NCJ Number
148142
Date Published
1992
Length
99 pages
Annotation
This is a summary of the proceedings of a workshop designed to increase awareness of the impact of community violence on the social and emotional development of African- American children and families; it also examined the role that mental health and maternal and child health agencies could play in the implementation of effective prevention and intervention strategies.
Abstract
The first section of this report provides an overview of the scope of the problem. It identifies the extent, prevalence, and nature of community violence in African- American communities. Next, the summary report reviews the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that have guided research in the area of violence and its impact on children. The third section addresses the impact of community violence on the social and emotional development of African-American children. An overview of prevention programs that have been developed to address violence is presented in the fourth section. This section also discusses the issue of evaluation of violence-prevention efforts. The fifth section provides a discussion of three violence-prevention programs in the States of Massachusetts, California, and Ohio. Other sections consider the lack of involvement from mental health professionals in dealing with community violence. The concluding section presents three discussions of new directions that should be taken to improve responses to violence in the African-American community. Recommendations to Federal and State agencies complete the workshop summary. Appended conference agenda, an 18-item annotated bibliography, and a 4-item resource list