Oct 2024
Building safer communities: Behavioral science innovations in youth violence prevention
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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.
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Projects
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
Chicago’s Homicides Are Headed for Lowest Tally in 60 Years
Kim Smith, the Crime Lab’s Director of National Programs, speaks with Bloomberg’s Miranda Davis about the 2025 declines in violent crime in Chicago.
Chicago looks to close out 2025 with a 10-year low in violent crime
The Crime Lab’s experts and end-of-year analysis of Chicago crime trends are heavily featured in the latest Crain’s Forum on violence reduction.
The Best Books of 2025
The New Yorker includes Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig’s book, “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence,” on its annual list of best books of the year.
