SAN JOSÉ

MAYOR’S GANG PREVENTION

TASK FORCE

STRATEGIC WORK PLAN

2003-05

Mayor Ron Gonzales

May 2003

I. Introduction Page 3

II. Vision, Mission, & Strategic Goals Page 5

III. Target Population & Core Services Page 6

IV. Strategic Objectives Pages 7-10

I. Introduction

The San José Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) made up of law enforcement, juvenile court officials, youth development professionals, community members and educators was created to reduce youth violence in San José. Through the combined efforts of the collaborative, the City experienced a 50% reduction in youth crime over the last 9 years. However, between 2001 and 2002, gang related aggravated assaults increased by 61% (SJPD Crime Analysis). This statistic reflects what the MGPTF sees as part of an overall growth of the frequency and severity of juvenile crime and gang related incidences. We attribute this emerging trend to many factors including: 1) the slump in the economy, and 2) the release of gang affiliated prison inmates and their efforts to mobilize gangs. The work of the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force is all the more imperative during these times, if San José is to avoid the pandemonium triggered by gang violence in the late ‘80’s and early 90’s.

The downturn in the economy is anticipated to continue into the next two years and the City of San José, the County of Santa Clara, and youth service providers will continue to confront financial challenges. The lack of adequate resources will result in a reduction of the available services and in turn the number of youth that will be served. It is this trend that requires the City and the MGPTF to renew it focus via the San José B.E.S.T. program and utilize its funding to more directly impact the MGPTF’s “Target Population” (page 6). This direction will make a greater impact on those youth who would generally contribute to the escalation of gang related problems.

The MGPTF utilizes an annual process to evaluate and adjust its strategic objectives, services, and methods of service delivery. This process includes annual retreats of the Policy and Technical Teams combined with community input solicited from the San José B.E.S.T. Needs Assessment and the results of the annual San José B.E.S.T. evaluations. The collective results of this process are summarized annually in the Strategic Work Plan of the MGPTF. This annual document has been the foundation by which services and resources have been developed, deployed, and expanded to address gang related and risk behavior issues in San José. Based on the input gathered from the planning process, the following are overriding strategic recommendations incorporated in the FY 2003-05 Strategic Work Plan.

· Re-new and expand the service focus, community outreach and education strategy towards the “Target Population.” Continue to focus our efforts on reducing youth violence, juvenile offenses, and the number of gang-related crimes/activities, and the level of gang membership in San José.

· Commit to a Strength Based Developmental Framework as advocated in the “Blueprint for Bridging the Digital Divide,” augmenting our framework of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression services.

· The San Jose B.E.S.T. Program funding model will continue to be based on a partnership model. The partnership model requires collaborative funding of projects in the form of matching dollars and service delivery design that contributes directly to the achievement of the goals of the MGPTF Strategic Work Plan. This model will also build partnerships and co-funded projects with County agencies and school districts.

· Continue to evaluate the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and outcomes of the MGPTF strategies and B.E.S.T. funded agencies and services. Seek out annual program improvements goals for advancing the work of the MGPTF and related programs/services.

· Create a formalized strategy for increasing the involvement of the community in the MGPTF programming and development of services. This strategy will include, strengthening the capacities of parents, families and neighborhoods to advocate on behalf of their children and provide for a nurturing environment for our children/youth.

II. MAYOR’S GANG PREVENTION TASK FORCE

VISION

All youth and their families will feel safe and productive in San Jose .

MISSION

To reduce gang activity and youth crime by providing safe opportunities for youth and their families

to be successful and productive in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

STRATEGIC GOALS

· Reduce the number of gang related activities, crimes and the level of gang membership in

San José.

· Provide opportunities that assist young people in making healthy lifestyle decisions and develop competencies and skills for personal and prosocial success.

· Contribute towards the creation and maintenance of safer schools and neighborhoods.

III. MAYOR’S GANG PREVENTION TASK FORCE

TARGET POPULATION & CORE SERVICES

Target Population

1. Youth exhibiting high-risk and pre-gang membership behaviors such as school academic failure, disciplinary problems, progressive patterns of truancy, substance abuse behaviors, and delinquency.

2. Youth exhibiting intentional acts of violence against peers in the school and community environment.

3. Youth exhibiting high-risk behaviors related to gang lifestyles and gang membership.

4. Youth identified as a gang member and/or involved in gang related and youth violence incidents.

5. Youth arrested and incarcerated for gang related or violence charges and/or transitioning back into their community.

6. Families, parents, children with family members identified with gang lifestyles, and/or incarcerated for gang related crimes.

Core Services

Youth and Family Development

These services promote healthy youth and competency skill building and risk avoidance behavior in our target population.

Youth Intervention

These services provide safe alternatives, guidance and teaching for youth to assist them to separate from delinquent and gang behaviors and/or substance abusing lifestyles.

School &Community Safety

These services assist in reducing and preventing youth violence. In addition, they provide targeted San Jose schools and neighborhoods with resources and assistance to intervene, reduce, and prevent youth and gang related violence and foster safer neighborhoods, schools and classrooms.

Capacity Building

These services strengthen the ability of agencies to serve our target population and build their ability to demonstrate their successes. They provide collaborating agencies with support to increase their ability to respond to the diverse needs of our target population by way of increased funding, technical assistance, evaluation design and reporting, and analysis of outcomes.

IV. MAYOR’S GANG PREVENTION TASK FORCE

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

2003 – 2005

The following are strategic objectives and action items for Fiscal Years 2003 – 2005.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1

Youth & Family Development

Promote and strengthen the skills and competencies of youth professionals, youth and their families to better support and serve our target population.

1) Utilize the B.E.S.T. system to build parent-child relationships via methods of including parent involvement in service delivery, i.e.) parent support groups and relationship enhancement trainings.

2) Provide formal and informal mentoring services to increase the amount of adults involved in supporting our target population in school and community settings.

3) Participate in the Juvenile Detention Reform committees and encourage B.E.S.T. agencies to participate in JDR consulting and training opportunities.

4) Support and adapt the developmental assets model philosophy to better serve our target population.

5) Develop a strategy for obtaining regular input and timely feedback to the MGPTF on the needs of youth in San José from parents and youth.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2

Youth Intervention

Provide youth exhibiting high-risk behaviors and gang-involved youth access to

effective intervention services that will reduce risk behaviors, and build new personal

and social competencies.

1) Support programs that develop skills and competencies and risk avoidance skills that promote developmental assets in youth exhibiting high-risk behaviors.

2) B.E.S.T. program will allocate 70% of grant funding to programs that serve our target population.

3) Target a minimum of 50% of San José B.E.S.T. clients representative of the following populations: Gang Supporter, Gang Member, and Hard Core Gang Member.

4) Identify Adolescent Prevention and Substance Abuse Treatment services and work with Santa Clara County to plan and develop a system for San José youth that addresses the needs of the MGPTF target population.

5) Advocate and plan support services that build personal and social competencies, and promote developmental assests for youth as they transition from incarceration back into the community.

6) Improve student attendance rates in targeted San José schools through City, County, and community truancy efforts.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3

School & Community Safety

Make San José schools the safest urban schools in America.

Continue collective efforts by law enforcement, school districts, City safety programs,

and community-based organizations to ensure that children and families feel

safe at school and in their communities.

1) Implement the redesign of the Safe School Campus Initiative Program at high schools and middle schools citywide.

2) Work with School Administrators to produce a common protocol to work with Policy, Fire and Emergency Services on school sites

3) Provide an annual Safe School Campus Initiative protocol training for MGPTF CBO’s and City staff.

4) Increase the support of gang intervention strategies by providing intensive outreach and support services to assist youth in leaving the gang lifestyle.

5) Educate the community regarding the efforts and accomplishments of the MGPTF and create an awareness of trends regarding youth and gang violence.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4

Capacity Building

Increase resources and effective programming for our target population using

a resource development partnership model.

1) Develop a resource development plan that will increase funding to the MGPTF/ B.E.S.T. service agencies, by maximizing opportunities to leverage outside funding, form new service partnerships and utilize the B.E.S.T. Evaluation results toward improving cost-effectiveness of services.

2) Plan and implement a collaborative grant solicitation program that leverages City and non-City resources for the purpose of allocating resources that supplement the strategies outlined in this work plan.

3) Continue to support the work of the Youth Evaluators and incorporate their work into the San José B.E.S.T Service Provider Evaluation.

4) Develop and implement a three-year result based performance evaluation system for services for San José B.E.S.T. that will expand the application of strength-based measurements.

5) Promote the success of the MGPTF and B.E.S.T. Program model locally and nationally.

6) Assist contracted agencies via B.E.S.T. sponsored trainings to implement the directions and strategies of the MGPTF work plan.