1999 Report to Congress

2. The Front-End: Delinquency Prevention Based on Risk and
Protective Factors

2.1  Community Prevention Grants Program Overview
2.2  Key Principles of the Community Prevention Grants Program
2.3  Community Prevention Grants Program Structure and Grant Award Process
2.4  Implementation of the Community Prevention Grants Program
2.5  Community Capacity Building: Training and Technical Assistance
2.6  National Evaluation of the Community Prevention Grants Program

Research shows that there are identifiable risk factors linked to adolescent problem behaviors (Tolan & Guerra, 1994; Yoshikawa, 1994; American Psychological Association, 1993; Hawkins, Catalano & Miller, 1992). Prevention efforts that reduce risk factors, or employ protective factors to buffer children against their influence, maximize the chances of reducing juvenile delinquency and other related problems. As researchers have increased their understanding of the causes and precursors of juvenile delinquency and documented the factors that put youth at risk for problem behavior, the risk- and protection-focused approach has been incorporated into juvenile delinquency prevention strategies—like the Community Prevention Grants Program—and supported at the Federal, State and local levels. Risk factors for delinquent behavior and youth violence include conditions, attitudes, or behaviors that increase the likelihood that a child will develop delinquent behaviors in adolescence, leading to crime and arrest. Risk factors exist at multiple levels including the family, school, community, peer group and within the individual. A list of risk factors that studies have linked to unhealthy adolescent behaviors is included in Appendix A.

Balancing risk factors are protective factors—aspects of people's lives that counter risk factors or provide buffers against them. Protective factors buffer youth either by reducing the impact of risk factors or by changing the way a person responds to them (building a child's capacity to be more resilient). A key strategy to counter risk factors and reduce the incidence of related, negative behaviors is to enhance protective factors that promote positive behavior, health, well-being and personal success. Examples of protective factors include a resilient temperament and natural sociability, positive adult and peer relationships that promote bonding, and healthy beliefs and clear behavioral standards.

The risk- and protection-focused approach to prevention forms the cornerstone of the Community Prevention Grants Program delinquency prevention model and has helped guide since 1994 the efforts of communities nationwide to reduce delinquency and other related youth problem behaviors. Through our experience with the Community Prevention Grants Program, the implications of this approach are becoming apparent. When communities mobilize around risk factors that exist in their community and subsequently invest in strategies designed to reduce identified risk factors and enhance protective factors, the community and its youth are impacted in significant and positive ways.

"Title V is about collaboration. It's an opportunity to get your community involved in developing itself. People have to understand the risk- and protective-factor approach conceptually before they understand why coming together is so important. When you develop the community, you're getting rid of risk factors. If you develop the community, you're developing the children."

— James Bellamy, Title V Community
Coordinator, Leon County, Florida

Previous	Contents	Next

Title V Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs		OJJDP 1999 Report to Congress