Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership, Chapter 5. How Should We Identify and Intervene With Youth at Risk of Joining Gangs? A Developmental Approach for Children Ages 0-12 (From Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership, P 63-73, 2013, Thomas R. Simon, Nancy M. Ritter, and Reshma R. Mahendra, eds. - See NCJ-239234)

• NCJ Number: 243469
• Author(s): Nancy G. Guerra; Carly B. Diekhising; Pedro R. Payne
• Date Published: 2013
• Length: 12 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Issue Overview; Instructional Material

Annotation

Recognizing the importance of early intervention in preventing individuals from joining gangs when they are adolescents, this chapter proposes a newly developed, innovative program for families that addresses the developmental needs of children from birth (or even prenatally) to age 12.

Abstract

The rationale for such early intervention is that problem behaviors in childhood, such as aggression, can become habitual behaviors that intensify in adolescence if not addressed early in life. The proposed program, called Gang Intervention for Teens (GIFT), conducts home visits and family counseling for parents of 11- and 12-year-olds who are acting out in school and show signs of gang involvement. This is a collaborative effort that involves schools, law-enforcement agencies, and public-health agencies. This gang-membership prevention strategy is based on research findings regarding risk and protective factors for gang membership. The chapter cautions, however, that although the program design and implementation has been based on research findings regarding risk and protective factors for gang involvement, it has not yet been formally evaluated. The program is highlighted in this chapter because of its innovative focus on early intervention in parent-child interactions with a view toward countering risk factors and facilitating protective factors in preventing gang involvement in adolescence. Understanding students and their behavior patterns is crucial. In phase two of GIFT, gang task force officers, assisted by school officials and school resource officers (SROs) will identify at-risk juveniles. This includes youth who associate with identified gang members. SROs also regularly conduct large town-hall-type meetings and forums at the schools. SROs prepare detailed reports based on the home visits, including information on the nature of the referral, the number of siblings in the house, whether or not parents have discovered gang paraphernalia in the child's room, and basic information about the parents. 20 chapter notes