Protect, Heal, Thrive: Lessons Learned From the Defending Childhood Demonstration Program

• NCJ Number: 248882
• Date Published: May 2015
• Author(s): Rachel Swaner; Lama H. Ayoub; Elise Jensen; Michael Rempel
• Length: 76 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2010-IJ-CX-0015
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation; Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

As part of the evaluation of the U.S. Justice Department's Defending Childhood Demonstration Program - a national initiative to counter the occurrence and harms of children's exposure to violence - this report on six of the eight demonstration sites summarizes implementation strategies, lessons learned, and promising practices.

Abstract

There were overarching themes evident in the different strategies the sites chose to pursue. These themes pertain to prevention programs (universal and targeted prevention); intervention with children exposed to violence (screening and assessment, treatment, and case management and advocacy); community and professional awareness and education; and interagency collaboration (collaborative bodies, system infrastructure, and capacity building). Some other themes pertain to tribal site and tradition, the special needs of rural sites, local politics, and the management of transitions. The 58 recommendations presented were developed through interviews with staff and stakeholders at each site, the technical assistance providers, and some grant managers of the Office of Juvenile Justice and delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The recommendations are categorized by the parties to whom they are directed. These include jurisdictions interested in replicating a demonstration site's program, tribal communities, funding providers, technical assistance providers, and researchers and evaluators. 11 tables and appended aggregate program outputs by year, process evaluation stakeholder interview protocol, and sample quarterly implementation report