Constructing “Packages” of Evidence-Based Programs to Prevent Youth Violence: Processes and Illustrative Examples From the CDC’s Youth Violence Prevention Centers

This paper describes the strategic efforts of six National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (YVPC), funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to work in partnership with local communities to create comprehensive evidence-based program packages to prevent youth violence. Key components of a comprehensive evidence-based approach are defined and examples are provided from a variety of community settings (rural and urban) across the nation that illustrate attempts to respond to the unique needs of the communities while maintaining a focus on evidence-based programming and practices. At each YVPC site, the process of selecting prevention and intervention programs addressed the following factors: (1) community capacity, (2) researcher and community roles in selecting programs, (3) use of data in decision-making related to program selection, and (4) reach, resources, and dosage. We describe systemic barriers to these efforts, lessons learned, and opportunities for policy and practice. Although adopting an evidence-based comprehensive approach requires significant upfront resources and investment, it offers great potential for preventing youth violence and promoting the successful development of children, families and communities

Change and stability in ethnic diversity across urban communities: explicating the influence of social cohesion on perceptions of disorder

A growing body of research shows that perceived community disorder is not solely driven by crime, but is influenced by the community's social cohesion and ethnic composition. Drawing on two waves of survey data from 2509 and 2651 individuals in Wave 1 and Wave 2 respectively, living in 71 communities in Brisbane Australia, we examine changes in ethnic composition over two time periods and how these changes influence perceived neighbourhood disorder. We also test whether or not social cohesion mediates these associations. Our findings indicate that high proportions of Indigenous residents and high levels of reported crime averaged across time are associated with greater perceived disorder. Whereas increases in household income over time are associated with lower perceived disorder. We also find that social cohesion is strongly associated with perceived disorder over time, but does not mediate the relationship between the racial and ethnic composition of the community and disorder. Yet when a community's social cohesion is considered, the effect of increasing household income becomes non-significant