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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this paper by Steele was to examine the roles of the neighborhood, the family and employment in the fight to reduce youth violence and crime.
METHODOLOGY:
The author employed a non-experimental exploratory study to discuss the common assumption that improvements in the neighborhood environment, in family relationships and in employment opportunities can reduce the incidence of violence and crime among youth.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The author discussed a number of suggestions that would help in the fight to reduce the problem of youth crime.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The author began with the suggestion that, whilst neighborhood, family and job issues should be seen as basic principles in national policies to fight crime, limiting attention to these three factors alone should be seen as detrimental to the search for a solution to this problem. Rather, public policy changes should also be included in the framework, as the three factors of neighborhood, family and jobs are necessary, but not sufficient, elements of the problem of youth violence. They are not sufficient as they do not address the issues of education and training for career employment, with opportunities for advancement. Development of basic literary and computer skills are essential for the job hunter, as basic requirements for today's jobs are reaching higher and higher levels. In order for neighborhood, family and jobs to have an effect upon youth violence, local crime prevention programs and organizations should act as employment sources, and should have sound financial systems and supportive boards, well-defined constituencies and good records of economic development, and housing rehabilitation and youth employment opportunities. Whilst the symptoms and causes of the problems of youth in America are often interrelated, some of the problems facing at-risk youth include low self-esteem, poor school performance or dropping out of school, drug and alcohol use, early sexual activity and teen pregnancy, gang membership and crime and violence. Although the financial resources for addressing these problems are being distributed across the country, the states cannot respond with positive action: firstly, as state departments are not coordinated and often do not cooperate with one another, state and local services are difficult for people to use; secondly, the data that are gathered by these agencies are of such poor quality that they are often useless for helping to direct public policy. The use of the neighborhood as a source of service delivery is crucial, as youth require well-delivered services that are representative of the cultural and ethnic traditions and idiosyncracies of their own particular neighborhoods. The family phase of the framework should lead to the treatment of the family as a basic unit, serving the family as a whole rather than placing its youth in foster care. The development of a youth corps has been established in many urban areas, to provide support services such as alternatives for job training and opportunities for employment. Programs that are aimed at helping pregnant teens have also been valuable in providing support to youth. The technical assistance network of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, for example, has found that support services can reduce the incidence of early sexual activity, can reduce teen birth rates and the incidence of low birth weight babies, can increase the number of teen mothers staying in school, can decrease the number of second pregnancies, can reduce the incidence of abuse in teenage families and can increase the standard of health care for children. Funded programs should be encouraged to include good management practices and to conduct evaluations to insure that the desired results are being produced. The role of the private sector can be seen in the work of the Mott Foundation, which has established programs in the areas of most concern - neighborhood, family, education, training and jobs. The programs are often initiated with an assessment of community needs, and are developed with the help of the communities themselves. Included in these efforts have been the programs of community policing and conflict resolution. By forming a partnership between the community and the police to prevent crime, and by training youth and adults to act as mediators in neighborhood disputes, crime rates have dropped in many of the 240 communities in which this program has been established. The larger foundations should support research and programs of this nature, contributing to the knowledge in this area by documenting results of program effectiveness, and by widely disseminating this information, particularly to policymakers. Whilst it is important for private foundations and individuals to contribute to this effort, the majority of support for these human services still comes from the federal, state and local governments. By combining the support from the government with that from the private sector, the delivery of high-quality public-private services can be maintained. The author concluded that, whilst cost-effective programs to provide family support and opportunities for jobs are necessary for high-risk youth, they are not sufficient. Also required are education and skills training, coordinated efforts by departments at the state level, and the establishment of compatible data bases that yield outcomes that can be measured. With well-monitored and well-managed programs to treat some of the manifestations of youth hopelessness, a positive and dramatic influence can be felt upon the lives of today's youth.
EVALUATION:
The author presents an informative discussion of some of the issues surrounding community-based prevention of youth crime. By offering a number of suggestions that could enhance current policy and programs, she provides researchers and prevention planners alike with a valuable addition to the field of violence prevention. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Crime Causes
KW - Crime Risk Factors
KW - Delinquency Causes
KW - Delinquency Risk Factors
KW - Violence Causes
KW - Violence Risk Factors
KW - Juvenile Crime
KW - Juvenile Delinquency
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Community Risk Factors
KW - Individual Risk Factors
KW - Family Risk Factors
KW - Neighborhood Factors
KW - Neighborhood Environment
KW - Employment Factors
KW - Environmental Factors
KW - Community Violence
KW - Family Relations
KW - Parent Child Relations
KW - At Risk Juvenile
KW - At Risk Youth
KW - Family Based
KW - Community Based
KW - Neighborhood Based
KW - Policy Recommendations
KW - Violence Prevention
KW - Program Recommendations
KW - Prevention Recommendations |