Oct 2024
Building safer communities: Behavioral science innovations in youth violence prevention
This policy brief highlights results from a large-scale randomized controlled trial that evaluated the impact of Choose to Change® (C2C®) on participants’ criminal justice involvement.
Abstract
New insights from the field of behavioral science open new doors for addressing a seemingly intractable, and uniquely American, public health crisis: gun violence. This brief presents results from a study of the Chicago-based Choose to Change® (C2C®) program, a partnership between non-profits Brightpoint and Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP)™. The data show that it is possible to create large and lasting reductions in violent-crime arrests among a program population that has historically been hard to reach: youth who are increasingly disconnected from school. If gun violence = guns + violence, then anything that reduces the prevalence of violence overall can be an important part of the solution to solving gun violence.
Choose to Change® (C2C®) Program Guide
This program guide is intended for community-based organizations working to fill gaps in services and reach an underserved population of youth impacted by violence and trauma.
Unpacking the Impacts of a Youth Behavioral Health Intervention: Experimental Evidence from Chicago
This working paper details results from a study of Choose to Change® (C2C®), a trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy and intensive mentoring program developed by nonprofits Brightpoint and Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP).
Improving Programming in Juvenile Detention: The Impact of Project Safe Neighborhoods Youth Outreach Forums
This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial of a youth outreach forums program run in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center (JTDC) by the Northern Illinois Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force.
B2OF Policy Brief: Supporting Youth Safety and Education Re-Engagement
This policy brief outlines the first year of implementation of Back to Our Future (B2OF), a state-funded, district-led, evidence-informed effort to re-engage disconnected students at an elevated risk for gun violence involvement.
Latest Updates
Strides for Peace Expo Inspires Chicago to Unite Against Gun Violence
Strides for Peace executive director Joel Hamernick cited Crime Lab research during the Second Annual Strides for Peace Gun Violence Prevention Expo showing that students who transfer schools twice during high school are 80% more likely to become involved in gun violence.
Chattanooga Police Chief John Chambers Completes University Of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy
Chattanooga Police Department Chief John Chambers graduated from the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy, an education program dedicated to reducing violent crime and improving police effectiveness.
Birmingham PD part of leadership training study designed to reduce violent crime
WBRC 6 News covers Birmingham Police Department Captain Michael Sellers’ graduation from the Policing Leadership Academy (PLA), the first officer from Alabama to participate in the program.
