News
Proven-effective Programs Reducing Youth Violence and Delinquency in Pennsylvania
A report recently completed by the Prevention Research Center at Penn State shows communities are beginning to experience the positive impact of violence prevention efforts supported by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Research-based Programs Initiative. The report confirms that the PCCD’s investment of more than $60 million since 1998 in the implementation of over 140 proven-effective prevention programs is making a significant difference in Pennsylvania communities by reducing youth drug use and antisocial behavior, preventing school bullying, and strengthening families. Each of the programs in this initiative has been selected based on strong evidence of effectiveness in well-controlled research studies.
According to the authors of the report, Reducing Youth Violence and Delinquency in Pennsylvania: PCCD’s Research-based Programs Initiative, while youth violence and delinquency continue to challenge many communities across the U.S., Pennsylvania has been a national leader in confronting youth problem behaviors in a progressive and proactive fashion for more than a decade. As project director Brian Bumbarger noted, “Pennsylvania has made a wise investment in local community coalitions by supporting their use of proven-effective models for preventing youth violence and aggression, delinquency and youth substance abuse.”
Reducing Youth Violence and Delinquency in Pennsylvania describes Pennsylvania’s approach to addressing juvenile crime through case studies of nineteen of these model prevention programs being implemented throughout the Commonwealth. The report contains descriptions of the wide variety of positive outcomes being seen in these communities. According to Dr. Mark Greenberg, Director of the Prevention Research Center, “these success stories demonstrate that evidence-based programs are already having a significant impact on violence, delinquency, and youth substance use, and show that the full benefits of Pennsylvania’s investment in research-guided prevention will continue to be seen for generations to come.”
He added, “An essential component in the success of these programs is the fact that Pennsylvania has created a model of technical assistance to ensure that the programs are being implemented with the highest quality and fidelity.” The Prevention Research Center team that prepared this report has also studied how these programs fare after state funding support ends, and has found that most have been sustained by local communities.
The full report and executive summary are available on the Prevention Research Center web site at: www.prevention.psu.edu/pubs.
For more information on the work of the Prevention Research Center or PCCD’s Research-based Programs Initiative, please contact the Center at 814-865-2618.