This guide is intended as a road map for organizations looking to establish programs in their communities similar to the Minority Youth Violence Prevention initiative. The initiative works to engage public health organizations, law enforcement agencies, and community-based groups in an effort to curb violence and reduce disparities in access to public health among at-risk minority youth. Rather than only responding after violence has occurred—the traditional enforcement model—the initiative adopts a public health approach, treating violence as a contagion akin to a disease, and working to anticipate outbreaks and limit their spread.
Along with lessons learned from across the initial nine program sites, the guide contains sample documents and features the voices of police officers and others collaborating directly in this work.
The Minority Youth Violence Prevention initiative was created in 2014 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Center for Court Innovation published an evaluation and provided assistance and coordination across the first round of sites.