law will help reduce youth violence
By Crime Prevention Specialist Tim Hammett
Minneapolis is set to receive more help from the State of Minnesota in reducing youth violence in the city as the result of a new state law that went into effect August 1. The new law is designed to provide support for youth violence prevention initiatives in communities across the state. Support for the new law grew out of significant progress made by Minneapolis since its Blueprint to Prevent Youth Violence was launched in January 2008.
The Blueprint is a multi-year plan to reduce youth violence by addressing its root causes. The Blueprint frames youth violence not just as a law enforcement problem but also as a public health problem; a problem which can be prevented. The Blueprint identified 34 specific action items to be undertaken by the city and its community partners. The City now reports that progress has been made on all 34 action items and that youth violence has fallen by double-digits.
According to a recent press release, juvenile violent crime in Minneapolis fell 29 percent in 2008 compared to 2007. Over the last two years, juvenile violent crime in Minneapolis has dropped 37 percent. Most importantly, in the City's 4th Police Precinct (which includes the Camden Community) and which accounts for much of the violence, juvenile violent crime fell 39 percent in 2008 when compared to 2007 and 43 percent compared to 2006.
The new law calls on the State to work in partnership with local communities throughout Minnesota to develop community-based violence prevention programs and also help identify public and private funding for proven youth violence prevention initiatives. Minneapolis is among five pilot communities around the state, initially identified for this assistance.
The legislation was the result of more than two years of effort by a coalition of community groups from North Minneapolis who wanted the State to play a larger role in preventing youth violence and knew that they had valuable lessons to share with other parts of Minnesota. The legislation was co-authored by State Senator John Marty (D-Roseville) and State Represen-tative Paul Thissen (D-Minneapolis).
The new law allows community based youth violence prevention programs to apply for technical assistance from the Minnesota Commissioner of Health. In order to qualify for assistance, such programs must include trusted adults as role models or mentors, be able to intervene at the first signs of trouble, work to strengthen families, work with schools, and teach both self respect and respect for others.
The eligible violence prevention programs may include, among other things, a mentorship component, job placement and support, violence prevention training, parent and family intervention, chemical dependency and mental health intervention, or working to prevent youth pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Included in the technical support to be provided by the Commissioner of Health will be assistance in seeking and applying for federal grants and private foundation funding. The commissioner will also monitor the selected programs in order to measure their impact on public health and reducing youth violence. The commissioner will also identify the effective aspects of each program and assist other programs in replicating these successful aspects. Details on the Minneapolis Blueprint to Prevent Youth Violence can be found at http://www.ci.min-neapolis.mn.us/dhfs/yv.asp.