Youth Violence Prevention Center Accomplishments

Purpose

YVPCs develop academic-community partnerships to advance the science and practice of youth violence prevention. They also build the necessary community capacity to prevent violence-related injury and death among youth in high-burden communities. This work has:

• Improved our understanding of the causes and consequences of youth violence.
• Informed how risk and protective factors contribute to or buffer against youth violence.
• Strengthened the evidence base for youth violence prevention strategies and approaches.

Community success stories

YVPCs have demonstrated success in preventing violent injuries and death among youth in their communities. Check out these case studies for more information.

Successes from former YVPC initiatives (2010–2015)

Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention (CCYVP)

• 17% decrease in homicides in the Humboldt Park neighborhood over five years

CCYVP developed successful community collaborations that resulted in less youth violence and promoted the healthy youth development in several Chicago area schools and neighborhoods. Over five years, the Humboldt Park neighborhood saw a 17% decrease in homicides. This was a result of implementing a comprehensive set of youth violence prevention strategies. During this same time period, homicides increased by 10% in other similar communities and 9% across the city.

Youth Violence Prevention Center Denver (YVPC-D)

• 37% decrease in delinquency among youth in Montbello over five years

YVPC-D's Steps to Success showed positive violence-reduction effects in the Montbello neighborhood of Denver. These effects followed a multi-year implementation of evidence-based individual- and family-level prevention programs. Steps to Success focused on community ownership, empowerment, and capacity. The program used a strategic approach to identify, implement, and rigorously evaluate comprehensive evidence-based youth violence prevention strategies. Using the Communities that Care (CTC) model, Steps to Success observed a decrease in some youth violence risk factors (for example, early and persistent problem behavior). This included a 37% reduction in delinquency among youth aged 10–11 years over a five-year period.

Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center (MI-YVPC)

• 38% decrease in youth assault-related injuries

MI-YVPC developed successful community collaborations that resulted in healthy youth development in neighborhoods in Flint, Michigan. An evaluation of a comprehensive set of six preventive strategies found the following:

• 38% decrease in youth assault-related injuries from those seeking treatment in a local emergency room.
• 25% decrease in youths' likelihood of being victims of a violent assault in the intervention area compared to those in a comparison area.

Clark Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development

• 17% lower risk of youth violence in communities that received intervention

The Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development reduced youth violence and promoted healthy youth development in Richmond, Virginia, through successful community collaborations. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) YVPC demonstrated a 17% lower risk of youth violence in communities that received a school- and family-based intervention compared to areas not receiving the intervention.

North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center (NC-YVPC)

• 47% reduction in illegal behavior outside of school

NC-YVPC showed reductions in youth violence and associated behaviors in Robeson County, North Carolina. These reductions resulted from using three prevention strategies that focused on promoting self-esteem:

• Increasing behaviors like helping, sharing, donating, and volunteering.
• Improving parenting skills and parent-child communication.
• Improving the outcomes of youth in the juvenile court system.

Robeson County experienced a 47% reduction in illegal behavior outside of school and a 10% reduction in illegal behavior on school grounds. There was also an 18% reduction in aggravated assaults committed by youth.