as more detailed grant descriptions, please click here.

Multi-State Mentoring Initiative
According to DOJ, research throughout the last decade has demonstrated the positive effects of mentoring, including its ability to provide youth with strong, positive role models. In an effort to reduce juvenile delinquency and high-risk behaviors among youth, such as alcohol and drug use and truancy, DOJ is providing funding to help mentoring organizations strengthen and/or expand existing programs in at least five states.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, including faith-based, community-based and tribal-based organizations that have affiliates or chapters in at least five states and have been in existence for three years. Applicants should provide mentoring services to youth 18 and under who are at risk of juvenile delinquency or who reside in communities that lack mentoring programs.  DOJ anticipates making seven awards of up to $2 million.  Applications are due May 16, 2012. For more information, click here.  

Second Chance Act: Adult Offender Comprehensive Statewide Recidivism Reduction Demonstration Program
According to DOJ, roughly 2.3 million individuals are currently incarcerated and 95% of these individuals will eventually return to their communities. The recidivism reduction programs aims to help communities plan for and build the capacity needed to develop a comprehensive strategy that reduces recidivism by providing high-quality services pre- and post-release to individuals who are post likely to commit crimes upon release. The National Reentry Resource Center will provide training and technical assistance to grantees.

Eligible applicants include state departments of corrections. Awards will be made up to $1 million.  Applications are due May 21, 2012.  For more information, please click here.

Second Change Act: Juvenile Offender Reentry Program for Demonstration Projects
According to DOJ, roughly 71,000 youth reside in juvenile detention centers or jails on any given day. The reentry demonstration program aims to ensure that youth can successfully return to their communities by providing pre- and post-release support services. Funds for this program will be used to determine risk factors in the community that may influence youth recidivism, as well as the development of sustained case management and support services that will reduce a youth’s chances of recidivism. These services may include: education, job placement, mental and physical healthy, family reunification and others.

Eligible applicants include state and local governments. Grant awards are estimated to be $750,000. Applications are due May 14, 2012. For more information please click here.


Smart Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money and Creating Safer Communities
According to DOJ, roughly 1 in 48 adults was on probation or parole in 2010. Recognizing that recidivism is high among this population – this population accounts for 65% of prison admissions each year – DOJ has announced the Smart Probation program. Aimed at improving probation success rates and community safety, the Smart Probation program will help state and local governments fund evidence-based programs that will help individuals to successfully comply and complete their probation or parole. Funding should be used to help probation agencies improve supervision strategies and expand collaboration between supervision agencies and law enforcement officials.

Eligible applicants include state and local governments. Awards will be made for up to $500,000 and will be awarded for a 24-month period. Applications are due May 21, 2012.  For more information, please click here.


Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program
Please see our recent blog post to learn more about this program.

DOJ Announces Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced funding for the Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program. Using the Boston Gun Project, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Comprehensive Gang Model and the Chicago CeaseFire program as examples, the Violence Prevention Demonstration Program strives to help communities address violence, specifically gang and gun violence, that affects the high-risk populations within a community. The program has three main goals: 

• Change community norms regarding violence 
• Provide alternatives to violence when gangs and individuals in the community are making risky behavior decisions
• Increase awareness of the perceived risks and costs of involvement in violence among high-risk young people 

This program will help communities engage local leaders, law enforcement and community stakeholders in developing the capacity needed to implement an evidence-based program that reduces and prevents violence, particularly gang and gun violence. The implemented program should improve the coordination of existing resources that support anti-violence strategies and should target a carefully selected population within the community that is likely to be involved in violent activities.

The Department of Justice has created two resources that communities may find useful in locating evidence-based prevention programs. 

• CrimeSolutions.gov: Created by the Office of Justice Programs, this website provides information about violence and crime prevention programs that have been the subject of research and review. A color-coded rating system is used to identify programs that have been labels Effective, Promising or Not Effective. 
• Model Program Guide: Created by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Model Program Guide contains a database of over 200 evidence-based programs that cover a continuum of youth services from prevention through youth reentry. 

Eligible applicants include state, county and city/township governments whose communities have experienced significant crime and violence affecting youth. DOJ expects to fund six awards, with funding ranging from $250,000 to $1,500,000. For more information about the program, as well as detailed information about the application process, please click here.  Applications are due May 1st.

Washington State Family Policy Council Networks Promote Community Wellness

This month, Spotlight on Community Change celebrates Washington State Family Policy Council and its 42 affiliate Networks for their innovative combination of grassroots activism; community organizing, education and leadership; research application; interdepartmental dialogue; new funding; and systemic policy change.

“The Family Policy Council’s main tenant is that change must be driven by people in their communities; government programs alone are not sufficient to drive change. The Family Policy Council’s impressive results to date are built upon a comprehensive research-based, culturally adaptive understanding of what it takes to produce healthy and productive adults regardless of the circumstances they are born into.”

- - - - -

Community Public Health and Safety Networks are empowering Washington State citizens to improve individual and community outcomes in the following 7 areas, recognized by Washington State legislature as interrelated, multi-generational and fundamental to cyclical poverty:

1. Child abuse and neglect
2. Domestic violence
3. Youth violence
4. Youth suicide
5. Teen pregnancy
6. Youth substance abuse
7. Youth dropping out of school

The 42 Community Networks are codified into state law, along with Family Policy Council, a state agency that supports the Networks by providing financial resources, technical assistance, the latest research, opportunities for peer learning and connections to state and local officials.

Washington State Networks are accountable to results, learning and continued assessment. In fact, Networks are contractually obligated to be flexible and adjust their actions as needed to ensure the best individual and community outcomes possible. Networks strive to increase community capacity to a "tipping point", when several indicators have proven to demonstrate better results at once.

Networks operate as grassroots entities with a powerful connection to state and local policymakers/ officials/ community leaders and the latest research. Structure, key issues and projects vary from Network to Network based on membership, community needs and funding opportunities.

Inclusivity and leadership development are essential to the Family Policy Council model. Interdisciplinary and diverse Network membership (each Network is required to include community residents as well as local officials and experts such as teachers, School Board members, police officers, advocates, county officials, academics, etc.) enables the groups to consider community problems from a holistic standpoint.

An example: Adams County residents mobilized to promote “safe community thriving,” a community value realized through community cafés and other conversational, community-building activities. After affirming their commitment to neighborhood safety, Adams County Network staff and local residents considered the roots of youth violence, using both research and community “dialogue, [which] led to unprecedented ways of thinking.” They discovered that delinquency, early school failure and lack of school readiness often precede violent acts and concluded that homeless children face tremendous barriers to school readiness and success. The Adams County Network has since applied for, and received, funds to address community homelessness, built three emergency shelters, developed a 10 year plan to address community homelessness and become the fiscal managers of the Homeless Prevention Rapid Recovery Program.

Research demonstrates the success of Family Policy Council (FPC) Networks’ ability to create concrete positive community change through grassroots activism and community empowerment. As compared to Washington State counties that do not have a Network, FPC counties have decreased both the number of social problems occurring at high rates and the rates of such problems. Network counties have saved an estimated $7 of public funds for every $1 invested by decreasing various Health and Human Services case loads and crime. Overall, FPC communities are more resilient and their citizens are less likely to endure Adverse Childhood Experiences (click here for more information about the groundbreaking ACE Study).

- - - -

For more information, check out the Family Policy Council website.

Like Washington State's Family Policy Council and Community Networks, the Center for the Study of Social Policy promotes community leadership, policy engagement, accountability to results and research-based interventions. CSSP’s Neighborhood Guide offers helpful tips on how to achieve positive change in your community.

New DOJ Publication Helps Communities Address Children's Exposure to Violence

The U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have jointly released, Evidence Based Practices for Children Exposed to Violence: A Selection from Federal Databases. The publication summarizes findings from federal reviews of research studies and program evaluations to help communities improve outcomes for children exposed to violence. It cites evidence-based practices that practitioners and policymakers can use to implement prevention services and activities for these children. The report also includes a matrix of effective programs which lists the program name, outcome indicator, evidence standard, program description and more.

DOJ Announces Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program

A newly announced program from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)  supports community-based strategies to reduce violence. Through the Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration grants, applicants must provide alternatives to violence when gangs and individuals in the community are making risky behavior decisions as well as increase awareness of the perceived risks and costs of involvement in violence among high-risk young people. Funds must also be used to build community capacity to better respond to issues that affect them, including community-based violence.  In addition, the grant program seeks to fund only applicants that propose reduction strategies that are evidence based and have demonstrated effectiveness through research and evaluation.  Although funding will be awarded directly to states and local government entities, the program will require applicants to engage with community leaders and outreach workers to help intervene in conflicts and promote alternatives to violence. Nonprofit organizations with extensive experience in this field may want to partner with the state or local government entities.

OJJDP will make multiple awards for as much as $2.2 million for a 3 year period. Applications are due May 23, 2011.

DOJ Encouraging Innovation Grant Announcement

The Department of Justice recently announced a new grant administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to support innovative programs and strategies that enable local criminal justice systems to prevent and respond to emerging and chronic crime problems that affect local communities. Proposals must address a gap in the current knowledge base about how to respond to and prevent crime and be developed or implemented in a way that other communities and organizations can learn from. To be considered innovative, applications must propose:

• a strategy that has not been implemented previously, yet is supported by research, data, or evidence;
• a new modification to an existing strategy or response that is supported by research, data, or evidence; or
• a new approach to delivering evidence based strategies or responses that has not been implemented previously and that would remain effective while reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the local justice system.

Eligible applications are public or private entities including for profit (commercial) and nonprofit organizations, faith-based community organizations, institutes of higher education, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, and units of local and state government are eligible to apply. Up to $350,000 may be requested in funding, with project periods ranging from 15-36 months. The application deadline is April 21, 2011.

The grant materials can be accessed here.