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2010 Winner
Type: City Led Collaboration for Gang Prevention
Operation Peacekeeper is an innovative program with a specific mission of reducing youth gang membership and violence. Formed in 1997 the city screened and hired youth outreach workers, formerly gang members themselves, to interact with other youths and to provide positive alternatives to gang membership through long-term mentoring. Workers also coordinate delivery of various resources. Youth in the program are primarily 10-18 years old and oftentimes have already exhibited violence and/or been handled within the criminal justice system. A systematic approach is used to evaluate each youth referred to the program. As youths progress, they are provided more services and the critical component of having at least one responsible adult (the outreach worker) in their lives. One very strong point about the program is that it is fluid and can and has
adjusted strategies as situations change. Successful steps are recognized and rewarded with a combination of praise, stipends, field trips etc. A strong partnership between Operation Peacekeeper program staff and governmental agencies, along with non-profit and community-based organizations, makes prevention/intervention efforts effective. The program is located in the city manager's office and has demonstrated great success. For example, gang-related homicide numbers fell from a high of 22 in 1997 to an all-time low of 2 in1998.
In selecting Operation Peacekeeper, the panel of judges cited the many partners who collaborate in the program, the impressive results of reducing gang related crime especially the number of murders and the ability the program has shown to sustain itself for over a decade. The panel was also impressed with the ability of the program to deal with such a challenging issue in multiple successful ways.
2010 Winner
Type: County, City Collaboration for Gang Prevention
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office in collaboration with the Anaheim Police Department created the GRIP program to intervene with children and youth at risk of joining gangs. The focus is on educating parents, students and elementary and middle school faculty in neighborhoods terrorized by street gangs. The effort involves more than 170 other agencies and organizations including schools, business, faith groups, and non-profits. The cities of Buena Park, Orange San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Stanton have also joined the program making it a countywide systemic effort. The program includes training in recognizing behaviors and preventing connections to gangs, truancy and curfew sweeps and incentives to create an environment free of gang attitudes and activities. Results include the reduction of gang related murders (from 22 to 2 in one year), reduction of truancies (from 760 to 99) in one year more than 1,200 students achieving perfect attendance in one year and a 75% decrease in discipline problems at participating schools. Over 10,000 parents in Orange County have been educated on the dangers of gangs and how to prevent their children from joining. The program is cost effective relying mainly on the in-kind contributions of participating agencies and the contributions of businesses like the Los Angeles Angels for incentives.
In selecting the GRIP program, the panel of judges found that it demonstrates exemplary collaboration across jurisdictions. They also cited the fact that it deals with all aspects of reducing gang involvement including prevention. The panel was impressed with the collaborative and comprehensive approach taken to address a problem that is continuing to grow and that impacts all communities.
2010 Winner
Type: School District and City Collaboration on Character Development
The Downey Unified School District, the City of Downey, and over forty businesses and community-based organizations formed a coalition to maximize resources and support for students. The goal of the initiative is to increase the focus on academics, and to unite diverse communities around a common language of values. The CHARACTER COUNTS! program is a citywide collaboration to address the need for character development to be taught throughout Downey versus just in the schools. The City Council now mandates that city employees exemplify the Six Pillars of Character and Downey Unified School District has integrated these Pillars into their application process to become an employee. Sports teams and other organizations are also involved in promoting the Pillars of Character.
In choosing the Downey CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition for the 2010 CCS Partnership Award, the panel cited the exemplary collaboration between the schools, the city and the businesses and community groups. They also were impressed with the impact of the program on the students. The district API scores rose 5.12% compared to only 3.14% in the years prior to the program. High School graduation rates have been 92% in the years since the program began compared to the statewide average of 63%. In the three years prior to Character Counts! implementation, the total number of suspension days rose from 5582 to 6417, an increase of 14.96%. However, in the four years after the program was implemented, the total number of suspension days decreased from 6417 to 3757. This decrease in the number of suspensions generated a costs savings of $85,120 allowing resources to be released to provide greater services to students. In the three years prior to CC! implementation, the total number of expulsions fell from 229 to 82.
Parents now want their children to attend Downey schools. The number of out of district permits went from a decline of nearly 5% to an increase of 146% with 1,244 permits now approved.
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