By Larry Tate
February 11, 2008

The Children, Health and Human Services Standing Committee devoted its time to the topic of direct and indirect causes of youth-related violence (such as poverty and educational failures), and to strategies that mayors and others in cities have adopted to address the problem. Committee Chair Providence (RI) Mayor David N. Cicilline opened by saying the session would address the state of our nation’s young people, who often have too few positive alternatives and lack a positive vision of who they are and who they can become. He cited disturbing statistics on a range of issues confronting America’s youth.

America’s Promise Alliance President & CEO Marguerite Kondracke spoke of her agency’s focus on the national “dropout crisis.” Young people who don’t finish high school have poor prospects in every area of life, and are among those most likely to be involved in violent behaviors. The agency, founded ten years ago by Colin Powell, plans a series of “dropout summits” in every state, bringing mayors and other officials and stakeholders together as a “wake-up call” to the gravity of the problem.

Minneapolis (MN) Mayor R.T. Rybak described a national “epidemic of youth violence,” which he and other mayors are dealing with in their cities. Root causes, he said, include too many kids raising themselves and too many kids having kids of their own. To gather information on what he called “a whole new class of violence,” he called a meeting of mayors and police chiefs from a number of localities. In Minneapolis, the mayor has assembled a broad-based community group focusing on four key areas: adult mentoring of troubled youth, early intervention when problems first arise, not throwing away but trying to restore youth with a violent history, and a general campaign to learn and unlearn violence throughout the community. He plans to create a portable model for other cities to use.

Susan Erstling and Sarah Kelly, from Project Safe Start in Providence, discussed their program, which is one of 15 sites in the country, all funded by the Department of Justice. The focus is on preventing children’s exposure to violence, whether that is in the home or outside it, with the idea that dealing early with children exposed to violence will lessen the trauma that may lead to future violent behavior. A staff member goes with the police, working evenings (when the need is greatest), and looking for children at scenes of violence, intervening with counseling and referrals when the need exists. Crime is down in Providence, and the community reports feeling safer with police. A key element of the program’s success is that many agencies are collaborating with the police and Safe Start, meeting regularly to share and strategize. The program is being rigorously evaluated by the Rand Corporation and hopes to find a set of Best Practices to share with all cities, attracting further funding along the way.

Jason Angell, of the Coalition for Building after-school Systems (CBASS), described his agency’s mission as a national effort to make what happens after school central to the whole discussion of youth-related problems. He stressed that there need to be after-school systems, as opposed to the various uncoordinated programs that often exist. His agency provides technical assistance to cities in connecting programs related to the issue. He said that parents want after-school programs to provide constructive outlets for their children in these hours, and that graduation rates are affected by the provision of such systems.

Greg Roberts, President and CEO of the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, said his agency is a public-private operation created by former Washington (DC) Mayor Anthony Williams. The agency supports a variety of youth-focused activities, supporting after-school programs and working with teachers, police, and parents to provide better skills and strategies for all who deal with at-risk young people. Though the agency functions as part of city government and began with 98 percent city funding, it has evolved to include more support from foundations and business and is now only 65 percent funded by the city.