What Works: Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach

In response to the number of youth gangs growing in cities and expanding to suburban and rural communities, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America developed a special gang prevention and intervention initiative targeting youth ages six to 18. Through referrals from schools, courts, law enforcement, and community youth service agencies, the tested and proven Targeted Outreach program identifies and recruits delinquent youth, or those at risk of delinquency, into ongoing Club programs and activities. These activities center around five areas: character and leadership development; health and life skills; the arts; sports, fitness, and recreation; and education. The initiative is sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

The Targeted Outreach campaign has four components:

• Community mobilization: developing and implementing a community-wide gang prevention strategy by identifying key players, providing community training, identifying community resources and roles, developing a plan of action, and filling gaps in existing services
• Recruitment: identifying and recruiting 50 youth who live in an area with growing gang activity. The youth who are recruited have no positive adult figures in their lives and no pro-social activities.
• Mainstreaming/programming: directing youth into a program based on their interests and needs. The campaign avoids stigmatizing and labeling youth by recruiting from a variety of agencies, meeting targeted youth at the referral agency, and identifying the interests of these young people; youth are referred to the Club, not to Targeted Outreach, and receive the same Club orientation as other youth and parents; no program consists of more than a third of targeted youth.
• Case management: documenting individual progress. The campaign includes monitoring and documenting for each youth and his or her progress and participation in school, the Club program, juvenile justice/law enforcement, and family.

Targeted Outreach operating principles include the following:

• It's an approach, not a program.
• It's a community-wide effort.
• It's a transparent/non-labeling process.
• It connects youth to positive adults and activities.

Targeted Outreach was evaluated by Public/Private Ventures with findings published in 2002. Twenty-one clubs, serving 932 youth, participated. Evaluation findings show that one year after recruitment, 73 percent of youth were still attending the Club with half attending several times a week. Of those surveyed, 96 percent felt that they received adult support and guidance from at least one Club member; 79 percent received support and guidance from two or more staff members; and 64 percent felt a sense of belonging to the club. On a scale of one to ten, with ten meaning feeling safe at the Club, 86 percent of target youth rated the Club at eight or higher. More frequent attendance at the club was also associated with the following outcomes:

• Delayed onset of gang behavior
• Less contact with the juvenile justice system
• Fewer delinquent behaviors
• Improved school outcomes
• More positive social relationships and productive use of out-of-school time

For more information, visit www.bgca.org, email info@bgca.org, or call 404-487-5700.