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

Youth’s Experiences at the Clubs 23
any specific experience that would help explain participation
rates for intervention target youth.
Although we did not measure youth’s perceptions
that the Club was instrumental in helping them get
out of the gang or stay out of the gang and therefore
cannot conclude that this would relate to retention
rates, it is possible that intervention youth stay connected
to the program primarily out of an interest in
getting this type of help.
We asked the target youth whether they had a favorite
adult or activity at the Club and whether they would
continue to attend if that adult or activity were no
longer present. Of those with a favorite adult at the
Club (86 percent of prevention and 57 percent of
intervention youth), about one-fifth of both intervention
and prevention youth indicated they would not
come if their favorite adult left. In contrast, 12 percent
of prevention, but 35 percent of intervention
youth, would stop going if their favorite activity
ended. Sports were cited as the favorite activity of
more than half the youth who would leave the program
if their favorite activity ended. At follow-up, 16
percent of prevention and 21 percent of intervention
youth revealed that they do not plan to attend the
Club in the future, primarily because they were either
too busy (26 percent for prevention and 33 percent
for intervention) or bored (18 percent and 25 percent
for prevention and intervention, respectively).
more adults at the Club know them well than did
youth who do not plan to return to the Club. This
was not true for intervention youth. Although survey
data did not indicate what keeps an intervention
youth attracted to the Club, it is likely that the program
itself, along with instrumental help with jobs,
substance use, tattoo removal, etc., may be the driving
force that keeps these youth returning. Factors
and examples are described more fully in Chapter V.
This chapter shows only that youth are receiving supports
critical to their healthy development as a result
of involvement in the Club or program. In the next
chapter, we take the analysis of the program a step
further to see how participation in the program actually
affects youth. Do youth who participate more
often have more positive outcomes? Do they do better
in school? Do they participate in fewer gang and
delinquent activities? Do they find their way out of or
stay out of gangs?
Summary
The GPTTO and GITTO approaches are succeeding
in keeping high-risk youth involved. Presumably,
through this involvement, target youth are getting
many positive developmental supports. They feel supported
by adults at the Club and have a sense of
belonging. To a lesser degree, they feel that the activities
at the Club are interesting and challenging, and
feel safer at the Clubs than they do at school.
Providing these developmental supports may keep
these youth involved in the Club. The data indicate
that this may be true, especially for prevention youth.
Prevention youth who planned to continue at the
Club after one year of attending had significantly
higher scores on developmental supports. They
reported a stronger sense of belonging, more adult
support, engaging in more challenging and interesting
activities, a stronger sense of Club safety, and that