Targeted Outreach - Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention ...

20 Targeted Outreach
Table 10
Target Youth’s Club Attendance One Year After Joining*
Percentage of target youth who have: Prevention Youth Intervention Youth
Gone to the Club/Project in the past 4 weeks:
not at all 27% 32%
1-2 times 12% 27%
about once a week 11% 12%
2-3 times a week 11% 9%
almost everyday 39% 12%
Never gone to the Club/Project 3% 23%
* Data is based on the baseline surveys of 236 prevention youth and 66 intervention youth who also
completed follow-up interviews.
surveyed were attending the Club/Project frequently
one year after intake. Specifically, half of all prevention
youth and a quarter of all intervention youth
reported that they were attending the Club/Project
several times a week at follow-up.
Youth also seemed to be spending a significant
amount of time at the Club during their visits.
Ninety-two percent of prevention and 75 percent of
intervention youth reported spending more than
one hour at the Club, on average, during their visits
in the month prior to the follow-up survey. More
than half of prevention (51%) and 15 percent of
intervention youth stayed at the Club, on average,
for more than three hours per visit.
As we saw in the last chapter, many of the youth
recruited through GPTTO and GITTO are youth
who are already involved or at high risk of involvement
in the gang lifestyle—a way of life that puts its
members at risk of committing crimes and violent
acts, and puts their own lives at risk. A year after
being introduced to the Club or program, half or
more of these high-risk youth were still attending.
At a minimum, having high-risk youth involved in
the Club for an extended period of time is a positive
outcome. If youth are at the Club, they are
involved in healthy activities and are not on the
street, unsupervised.
What Did the Youth Experience?
Through their participation, target youth received
important developmental supports that they may not
have in other facets of their lives. Specifically, youth
were provided with the support and guidance of caring
adults and a sense of belonging, as well as challenging
and interesting activities to hold their
attention. These supports fit the description of what
many youth seek through involvement with gangs. At
the same time, research has shown that these supports
contribute to a more positive life trajectory.
Adult Support and Guidance
Adult support is a critical component of successful
development for youth. Young people need a sounding
board for their thoughts and questions about
family, peers and school. They need adult guidance
when making decisions—how to get a job, how to
handle conflict with adults and peers, what classes to
take or what college to attend. Indeed, one of the
most consistent findings in the research is the way
that a positive adult role model can contribute to
youth’s successful transitions (e.g., Tierney and
Grossman, 1995; Werner and Smith, 1982).
Because some youth look to gangs as surrogate families,
the Targeted Outreach approach needs to surround
youth with adult attention. Adults at the Club
can also serve a more instrumental purpose by helping
guide youth in decision-making and “getting on
their case” if they are going off track.
Youth did feel supported by the adults at the
Club/Project. Almost all youth (96 percent of prevention
and 86 percent of intervention) reported
receiving adult support and guidance from at least
one Boys & Girls Club staff member on average.
More than half reported that they received support
from two or more staff people (79 percent of prevention
and 53 percent of intervention). In another