Communities Working Together Videoconference

• NCJ Number: 160946
• Date Published: June 1995
• Length: 0 pages
• Publication Series: OJJDP Teleconference Videotapes
• Grant Number(s): 95-JN-MU-0001
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)

Annotation

This two-part video of a teleconference profiles programs in which community agencies and organizations have worked together to address and prevent crime in a community; a panel of experts answers questions from telephone callers.

Abstract

For the purpose of this teleconference, collaboration is defined as "a mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve common goals." The relationship includes a commitment to a definition of mutual relationships and goals, a jointly developed structure and shared responsibility, mutual authority and accountability for success, and the sharing of resources and rewards. One program profiled in the teleconference is operating in Kremmling, Colo. As a small, isolated town, Kremmling has recognized the need to focus its scarce resources on alcohol abuse, a lack of recreation facilities for youth, a commuter and transient community, and increasing poverty. In association with the Colorado Build a Generation Initiative, Kremmling has used Title V funding to focus on and give priority to two major risk factors: family management problems and community laws and norms favorable to drug/alcohol use and availability. A second program profiled in the teleconference is the pilot Weed and Seed program in Trenton, N.J. The purpose of Weed and Seed is to demonstrate an innovative, comprehensive, and integrated multiagency approach to law enforcement and community revitalization to combat crime and drug abuse, as well as to improve the quality of life. The program targeted four neighborhoods in Trenton. The four components of the strategy include the Violent Offenders Removal Program, the Community Oriented Policing Program, Safe Havens, and the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. Each of these components is described. The third program profiled is operating in Tacoma, Wash. The Safe Streets Community Organizing program assists Tacoma/Pierce County organizations, neighborhoods, families, and individuals as they develop, implement, and maintain strategies to combat illegal drug activity. Each target community has community organizing specialists assigned to assist individuals and groups to access resources. The panel of experts, some of whom represent the programs profiled, answer questions about how to plan and implement a collaborative effort in various contexts to address a variety of problems. A participant booklet accompanies the two-part video.