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

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