STRENGTHENING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
The program provides specialized secondary prevention services for families whose youth are empirically most vulnerable to becoming involved in crime and violence. A sustainable network of trained family counselors will work in close partnership with the families of high-risk youth to establish positive relations and behaviors to lower the youths’ risk factors. In addition to strengthening a comprehensive array of wraparound services for high-risk youth and their families, the program supports local youth- and family-focused initiatives through small grants that improve community safety and cohesion and expand opportunities for young people. The program’s place-based strategy concentrates complementary prevention activities in a set geographic area to boost overall community resilience and empower local stakeholders and government institutions to shape the next generation of youth and family interventions. This includes improved legal and policy frameworks to reduce risk factors for violence, stronger referral systems to support youth and families, smarter violence observatories that use modern data analytics, coordinated community councils and more.