Blueprints for Violence Prevention

Abstract

A Message From OJJDPAs communities seek to prevent and control youth violence, they naturally look to the growing number of effective violence reduction programs that are being implemented across the Nation. How can they accurately assess the relative merits of these competing programs and determine the strategy best suited to meeting their local needs?Through the Blueprints for Violence Prevention Initiative, OJJDP provides information to communities on a broad array of violence prevention and intervention programs that have been proven to be effective. This Bulletin describes the demanding criteria established by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence to designate model Blueprints programs and the activities of the 11 programs out of the more than 500 that have been reviewed to date and found to meet those rigorous standards. Contact information is provided for each program, and replication and funding resources are discussed.The most significant criterion used in reviewing a program's effectiveness is evidence of its deterrent effect when using a strong research design. The Blueprints programs featured in this Bulletin have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing adolescent violent crime, aggressive delinquency, substance abuse, and predelinquent aggression and conduct disorders. They merit our attention and consideration. meet a strict scientific standard of program effectiveness. Program effectiveness is based on an initial review by CSPV and a final review by and recommendations from an advisory board comprising six experts in the field of violence prevention. 2The 11 model programs, or Blueprints, have been proven to be effective in reducing adolescent violent crime, aggression, delinquency, and substance abuse and predelinquent childhood aggression and conduct disorders. Another 19 programs have been identified as promising. To date, more than 500 programs have been reviewed, and CSPV continues to look for additional programs that meet the rigorous selection criteria.This Bulletin describes CSPV's selection criteria in choosing model Blueprints programs, highlights the 11 model programs chosen to date, and discusses replication of Blueprints programs, their funding, and lessons learned from the replication sites. Blueprints for Violence PreventionSharon Mihalic, Katherine Irwin, Delbert Elliott, Abigail Fagan, and Diane Hansen Communities often lack the best information on how to assess local needs and how to use an assessment to select a violence reduction/intervention program that fits their needs. Despite strong public pressure to implement programs with proven results, without clear standards and guidelines, communities can become lost in the maze of programs that claim effectiveness in deterring violence yet have no factual information or evidence supporting their effectiveness. The Blueprints for Violence Prevention Initiative is a comprehensive effort to provide communities with a set of programs whose effectiveness has been scientifically demonstrated. With the Office of Juvenil...

Moving Toward Comprehensiveness and Sustainability in a Social Ecological Approach to Youth Violence Prevention: Lessons from the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center

“…Few programs have had rigorous evaluation to meet minimum standards of effectiveness (Mihalic et al 2001), but many successful or promising programs have addressed risk and protective factors across multiple domains. Researchers have found that narrowly focused interventions are likely to have limited impact unless they are part of a more comprehensive strategy (Dahlberg and Potter 2001;Farrell and Camou 2006;Farrell and Flannery 2006;Thornton et al 2000).…”

Therapist Adherence and Organizational Effects on Change in Youth Behavior Problems One Year After Multisystemic Therapy

“…Reviewers note challenges to the larger scale transport and implementation of effective treatments arise at multiple levels of the practice context (e.g., client, clinician, provider organization, service system) and may pertain to the nature of the treatment itself (Dane and Schneider 1998;Fixsen et al 2005;Mihalic and Irwin 2003;Schoenwald and Hoagwood 2001;Southam-Gerow et al 2008). Thus, achieving positive clinical outcomes goes beyond simply adopting an evidence-based intervention.…”

“…With respect to evidence-based treatments, clinician adherence to treatment is one important indicator of implementation (Dane and Schneider 1998;Mihalic and Irwin 2003). Empirical associations between adherence and outcomes have been demonstrated for some treatments (see, e.g., Barber et al 1996;Barber et al 2006;Schoenwald 2008).…”

How Culture Impacts the Dissemination and Implementation of Innovation: A Case Study of the Families and Schools Together Program (FAST) for Preventing Violence with Immigrant Latino Youth

“…Rather than supporting a patchwork of programs developed at the local level and typically not subject to careful evaluation, policy makers and funding agencies have all rallied around the concept of ''best practices'' and, in many cases, have made selection of evidence-based programs a requirement for funding (Guerra and Backer 2003). To facilitate this selection process, several youth violence prevention programs have been ''vetted'' as effective or promising based on careful reviews of outcome studies that include both efficacy and effectiveness trials (Chan et al 2004;Elliott 1998;Mihalic et al 2004). However, effective dissemination and implementation of evidence-based programming innovation also hinges on a number of assumptions, many of which remain problematic, in order to bridge the gap between science and practice (Wandersman 2003).…”