Dec 2023

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.

Related Resources
Choose to Change® (C2C®) Program Guide
Other

Choose to Change® (C2C®) Program Guide

Oct 2024

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.

Building safer communities: Behavioral science innovations in youth violence prevention
Brief

Building safer communities: Behavioral science innovations in youth violence prevention

Oct 2024

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.

Unpacking the Impacts of a Youth Behavioral Health Intervention: Experimental Evidence from Chicago
Academic Paper

Unpacking the Impacts of a Youth Behavioral Health Intervention: Experimental Evidence from Chicago

Oct 2024

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
Academic Paper

Improving Programming in Juvenile Detention: The Impact of Project Safe Neighborhoods Youth Outreach Forums

May 2024

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.

Latest Updates

A Better Conversation on Guns
Op-Ed
Jan 2025

A Better Conversation on Guns

Crime Lab affiliate Megan Kang highlights the importance of addressing gun violence through meaningful conversations with gun owners, focusing on their perspectives and values to develop more effective and inclusive solutions.

Crime in Context, Locally and Nationally
Op-Ed
Jan 2025

Crime in Context, Locally and Nationally

Crime Lab affiliate Aaron Chalfin examines nationwide declines in murders, explores shifting crime dynamics, and underscores the importance of data-driven strategies and interventions to improve public safety.

Unforgiving Places: The Behavioral Science of Ending Gun Violence
Event
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Feb 2025

Unforgiving Places: The Behavioral Science of Ending Gun Violence

In this talk hosted by Chicago Booth’s Think Better Speaker Series, Jens Ludwig will argue that the lack of progress in reducing gun violence ultimately stems from our having misunderstood the nature of the problem, and that behavioral science gives us a new way to understand – and solve – gun violence in America.