Boys & Girls Club Gang Prevention & Intervention Programs
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We joined forces with The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington to implement the first ever Gang Prevention & Intervention Outreach Program in Clark County. The program is jointly funded by Clark County, City of Vancouver, Vancouver Public Schools, and Evergreen Public Schools. The overarching goal of this program is to help gang-affected youth build self-esteem and gain the tools to become healthy, productive adults in our community.
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Through a team-based approach that combines prevention strategies, community outreach, and targeted intervention, the program hopes to achieve the following outcomes:
- Increased engagement in pro-social activities
- Increased engagement in intervention services
- Improved academic performance
- Decreased rates of delinquent behavior
- Decreased recidivism
- Decreased gang involvement
The Prevention Group consists of K-6th grade members at the Washington Elementary and OK Clubhouses. Each youth receives individual support from staff mentors at the Clubs, along with proven youth development programs promoting academic success, character and leadership, and healthy lifestyles. The mentoring team meets weekly to discuss each member's progress and challenges, and adjust approaches as needed.
The Intervention Group serves youth ages 13-24 and receives either one-on-one case management through the multidisciplinary Youth Engagement Team (YET) or weekly/bi-weekly group intervention. The team regularly reviews intervention youth's needs, goals, and progress. Outreach case managers and YET members are in the field making contact with intervention youth, families, and peers. Group intervention provides a place for youth to connect, access pro-social, educational, and vocational opportunities, and build positive relationships with adults in our community.
The Intervention Group serves youth ages 13-24 and receives either one-on-one case management through the multidisciplinary Youth Engagement Team (YET) or weekly/bi-weekly group intervention. The team regularly reviews intervention youth's needs, goals, and progress. Outreach case managers and YET members are in the field making contact with intervention youth, families, and peers. Group intervention provides a place for youth to connect, access pro-social, educational, and vocational opportunities, and build positive relationships with adults in our community.
Youth Engagement Team (YET) Supports Youth with Untapped Potential
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The Intervention Team is at the core of the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model. We've named our intervention team the Youth Engagement Team, or YET. We like reminding the youth involved in our intervention program they may not be good at something YET, but they can be one day if they continue to make the effort. We believe every youth we work with has unique value. Every young person is at-risk in one way or another and we don't need to add to their level of confusion by giving them a label. Rather than at-risk or gang-affected, we like to see each young person as someone with untapped potential. It's the role of the YET to support each youth in their own journey to realize their unique value and what they will become and contribute to our community.
YET is composed of a multidisciplinary group of professionals from the fields of law enforcement, probation, outreach, education, and social services, who work together to case manage the referred youth and to identify additional prevention, intervention, and suppression activities needed in our community. Participation on the YET can increase the effectiveness of each agency's efforts, reduce duplication of services, increase access to needed services, and ensure that referred youth are held accountable for their actions. |
"...they may not be good at something YET, but they can be one day if they continue to make the effort." |
YET Beliefs
- Each youth is a unique individual who needs individualized support.
- Each youth affects (and is affected by) multiple domains such as family, neighborhood, school, and peers.
- Referred youth often experience uncoordinated multiple-agency involvement and are high-end service users.
- Referred youth frequently encounter barriers to needed services.
Short Term Goals
- Creating individualized case management plans for referred youth.
- Engaging referred youth in direct services to address their specific needs.
- Working together to dismantle or surmount barriers to accessing services.
- Holding referred youth accountable for negative behaviors.
Long Term Goals
- Assisting referred youth in transitioning into a more healthy lifestyle.
- Improving the effectiveness of agencies serving referred youth.
- Improving the overall safety of our community for all members.
The YET also seeks to achieve a much larger goal. By identifying and providing concentrated services to referred youth and their families, the team seeks to improve the quality of life for all residents of the community by reducing violence and crime and improving community safety. Ultimately, the goal is to create systemic and community wide change that will reduce overall gang involvement and criminality.
