1. National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Presentation to Mayor Francis Slay’s Commission on Children, Youth & Families April 19, 2012 Rev. Starsky D. WIlson Deaconess Foundation

2. The Forum A Network of communities and federal agencies that work together, share information and build capacity to prevent and reduce youth violence

3. The Forum Established by President Obama in 2010 to build a national conversation concerning youth and gang violence Models a new kind of federal/local collaboration Convenes a diverse array of stakeholders Provides federal capacity building assistance, coordinated funding and supportive network to Forum sites

4. Forum Goals Elevate youth & gang violence as an issue of national significance Enhance the capacity of localities, as well as others across the country, to more effectively prevent youth & gang violence Sustain progress and systems change through engagement, alignment & assessment

5. Participating Federal Agencies Department of Justice Department of Education Department of Health & Human Services Department of Housing & Urban Development Department of Labor Office of National Drug Control Policy

6. Participating Communities Boston, MA Chicago, IL Detroit, MI Memphis, TN Salinas, CA San Jose, CA

7. Three Operating Principles Multi-disciplinary partnerships are key Communities must balance and coordinate prevention, intervention, enforcement & re- entry strategies Data and evidence-driven strategies must inform efforts

8. Multi-Disciplinary Partnerships Coordination of diverse partners: – law enforcement – education – labor – social services – public health – businesses – philanthropic organizations – faith- and community-based organizations – parents and youth

9. Balanced Approach Strategies should be broad-based and balanced: – Prevention efforts spanning from early childhood into young adulthood, such as youth development family support school community mentoring school-based and out-of-school recreational activities –“Relational” Intervention and Enforcement programs that engage with high‐risk and gang‐involved youth – Reentry programs that plan for returning youthful offenders prior to their release

10. Data Driven Strategies Data sharing should be inclusive of all stakeholder agencies Integrate a wide-range of data from a variety of sources including –law enforcement –education –public health –child protection/welfare –Labor –housing Collaboration is enhanced by embracing principles of distributed intelligence – many perspectives better than just one

11. Comprehensive Planning Initiatives must be well planned to ensure: –Organizational alignment –Work to achieve a shared vision –All parties have a common set of measurements to gauge the effectiveness of the work –Regular adjustments can be made to the plan based local outcomes and opportunities

12. Summit on Preventing Youth Violence Washington, DC - April 2-3, 2012 More than 250 participants from Forum cities, government agencies, faith/community-based organizations, private partners, philanthropy & the White House Select non-Forum cities invited St. Louis Representatives –Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, Deaconess Foundation –Ms. Heidi Veron, Saigh Foundation

13. Summit Highlights Highest level of inter-departmental participation Reports on comprehensive approaches & results from Forum cities Skill-building Sessions –Community-School Partnerships –Taking a Public Health Approach & Data-Sharing –Relationships between Law Enforcement & Youth –Responding to Youth Trauma –Philanthropy & Funding Innovation –Anti-Drug Campaigns & Cause-Related Marketing

14. Summit Highlights (Cont’d) Launch of www.findyouthinfo.govwww.findyouthinfo.gov –Strategic Planning Toolkit –Promoting collaboration –Disseminating key funding opportunities –Highlighting promising strategies Additional capacity building grants to Forum Cities Announcement of desired expansion to four (4) new cities

15. Reflections from StL Representatives WE WANT IN! –Key Selection Factors: Demonstrated need Illustration of multidisciplinary leadership commitment All the “promising practices” are here (or forming), they simply need to be aligned (& a compelling reason to do so) To be most competitive, St. Louis application effort would need to be led by the Mayor’s office & include regional participation

16. Sources National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, Summit on Preventing Youth Violence (Washington, DC: April 2-3, 2012) “Focus on Youth Violence” Presentation to St. Louis Health Funders Group by Lindsay Matush (Brown Sisters Foundation) & Heidi Veron (Saigh Foundation) www.findyouthinfo.gov