![]() ![]() Unfortunately, the news about effective programs has been slow to bring about change in school, community, and juvenile justice system prevention efforts, where precious resources continue to be spent on ineffective programs. Over the past few decades, social scientists have made great strides in uncovering the causes and correlates of youth violence. The evaluations that have been done indicate that much of the money America spends on youth violence prevention is spent on ineffective - sometimes even harmful - programs and policies ( Mendel, 2000).Īt the same time, researchers know much more today about how to prevent youth violence than they did two decades ago, when some declared that "nothing works" to prevent violence ( Lipton et al., 1975 Sechrest et al., 1979). Few such programs have been rigorously evaluated, including many ongoing efforts ( Elliott, 1998). Hundreds of youth violence prevention programs are being used in schools and communities throughout the country, yet little is known about the actual effects of many of them ( Gottfredson et al., 2000 Tolan & Guerra, 1994). This perception, combined with the increased lethality of youth violence in the early 1990s, has lent urgency to the search for effective violence prevention efforts. Shootings and deaths in schools throughout the United States have left parents believing that their communities are no longer safe from the most extreme examples of youth violence ( Gallup, 1999).
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