National Forum on

Youth Violence PreventionPresentation to Mayor Francis Slay’s

Commission on Children, Youth & Families

April 19, 2012Rev. Starsky D. WIlsonDeaconess Foundation

The Forum

A Network of communities and federal agencies that

work together, share information and build

capacity to prevent and reduce youth violence

The Forum

• Established by President Obama in 2010 to build a national conversation concerning youth and gang violence

• Models a new kind of federal/local collaboration

• Convenes a diverse array of stakeholders

• Provides federal capacity building assistance, coordinated funding and supportive network to Forum sites

Forum Goals

• Elevate youth & gang violence as an issue of national significance

• Enhance the capacity of localities, as well as others across the country, to more effectively prevent youth & gang violence

• Sustain progress and systems change through engagement, alignment & assessment

Participating Federal Agencies

• Department of Justice• Department of Education• Department of Health & Human

Services• Department of Housing & Urban

Development• Department of Labor• Office of National Drug Control

Policy

Participating Communities

• Boston, MA• Chicago, IL• Detroit, MI• Memphis, TN• Salinas, CA• San Jose, CA

Three Operating Principles

•Multi-disciplinary partnerships are key

• Communities must balance and coordinate prevention, intervention, enforcement & re-entry strategies

•Data and evidence-driven strategies must inform efforts

Multi-Disciplinary Partnerships

• Coordination of diverse partners:– law enforcement– education – labor– social services– public health– businesses – philanthropic organizations– faith- and community-based organizations– parents and youth

Balanced Approach• Strategies should be broad-based and

balanced:– Prevention efforts spanning from early

childhood into young adulthood, such as•youth development•family support•school•community mentoring•school-based and out-of-school

recreational activities – “Relational” Intervention and

Enforcement programs that engage with high‐risk and gang‐involved youth

– Reentry programs that plan for returning youthful offenders prior to their release

Data Driven Strategies

• Data sharing should be inclusive of all stakeholder agencies

• Integrate a wide-range of data from a variety of sources including – law enforcement– education– public health– child protection/welfare– Labor– housing

• Collaboration is enhanced by embracing principles of distributed intelligence – many perspectives better than just one

Comprehensive Planning

• Initiatives must be well planned to ensure:– Organizational alignment– Work to achieve a shared vision– All parties have a common set of

measurements to gauge the effectiveness of the work

– Regular adjustments can be made to the plan based local outcomes and opportunities

Summit on Preventing Youth Violence

• Washington, DC - April 2-3, 2012• More than 250 participants from Forum

cities, government agencies, faith/community-based organizations, private partners, philanthropy & the White House

• Select non-Forum cities invited • St. Louis Representatives

– Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, Deaconess Foundation– Ms. Heidi Veron, Saigh Foundation

Summit Highlights• Highest level of inter-departmental

participation• Reports on comprehensive approaches &

results from Forum cities• Skill-building Sessions

– Community-School Partnerships– Taking a Public Health Approach & Data-Sharing– Relationships between Law Enforcement &

Youth– Responding to Youth Trauma– Philanthropy & Funding Innovation– Anti-Drug Campaigns & Cause-Related

Marketing

Summit Highlights (Cont’d)

• Launch of www.findyouthinfo.gov– Strategic Planning Toolkit– Promoting collaboration– Disseminating key funding

opportunities– Highlighting promising strategies

• Additional capacity building grants to Forum Cities

• Announcement of desired expansion to four (4) new cities

Reflections from StL Representatives

• WE WANT IN! – Key Selection Factors:

• Demonstrated need• Illustration of multidisciplinary leadership

commitment

• All the “promising practices” are here (or forming), they simply need to be aligned (& a compelling reason to do so)

• To be most competitive, St. Louis application effort would need to be led by the Mayor’s office & include regional participation

Sources

• National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, Summit on Preventing Youth Violence (Washington, DC: April 2-3, 2012)

• “Focus on Youth Violence” Presentation to St. Louis Health Funders Group by Lindsay Matush (Brown Sisters Foundation) & Heidi Veron (Saigh Foundation)

• www.findyouthinfo.gov