NCJ Number
195726
Date Published
1998
Length
61 pages
Annotation
This report presents San Diego County's Comprehensive Strategy for Youth, Family, and Community, which is an unprecedented collaborative effort to prevent juvenile delinquency and promote positive development of youth.
Abstract
San Diego's Comprehensive Strategy Plan was developed with input from diverse sources that contributed experience; professional expertise; national, State, and local data and statistics; and many creative ideas and methodologies. Researchers, front-line staff, executives, and community representatives worked together to develop a course of action. The strategic plan proposes an integrated systems approach with an expectation of sustained and measured results. The Comprehensive Strategy is predicated on a philosophy of shared responsibility and coordinated action to prevent juvenile delinquency and promote positive development of youth. In San Diego, this strategy has become a region-wide effort to develop healthy, responsible youth through prevention, intervention, and appropriate sanctions. The guiding principles are to strengthen families, support core social institutions, promote delinquency prevention, immediate and appropriate intervention when delinquent behavior occurs, and the identification and sanctioning of the most chronic and serious juvenile offenders. Strategies focus on prevention, intervention, graduated sanctions, collaboration, and data sharing. Throughout the planning process, a comprehensive assessment of existing resources, infrastructure, program, and strategies was conducted. Four categories of "gaps" identified where resources were lacking: program, geographic, support services, and infrastructure. This report includes San Diego's plan for addressing juvenile crime; presents recommendations for an effective continuum of services, from prevention through graduated sanctions; and offers suggestions for implementation, management, and evaluation. Accomplishments and impacts are also reviewed, and the implementation of the comprehensive strategy is described, along with benchmarks for measuring progress. The report concludes with forecasts of major trends and projections. Attachments detail activities.