Institute to Serve as Research Partner
Albany, NY, October 2, 2013 – The City of Syracuse has been awarded a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to support the implementation of OJJDP’s comprehensive gang model, and the John Finn Institute will serve as the research partner. The $1.5 million grant was one of six awards by OJJDP under its Community Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program.
The comprehensive gang model includes five core strategies: social intervention; opportunities provision; community mobilization; suppression; and organizational change and development. With oversight by a steering committee comprised of community leaders, Syracuse will: form a multi-disciplinary intervention team to address the needs of high-risk, gang-involved youth; implement after-school, summer, and employment programs for gang-involved and other high-risk youth; hire a project director to mobilize community resources and facilitate organizational change as needed; and conduct targeted suppression and social control. The plan builds on the foundation laid by a multi-agency group, the Community Intervention Committee, formed in 2010, and a gang assessment completed by the Institute last year. Under the auspices of its subaward, the Institute will monitor implementation and impacts over the course of the three-year funding period, conducting a process and outcome evaluation.
Sarah McLean said “The OJJDP award is the result of several years of work on the part of CIC members and others in Syracuse, which set the stage for the implementation of the comprehensive gang model in Syracuse. Several data-driven, promising programs are now being implemented in the City to reduce gang and gun violence, and we are optimistic that true inroads will be made in combating these serious problems. We look forward to continuing our work with this dedicated group of partners.”
See the report of the award here:
