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Multi Site Violence Prevention

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Fagan and Castalano (2012) identified 17 juvenile prevention/intervention strategies that focused on youth 0-18 years of age, and which showed meaningful reductions in delinquency (specifically violent acts). These strategies targeted several risk factors and using diverse mechanisms including early intervention, school-based, and school, and family-focused based interventions. Following are examples of three specific strategies.
Early Childhood Education Prevention/ Intervention
The Perry Preschool program was developed in 2005 by Schweinhart (Fagan and Castalano,
2012). When the program was initially tested, a sample of preschool aged (3-4) African- American children participated in a social and cognitive development program which encouraged …show more content…

The Multi-site Violence Prevention Program targeted a majority of African American middle school students from low-income families (2012). Developed in 2009 the program involves a social-cognitive cognitive curriculum which seeks to improve students’ problem-solving skills, motivation, and self-efficacy skills (2012). Schoolteachers increased their use of interactive teaching skills, cooperative learning strategies and proactive classroom management as part of the program (2012). Additionally, intensive parent training was provided in all interventions to enhance parent-child bonding and appropriate boundary setting in parenting (2012). The Multi-site Violence Prevention Program has proven to lend at least medium reductions in youth violence and has demonstrated a consistency in long-term positive effects. As earlier mentioned African American males have consistently been overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. As such, it could be argued that prevention programs where there is significant focus on this population in either explaining or understanding risk factors is relevant. Community based programs that bring together the individual (youth), the family, school, and community are likely the most critical in the development of effective strategies …show more content…

As was shown above, prevention/intervention modalities have been effectively initiated for children as young as three to four years of age in an effort to address the issues and possibilities for juvenile delinquency. Effective treatment of juveniles in the system comes with specific responsibilities to be considered meaningful and significant. Juvenile treatments should reduce recidivism, have well-described procedures in treatment, have well-defined training protocols for therapists, monitoring procedures for treatment and proven evidence of long-term outcomes (Heilbrun, 2005). Delinquency prevention programs are not designed with the intention of excluding juvenile justice personnel. Many types of delinquency prevention programs, especially those that focus on adolescents, involve juvenile justice personnel such as the police (Siegel & Welsh p. 401). Often, for the purposes of funding, effective programs should also have a documented cost/benefit analysis attached to its program characteristics (2005). Following are two examples of treatment modalities that have proven effective in working with juvenile

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