Attorney General Eric H. Holder announced, during a recent Annie E. Casey
Foundation’s reception dinner, the award of $100,000 to five new National Forum on Youth
Violence Prevention sites through the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The five new sites, Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland,
Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; Seattle, Washington; and Long Beach, California, will each
receive $20,000 to begin the work that has been so successful in the other Forum cities. Each
site will also be eligible to receive additional funding once they develop sound plans for
coordinating resources, engaging in community outreach, and involving stakeholders in their
efforts.
OJJDP also awarded $2 million to the existing 10 Forum cities to support their core
youth violence prevention work and their transition to self-sustainability, which includes $1
million from the Department of Education to fund the sites’ school climate and safety
improvement efforts through implementation of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports framework.
“The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention provides the template for future
federal-local collaborations to strengthen and rebuild our communities,” said OJJDP
Administrator Robert L. Listenbee. “The Forum cities are reclaiming their streets and schools
from the violence that has troubled them for so many years, and they are offering a future of
better opportunities to their children.”
Launched in 2010 at the direction of President Obama, the Forum is a network of
communities and federal agencies working together to share information and build local
capacity to prevent and reduce youth violence. The Forum began with six cities: Boston;
Chicago; Detroit; Memphis; Salinas, California and San Jose, California. In 2012,
Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey; joined the original six
Forum sites.
The Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and
Urban Development and Labor and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
are the Forum’s federal partners. Participating cities are selected based on need, geographic
diversity and willingness and capacity to undertake comprehensive efforts that are the
hallmark of the Forum. More details about the Forum’s goals and city plans, the toolkit and
the assessment are available at: www.findyouthinfo.gov.
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The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Karol
V. Mason, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and
control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six components: the Bureau of
Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and
the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and
Tracking. For more information about OJP, please visit http://www.ojp.gov
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