IV. Identifying Solutions

C. Community-Oriented Programs

i. Introduction

“Children and families in 1998 need new supports to reflect the changes in the work world since 1973. After-school activities – at schools, churches, YM/WCAs, and other community-based organizations – must be made available. Communities must seek and create more opportunities to link children with caring adults and positive activities, including mentoring programs and jobs.”55

Community-oriented programs discussed in this section include supervised recreation programs, mentoring, Communities That Care programs, and mental health programs for child witnesses to violence. Although law enforcement involvement is not specifically discussed, a community team for any school violence prevention effort should include the local police.

ii. Supervised Recreation Programs

After-school programs, managed by the school or an independent organization, play an important role in reducing youth violence.56 Of all the possible prevention strategies, providing adequate after-school care is one of the most important.

“Several controlled studies have found that well-supervised after-school recreational programs substantially reduce juvenile crime, drug use, and vandalism. The Boys & Girls Club recreation and drug prevention program was effective in two studies conducted in a series of public housing projects. A Canadian study of another intensive after-school program (using sports, music, dancing, and scouting) demonstrated a 75% reduction in juvenile arrests, while arrests at a comparison site rose 67%”.57

Then there are programs that take after-school care even further to support children and unify the community. “Beacon Schools” are one type of program that makes schools a focal point for community activities and a safe haven for children.

Profile of a Beacon School:58

• maximizes the use of a public school facility

• open 12 to 14 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week

• provides services for both children and adults

• programs include recreation, social services, and health education

· other education opportunities including vocational training The Molly Stark Elementary School in Bennington is currently running a program similar to the Beacon Schools. (See Appendix H)

iii. Mentoring

Positive role models can be instrumental in guiding a child away from violence and toward healthy behavior. Mentors can serve this function. “Mentoring is gaining attention from researchers in violence prevention since the absence of positive role models has been shown to contribute to violent behavior.”59

Characteristics of Community-based Mentoring Programs:

• adult volunteers spend time each week with preteens/teens in recreational activities

• adults carefully selected to serve as positive role models

• some supervisory support required

• relatively inexpensive

• example: Big Brothers/Big Sisters

And results have been shown: “A controlled experiment with 959 youth in 8 cities found that the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program resulted in a 46% reduction in drug use, a 32% reduction in hitting people, and a 52% reduction in truancy.”60

iv. “Communities That Care”

The “Communities That Care” model combines many of the other types of programs into one comprehensive prevention plan.

“Communities That Care is a systematic, theoretically grounded approach to helping communities create conditions and relationships which protect youth against drug and alcohol abuse. The Communities That Care model describes how communities can plan, undertake, monitor, and evaluate a series of programs and strategies to reduce risk factors and strengthen protective factors in individual children, their families, schools, and neighborhoods. In addition to a core emphasis on substance abuse, this ambitious model is designed to improve family functioning, increase school achievement, and generally reduce antisocial and delinquent behavior. The evolving Communities That Care model is both comprehensive and flexible, and can be adapted to individual community needs and goals. There is considerable outcome research in support of various components of the approach, e.g., parent education, teacher training, substance abuse prevention, social skills counseling, and others. Communities That Care has an extensive series of planning and training materials, as well as prepared curricula and audio and video materials.”61

Two Vermont communities, Randolph and Barton, have adopted this model and have implemented programs with the support of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Program.

v. Mental Health Programs for Child Witnesses to Violence

Programs such as the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center provide support to children who witness violence, including domestic violence.62

How it works:63

• help child witnesses to deal with their trauma before more serious problems evolve

• collaborative effort between the hospital and the State’s Attorney office

• training for teachers, police officers, medical and mental health providers, and others