About the National Forum
The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (Forum) is a network of communities and federal agencies that work together, share information and build local capacity to prevent and reduce youth violence. Since 2010, the Forum has brought together people from diverse professions and perspectives to learn from each other about the crisis of youth and gang violence in the U.S and to build comprehensive solutions on the local and national levels.
Communities have received support from numerous federal agencies. The U.S. Department of Justice and its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention have partnered with the Departments of Education as well as Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and the Office on National Drug Control Policy.
The Forum operates on three key principles that are critical to directing and leveraging limited resources to make a long-standing impact. Those principles are:
- Multidisciplinary partnerships are key to tackling this complex issue – police, educators, public health and other service providers, faith and community leaders, parents, and kids, must all be at the table.
- Communities must balance and coordinate their prevention, intervention, enforcement and reentry strategies.
- Data and evidence-driven strategies must inform efforts to reduce youth violence in our country.
The three goals of the Forum are as follows:
- Elevate youth and gang violence as an issue of national significance.
- Enhance the capacity of participating localities, as well as others across the country, to more effectively prevent youth and gang violence.
- Sustain progress and systems change through engagement, alignment, and assessment.
The Forum included fifteen cities that pledged to develop or enhance comprehensive plans to prevent youth and gang violence in their city, using multi-disciplinary partnerships, balanced approaches, and data-driven strategies. These plans aim to reduce violence, improve opportunities for youth, and encourage innovation at the local and federal levels. The Forum brought participating cities together in Washington, DC, for annual National Summits on Preventing Youth Violence, as well as annual working sessions. The Forum developed resources (see below) so that any city interested in adopting the Forum’s comprehensive approach could do so.
Resources
Strategic Plan
View or download a copy of the Forum’s strategic plan.
Logic Model
Learn more about the Forum by viewing its logic model.
Strategic Planning Toolkit
The Forum created a toolkit for those interested in creating comprehensive strategic plans in their own communities.
Guide:Involving the Philanthropic and Corporate Community in Violence Prevention Planning and Action
The Forum developed this guide to involve the philanthropic and corporate community in violence prevention planning and action. The guide aims to make clear that any comprehensive crime and violence prevention effort requires the private sector as an essential partner to be successful.
Spotlight on Forum Communities: Strategic Plans
View or download copies of strategic plans developed by Forum communities.
Sustainability
These tools and resources aim share how to sustain this important work.
- A Sustainability Framework for the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention
- Sustainability Self-Assessment Tooland Self-Assessment Guide
- Sustainability Capacities Resource List
- Policy on Graduated Sites