NCJ Number
179398
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 66 Issue: 10 Dated: October 1999 Pages: 115-117
Date Published
October 1999
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Police agencies and family support organizations in numerous communities have created powerful partnerships that leverage the knowledge, skills, and experience of both perspectives to decrease threats of violence.
Abstract
One of the most effective strategies involves covenants among police, youth, and their families to work together to keep one another safe and the community free of violence. Another effective strategy consists of police mentor programs that connect police officers and vulnerable youth, which can help youth find ways to safely express their anger, fear, and frustration. A third approach is to have family advocates working in the courts to serve as a first point of contact and a source of information and support for youth and their families. A fourth strategy is to have trained family advocates to respond, along with police, to domestic violence calls or incidents of a youth out of control. Services and supports to youth and their families should be based on certain core principles. First, children and youth belong at home with their families in their own communities. Second, child-serving agencies can do a better job if they collaborate, share information, and support one another's strategies. Third, both front-line workers and administrators will do a better job if they are "culturally competent" (knowledge of diverse client cultural backgrounds). Finally, family involvement improves outcomes for children and youth.