Implementing Communities That Care in Australia: A Community Mobilisation Approach to Crime Prevention

• NCJ Number: 179201
• Author(s): John W. Toumbourou
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Australian Institute of Criminology Trends and Issues, No. 122, July 1999

Annotation

This paper provides an overview of one approach to community-based crime prevention, known as Communities That Care (CTC); some of the assumptions underpinning CTC are examined, and progress toward an Australian implementation and evaluation of this program is described.

Abstract

CTC is a comprehensive, community-wide, risk-focused prevention strategy based on research on predictors of health and behavioral problems. The approach is grounded in the social development model, as it provides a framework for community intervention designed to modify factors that undermine healthy youth development. The approach has its roots in substance abuse prevention, but has been widely implemented as a crime prevention program. The approach begins by identifying key leaders with influence over organizational collaborations and/or resources in a specific community. These key leaders participate in a training program that explains the CTC approach and its implications for directing resources into evidence-based prevention programs. The CTC process is implemented with the support of the key leaders and focuses initially on building local capacity for community prevention efforts. The community mobilization aspects of CTC are further developed through the establishment of a Community Prevention Board that brings together formal and informal community leaders and intervention personnel. A list of evaluated interventions that effectively target risk and protective factors is made available to inform the development of local intervention strategies. Through the steps outlined, CTC aims to assist local community boards in the selection of evidence-based intervention tailored to fit local conditions. The evaluation plan for the Victorian trial of CTC should provide the first randomized controlled evaluation of the effectiveness of CTC. This approach has been favorably received in U.S. communities, and evidence suggests that the profile of risk and protective factors measured through CTC is also associated with youth substance use and delinquency in Victorian youth samples. 1 table and 23 references