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

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Summary and Conclusion 41 VI. Summary and Conclusion This evaluation looked at two initiatives developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America and local Clubs. One initiative was designed to help youth stay out of the gang lifestyle—Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach. The other was designed to help gang-involved youth change their negative behaviors and values—Gang Intervention Through Targeted Outreach. In spite of challenges to the implementation of GPTTO and GITTO, the overarching philosophy of building relationships and establishing a place where youth feel they belong and are safe appears to be paying off. The Clubs are reaching the youth whom they set out to reach and keeping them involved. One year into their tenure at the Clubs, youth are deriving positive developmental benefits and showing some indications of positive changes in gang, delinquent, school and relationship behaviors, and attitudes. This chapter summarizes the key findings in relation to the four major research questions asked at the beginning of this report. It also introduces an analysis of how much Clubs spent to implement GPTTO and GITTO for one year. Final thoughts on what these results mean for other initiatives are discussed. By Utilizing Club Staff Time Outside of the Club for Direct Outreach and Building a Network of Referral Agencies, Clubs Reached a High-Risk Population of Youth that is Typically Underserved Prevention Clubs drew in a significant number of new youth (on average, 44 youth) who were at high risk of gang involvement based on indicators such as their level of association with negative peers, poor academic histories, and prior involvement in illegal and delinquent activities. Intervention Clubs were also successful in attracting new youth (34, on average), a majority of whom were already gang members or were demonstrating gang behaviors. Comparisons of the risk factors (e.g., delinquent behaviors) of both prevention and intervention youth to other national studies of youth show that the Clubs are reaching youth with considerable needs. These youth are also older, on average, than are the typical Club or youth-serving organization participant (48 percent of prevention and 96 percent
42 Targeted Outreach of intervention youth are aged 13 or older in comparison with 30 percent, the club population that were not included in the initiative). And, for both initiatives, these are youth who may not have made it to the Club by themselves. Given that older and higher-risk youth rarely participate in youth organizations, this is a significant accomplishment. Interestingly, in spite of their risk factors, many of the youth also reported protective factors, such as supportive adults in their lives and positive peers. Clubs recruited many of these youth through direct outreach strategies. Staff would spend time outside of the Club interacting with youth on school grounds, in neighborhood parks, on the streets and other gang hangouts. Using current staff and hiring new staff from the youth’s communities helped build a tie to the youth and draw them in. Establishing relationships with police and probation, letting them know that the Clubs are willing to serve the gang-affiliated youth and educating them about GPTTO and GITTO (including documentation) helped encourage outside agencies to refer the hard-to-reach youth. Clubs Kept a Majority of Youth Involved Over a One-Year Period and Provided Important Developmental Experiences to Them Even given the high-risk characteristics of the youth that can make them difficult to attract and keep interested, a majority of youth (73 percent and 68 percent for prevention and intervention youth, respectively) reported they were still attending the Clubs/Projects 18 one year after they were initially recruited. In addition, attendance rates were high: 50 percent of prevention and 21 percent of intervention youth surveyed reported having been to the Clubs/Projects several times per week in the month prior to the follow-up interview. These levels of retention and participation are difficult to achieve with any youth or teen, let alone with youth who have been engaging in high-risk behaviors. Not only did they attend, but target youth experienced many youth development practices critical to healthy development. Almost all youth (96 percent of prevention and 86 percent of intervention) reported receiving adult support and guidance (such as help in an emergency, an individual with whom they could talk and on whom they could rely) from at least one Boys & Girls Club staff (with 79 percent and 53 percent, respectively, reporting that there are two or more Boys & Girls Club staff from whom they received support). A majority of youth agreed or strongly agreed that they feel a sense of belonging to the Club (64 percent of prevention and 56 percent of intervention); and 59 percent of prevention target youth and 35 percent of intervention target youth reported that the Club activities are interesting and challenging. Most target youth also perceived the Club as “safe.” On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being safest, 86 percent of prevention and 70 percent of intervention youth rated the Club at 8 or higher. In contrast, only 64 percent of prevention and 43 percent of intervention youth rated their schools as this safe. These experiences, which are critical to successful youth development, are experiences these youth may not be exposed to in other realms of their lives and, without the Club, may have sought through gang involvement. Participation in GPTTO and GITTO Improved Youth’s Outcomes Over a One- Year Period Although the comparison group presented fewer delinquent and gang behaviors at the outset of the evaluation, thus limiting our ability to make strict claims about the effectiveness of GPTTO or GITTO, the results of our analyses of the survey data suggest that participation had a positive effect on youth’s behaviors by the end of one year. According to surveys completed by youth at the end of a one-year period, both intervention and prevention youth who attended the Clubs or Project showed decreases in some gang and delinquent behaviors and were less likely to be sent away by court. They also exhibited positive changes in their engagement or achievements in school. Finally, they developed more positive relationships and prevention youth began to engage in more productive out-of-school activities. Full Implementation of the Four Components of GPTTO and GITTO was Challenging, But Provided Benefits to Clubs and Youth Clubs developed new relationships with outside agencies and strengthened their level of contact with agencies with whom they were already in contact. Clubs found that even though the relationships with
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