FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? OJJDP

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2001??????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703

NEW GRANTS TO BOLSTER COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO COMBAT YOUTH GANGS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ten sites, including Los Angeles, Miami, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., will receive a total of nearly $1.5 million through a Justice Department anti-gang initiative.? The sites will use their awards to develop comprehensive plans to fight youth gang violence.

Local agencies and individuals will work with law enforcement, schools, citizen groups and young people to collect information on the scope and nature of youth gang problems in their respective communities.? The sites will use this information to formulate a strategy to reduce youth gang activity.

?Youth gangs pose a serious threat to the safety of our school children and communities,? said Attorney General John Ashcroft.? ?By bringing together all segments of the community in this effort, programs can be developed to address each site?s unique needs.?

The ten sites? planning and assessment process is the first step toward implementing the? Justice Department?s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention?s (OJJDP?s) Comprehensive Gang Model, which includes five key elements:

1. Mobilizing the Community ? bringing together law enforcement, schools, community organizations, citizens and youth.

2. Intervening with At-Risk Youth ? including in-school and after-school programming, mentoring, family counseling, drug treatment and outreach to gang-involved youth.

3. Providing Opportunities ? offering education, vocational training and job placement services.

4. Suppressing Gang Activity ? including targeted police operations.

5. Improving Organization Structure ? sharing information, enhancing case management and establishing multi-disciplinary coordination and training.

?Youth gang problems vary from state to state and from community to community,? said OJJDP Acting Administrator John J. Wilson.? ?This initiative will help communities learn about their own youth gang situation and develop solutions based on research and lessons learned in other communities.??

The initiative is divided into two programs.? Six of the sites ? Fort Lauderdale; Lakewood, Wash.; Los Angeles; Louisville; San Francisco and Washington, D.C. ? are participating in the basic Gang-Free Communities Program, while the other four ? East Cleveland; Houston; Miami and Pittsburgh ?? are participating in the Comprehensive Gang Model: An Enhanced School/Community Approach to Reducing Youth Gang Crime Program.? While both programs involve similar assessment and planning, the latter program will focus on school settings, and may include anti-bullying efforts, truancy reduction and conflict resolution.

All of the grantees will receive training and technical assistance from OJJDP?s National Youth Gang Center, operated by the Institute for Intergovernmental Research of Tallahassee, Florida.? The COSMOS Corporation, in Bethesda, Maryland, will conduct an independent evaluation of the program.?

OJJDP selected the grantees through a competitive review process.? The awards are for a one-year period.? Future awards will be based on grantee performance and funding availability.

?Attached is a list of grantees.Information about OJJDP publications, programs and conferences, are available through the OJJDP Website at ojjdp.ncjrs.org and from OJJDP's

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, Box 6000, Rockville, Maryland 20857. The toll-free number is

1-800/638-8736.

Information about other Office of Justice Programs (OJP) bureaus and program offices is available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/? Media should contact OJP?s Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at 202/307-0703.? ???????????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? # # #

OJJDP 01097?

OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION FY 2000 AWARDS GANG-FREE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM

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State	City	Grantee	Amount	Contact	Phone #
CA	Los Angeles	Los Angeles County Sheriff?s Department	$150,000*	Captain Tom Angel	323/981-5002
CA	San Francisco	City and County of San Francisco	$150,000*	Cedric Yap	415/554-9519
DC	Washington	DC Metropolitan Police Department	$150,000*	Janice Sullivan	202/727-3337
FL	Fort Lauderdale	Broward County Sheriff?s Office	$150,000*	Nancy Vaniman	954/321-4712
KY	Louisville	Jefferson County Fiscal Court	$150,000*	Francie Weber	502/547-6144
WA	Lakewood	Lakewood Police Department	$138,500*	Chief Larry Saunders	253/798-4246

?????????????????????????????????????? COMPREHENSIVE GANG MODEL: AN ENHANCED SCHOOL/COMMUNITY APPROACH

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? TO REDUCING YOUTH GANG CRIME PROGRAM

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State	City	Grantee	Amount	Contact	Phone #
FL	Miami	The School Board of Miami-Dade County	$150,000*	Dr. John Johnson	305/995-1704
OH	East Cleveland	Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners	$150,000*	Pamela Clay	216/443-7832
PA	Pittsburgh	School District of Pittsburgh	$150,000*	Dr. Andrew King	412/622-3958
TX	Houston	City of Houston, Mayor?s Anti-Gang Office	?$150,000	Cheryl Murray	713/247-2212

* Award amounts are subject to final budget review.?????????