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

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Targeted Outreach
Girls Club staff member (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 felt a sense of belonging to
the Club (64 percent of prevention and 56 percent
of intervention). Fifty-nine 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,
provide opportunities that these youth may
not have received in other realms of their lives.
Without the Club, they may have sought similar
experiences through gang involvement.
Did youth’s participation in the Clubs play a
positive role in and have the desired effects on
their lives—keeping them away from gangs and
delinquency and increasing their positive school
behaviors and success?
More frequent GPTTO Club attendance is associated
with the following positive outcomes: 4
• Delayed onset of one gang behavior (less likely
to start wearing gang colors*),
• Less contact with the juvenile justice system
(less likely to be sent away by the court+),
• Fewer delinquent behaviors (stealing less+, and
less likely to start smoking pot+),
• Improved school outcomes (higher grades+ and
greater valuing of doing well in school+), and
• More positive social relationships and productive
use of out-or-school time (engaging in more
positive after-school activities+ and increased levels
of positive peer* and family relationships*).
More frequent attendance among GITTO youth is
associated with the following positive outcomes:
• Disengagement from gang-associated behaviors
and peers (less stealing with gang members*,
wearing gang colors+, flashing gang signals***,
hanging out at the same place as gang members*,
being a victim of a gang attack+ and having
fewer negative peers+),
• Less contact with the juvenile justice system (a
lower incidence of being sent away by the
court**), and
• More positive school engagement (greater
expectations of graduating from high school or
receiving a GED*).
How did Clubs accomplish their GPTTO and
GITTO goals, and what challenges did they face?
Although each Club implemented the components
of GPTTO or GITTO differently, they experienced
some consistent operational challenges. Interestingly,
although program evaluations often uncover substantive
programmatic challenges, the main challenges
that the clubs implementing GPTTO and GITTO
faced were administrative. Below, we highlight the
Clubs’ main operational challenges.
Club staff felt challenged to keep up with the
influx of new staff at collaborating agencies.
Collaborating agencies suggested that Clubs’ staff
increase their follow-up, specifically by holding multiple
orientations for additional or new agency
employees and updating the referring agency about
the status of the referred youth. Such contacts, the
agencies felt, would help to maximize referrals and
improve the collaborative relationship.
The Case Management documentation component
brought some specific challenges.
All Clubs were most consistent at tracking youth’s
progress, behaviors and achievements at the Clubs.
There was greater variation in their ability to document
their progress at school, within the juvenile
justice system or at home. Clubs that forged relationships
with schools more consistently gathered and
documented the school information. Those that had
a relationship with police and probation followed
youth’s progress in juvenile justice more consistently.
When Clubs were not able to maintain relationships
with schools, probation or police, they could not
monitor youth’s progress in those areas. Additionally,
Clubs found the lengthy paperwork burdensome.
Although monthly tracking forms are components of
the GPTTO and GITTO documentation philosophy,
the evaluation required that Clubs provide the information
at a level of specificity that the Clubs found