This document was prepared under Cooperative Agreement Number 2007-JV-FX-0008 from 

the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. 

Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed 

in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position 

or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Acknowledgements

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) wishes to thank the National 

Youth Gang Center (NYGC) for its help and guidance in revising and updating this document. In 

particular, OJJDP would like to thank Michelle Arciaga, Van Dougherty, John Moore, Kimberly 

Hale, Steve Ray, and James Howell, who prepared the document. 

This guide relies heavily on the research and experiences of a number of practitioners and 

professionals in the field of youth gangs. Many people contributed directly and indirectly to this 

document. OJJDP is grateful for the work of Dr. Irving Spergel, University of Chicago, and his 

associates who, in the early 1990s, collected and analyzed the practices of agencies involved in 

combating gangs. From this research, Spergel developed a model comprehensive program to reduce 

gang violence. In 1993, Spergel began to implement the Model in the Little Village neighborhood of 

Chicago. The Spergel Model has been tested, evaluated, and found to have positive results. 

With some adaptation, this design gave rise to the OJJDP Comprehensive Community-Wide 

Approach to Gangs. The initial demonstration sites (Bloomington, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; 

Riverside, California; and Mesa and Tucson, Arizona) began implementation of the Model in 1995. 

In 1998, OJJDP launched the Rural Gang Initiative in four sites (Glenn County, California; 

Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Elk City, Oklahoma; and Cowlitz County, Washington). In 2000, OJJDP 

began the Gang-Free Communities and Schools Program. Four sites participated in the 

Gang-Free Communities Program (East Los Angeles, California; Broward County, Florida; 

Lakewood, Washington; and San Francisco, California). Four sites also participated in the Gang-Free 

Schools Program (Houston, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; East Cleveland, Ohio; and Miami-Dade 

County, Florida). In 2003, the Gang Reduction Program was started. This program was a further 

adaptation of the Model in that it added prevention and reentry to the Model’s concept. The program 

was initiated in Richmond, Virginia; Los Angeles, California; North Miami Beach, Florida; and 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

OJJDP thanks the project directors, the staff, and the many individuals at these sites who have 

contributed so materially to this program and, in the process, helped identify the best practices and 

lessons learned contained in this implementation manual.
Table of Contents

Page 

1. Introduction 1

Purpose of the Implementation Guide 3

2. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model 4

The Five Strategies of the Model 5

3. Planning for Implementation 8

Using the Assessment Data 8

The Planning Process 9

Exhibit 3.1—Sample Intervention Target Population 11

Exhibit 3.2—Sample Problem Statements 13

Exhibit 3.3—Sample Activities 15

4. Five Core Strategies 21

Exhibit 4.1—The Five Core Strategies 21

Community Mobilization 22

Opportunities Provision 22

Social Intervention 22

Suppression 23

Organizational Change and Development 24

Exhibit 4.2—Table With Recommended Activities, by Model Strategy 25

5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 29

The Steering Committee 29

The Lead Agency 31

Exhibit 5.1—Lead Agency, by Type 32

The Project Director 34

The Research Partner 35

The Intervention Team 36

Coordination of Effort 37

Exhibit 5.2—Sample Project Director Job Description 38

Exhibit 5.3—Sample Research Partner Job Description 40

Exhibit 5.4—Sample Research Partner Scope of Work 41

6. Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression 44

Prevention 44

Intervention 45

Suppression 47

7. The Intervention Team 49

Creating the Team 50

Selecting Team Members 51

Formalizing Information-Sharing Protocols 52

Developing a Referral/Screening Process 52

Client Consent Issues 52

Needs Assessment 53

Exhibit 7.1—Sample Referral Form 54

Exhibit 7.2—Sample Client Consent Form 55
Table of Contents

Page 

8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 57

Creating an Intervention Plan 57

Team Member Roles 58

Exhibit 8.1—Client Intervention Plan 61

Exhibit 8.2—Client Contact Log 62

Exhibit 8.3—Sample Intervention Plan Checklist Form 63

Exhibit 8.4—Sample Client Tracking Form 64

9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 67

Role of the Outreach Worker 67

Hiring Outreach Workers 68

Hiring Versus Contracting 69

Exhibit 9.1—Outreach Worker Job Description 70

Supervising Outreach Personnel 72

Exhibit 9.2—Sample Outreach Worker Client Contact Attempt Log 74

Exhibit 9.3—Weekly Outreach Worker Contact Tracking Form 75

10. Evaluation and Sustainability 76

11. Resources 79

Program Contacts 80
1. Introduction 1

Chapter 1. Introduction

During the 1980s, the gang problem in the United States became widespread and communities around the 

country were struggling with an increase in associated youth violence. In 1987, the Office of Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) began supporting a research and development project to 

design a comprehensive approach to reduce and prevent youth gang violence. The initial phase of this 

project was directed by Dr. Irving Spergel at the University of Chicago. The project concluded in the 

early 1990s and resulted in the development of the Spergel Model of Gang Intervention and Suppression, 

later renamed the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model (Model). The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang 

Model was based on best practices to address gang-related violence and crime as implemented in a 

number of communities around the country. 

Drawing principally on social disorganization theory to frame the development of the Model, 

Dr. Irving Spergel and a research team from the University of Chicago expected that there were core 

strategies to address gang youth, their families, and the community institutions that would promote 

youths’ transition from adolescence to productive members of society. With this in mind, law 

enforcement and other agency personnel in 65 cities reporting problems with gangs were surveyed. 

Analysis of that information, in conjunction with site visits and focus groups, led Dr. Spergel to conclude 

that communities should adopt activities in five specific areas (referred to as the five strategies):

Community mobilization: Involvement of local citizens, including former gang youth, community groups 

and agencies, and the coordination of programs and staff functions within and across agencies.

Opportunities provision: The development of a variety of specific education, training, and employment 

programs targeted at gang-involved youth.

Social intervention: Youth-serving agencies, schools, grassroots groups, faith-based organizations, police, 

and other criminal justice organizations reaching out and acting as links to gang-involved youth, their 

families, and the conventional world and needed services. 

Suppression: Formal and informal social control procedures, including close supervision or monitoring of 

gang youth by agencies of the criminal justice system and also by community-based agencies, schools, 

and grassroots groups.

Organizational change and development: Development and implementation of policies and procedures 

that result in the most effective use of available and potential resources, within and across agencies, to 

better address the gang problem.

In 1993, Dr. Spergel began implementing the initial version of the Model in the Little Village 

neighborhood of Chicago. The goal of the project was to reduce gang-related violence connected to two 

local gangs. Called the Gang Violence Reduction Program, the project lasted five years. An evaluation 

of the project was conducted, with several positive results: serious violent and property crimes were 

reduced, gang involvement of older gang members decreased, gang members participated successfully in 

educational and employment endeavors, and violent crime and drug arrests for the target group were 

reduced. (Spergel, 2007)

In 1995, OJJDP began to test the OJJDP Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang 

Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Program in five sites—Bloomington, Illinois; Mesa and 

Tucson, Arizona; Riverside, California; and San Antonio, Texas. In the process of establishing these 

sites, it became clear that to successfully implement the Model, the lead agency and its partner agencies 
1. Introduction 2

must fully understand the Model, the implementation process, and perhaps most important, the nature and 

scope of the community’s gang problems. Experience with these sites reinforced the principle that a 

thorough assessment of the community’s gang problem was a prerequisite to implementation. The 

evaluations of each site, as well as the evaluation of the Little Village project, can be accessed through the 

National Criminal Justice Reference Service at http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Search/SearchResults.aspx?

txtKeywordSearch=Spergel&fromSearch=1.

Responding to the continuing problems of youth gangs and youth gang violence, over the past ten years 

OJJDP launched three initiatives based on the lessons learned from the original urban sites’ demonstration 

of the Model. 

In 1998, citing recent evidence that youth gangs were emerging in rural areas, OJJDP developed the 

Rural Gang Initiative (RGI), which included conduct of a comprehensive gang problem assessment and 

development of a plan to implement the Comprehensive Gang Model. Four RGI sites were funded. 

In 2000, OJJDP began the Gang-Free Schools and Communities Initiative. In this initiative, the GangFree Schools Program sought to develop a school component to the Comprehensive Gang Model to

develop programs within the school setting and link the school component to community-based gang 

prevention, intervention, and suppression activities. Four Gang-Free Schools sites were funded. Six sites 

in the Gang-Free Communities Program were given seed money to demonstrate the Model, but they were 

to leverage local resources more extensively. 

In 2003, OJJDP launched the Gang Reduction Program to reduce gang activity in targeted 

neighborhoods in four cities. The program integrates prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry 

activities and uses existing community resources to sustain itself.

While these projects have had varying degrees of success at the local level, the nation’s youth gang 

problem as a whole continues to affect a large number of jurisdictions, according to annual National 

Youth Gang Surveys (NYGS). Since the early 2000s, not only has every large city (population more than

100,000) in the United States experienced gang problems in some form or another, but so have a majority 

of suburban counties and a sizeable number of smaller cities and rural counties. In fact, it is estimated 

that more than 3,500 jurisdictions experienced gang problems in 2007, a 25 percent increase from the 

2002 estimate. Moreover, during this same period, the number of reported gangs and gang members 

increased 25 percent and 8 percent, respectively, reaching an estimated nationwide total of more than

27,000 gangs and 788,000 gang members in 2007 (OJJDP 2007 Fact Sheet). 

Of course, it is the activities of gang members that are of central concern, particularly their involvement 

in serious and/or violent offenses within the community. NYGS data reveal a substantially varying 

pattern of gang crime across the country. In terms of lethal gang violence, NYGS data show that, with 

few exceptions, nearly all gang-related homicides recorded annually by law enforcement occur in the 

largest cities and metropolitan counties. However, the less-populated areas are not without gang crime 

problems. In these communities, gangs are frequently reported to be involved in property and drug 

offenses. Of further concern, NYGS data reveals recent increases in two serious gang-related offenses, 

aggravated assault and drug sales, among a majority of gang-problem jurisdictions nationwide (OJJDP 

2006 Fact Sheet). Data from these survey findings indicate that gangs continue to remain a significant 

and ongoing problem across the United States.

The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model remains one of the few approaches to gangs that encompasses a 

multidisciplinary response to gangs on multiple levels—prevention, intervention, and suppression—and 

that has been shown to reduce serious gang-related crimes in affected communities. This manual is based 

on the best practices of almost 20 years of implementation experience with the Model in communities 

large and small.
1. Introduction 3

Purpose of the Implementation Guide

The purpose of this guide is to assist communities in designing a plan to implement the OJJDP 

Comprehensive Gang Model (Model). It is intended for use by the Steering Committee and project staff 

as they determine the goals and objectives of their plan. 

A companion guide, Assessing Your Community’s Gang Problem, contains information and direction 

about the importance of conducting an assessment prior to developing an implementation plan. Sites that 

conducted a comprehensive assessment found they were better equipped during the planning and 

implementation process to design appropriate responses. The assessment process helped sites determine 

types and levels of gang activity, gang crime patterns, community perceptions, and service gaps. The 

assessment also enabled sites to better target appropriate populations, understand why those populations 

merited attention, and make the best use of available resources. 

In this manual, the following information is provided:

1. An overview of the Comprehensive Gang Model. (Chapter 2, page 4)

2. A guide to using assessment data from a local community to plan a comprehensive response to gangs 

that fits the community’s needs, history, and challenges. (Chapter 3, page 8)

3. An overview of the Model’s five strategies, including in-depth descriptions of what each strategy 

means, in practice. (Chapter 4, page 21)

4. A description of the staffing structure necessary to ensure that the implementation plan is carried out 

on a day-to-day basis. (Chapter 5, page 29)

5. An overview of Model activities, sorted by prevention, intervention, and suppression categories.

(Chapter 6, page 44)

6. A description of the work of the Intervention Team, including examples of individual agencies’ 

activities and the role each agency plays in the Model. (Chapter 7, page 49)

7. An exploration of how gang members should be case managed by the Intervention Team. (Chapter 8, 

page 57)

8. An in-depth discussion of the street outreach component of the Model. (Chapter 9, page 67)

9. An overview of evaluation and sustainability activities within the Model. (Chapter 10, 

page 76)

For more information on the research and development of the Model, as well as 

information about demonstration sites, refer to Best Practices To Address Community 

Gang Problems, pp. 1–4 and Appendix A (OJJDP, 2008). This document is available at 

http://www.ojjdp.gov/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=253257. It is also recommended that project 

staff review The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach by Dr. Irving Spergel for a more in-depth 

discussion of Dr. Spergel’s theory (Oxford University Press: New York, New York, 1995), Reducing 

Gang Crime: The Little Village Project (Spergel, 2007), and The Comprehensive, Community-Wide, 

Gang Program Model: Success and Failure (Spergel et al., 2006). 
2. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model 4

Chapter 2. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model

The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model is a flexible framework that communities can use to plan a 

comprehensive approach to gangs. For optimum effectiveness, several elements are essential:

1. Acknowledgment of the problem. The presence of a youth gang problem must be 

recognized before anything meaningful can be done to address it. If denial is present, it 

must be confronted.

2. Assessment of the problem. Those with responsibility for addressing the problem—

representatives of police, schools, probation, youth agencies, grassroots organizations, 

government, and others—participate in identifying its nature and causes and in 

recommending appropriate responses. The assessment results in an understanding of who 

is involved in gang crime and where in the community it is concentrated. This, in 

conjunction with other data and information, enables targeting:

 Gang-involved youth.

 The most violent gangs.

 The area(s) where gang crime most often occurs.

3. Setting goals and objectives. Once the problem(s) is described, goals and objectives 

should be consistent with the assessment findings. Goals specify ends, while objectives 

describe the means to an end. Goals and objectives should be clearly linked to the data 

and the identified priority issues. 

4. Relevant services and activities. Rationales for services, tactics, and policies and 

procedures that involve each of the key agencies should be developed for each objective. 

Services and activities should be clearly articulated and then implemented for each of the 

five core strategies. These activities must be closely coordinated and integrated to ensure 

that the work of collaborating agencies is complementary. Selecting appropriate activities 

is an important step to ensure that project goals are achieved. Activities fall into four 

categories: prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry. Most comprehensive gang 

projects include a prevention component. Primary prevention focuses on the entire 

population in the community, while secondary prevention focuses on youth aged 7–14 

who are at a high risk of joining gangs. Intervention targets active gang members and 

close associates. Suppression activities within comprehensive projects go beyond 

traditional activities. Law enforcement agencies partner with other community agencies 

that hold youth accountable and enforce community norms for youth behavior. Because 

many gang-involved individuals are constantly leaving or entering one system or another, 

often for brief periods, reentry activities are often handled as an overlapping function 

with intervention.

5. A multidisciplinary intervention team is the primary service delivery strategy and targets 

gang-involved youth. It is important to remember that while youth gang members must 

be held accountable for their criminal acts, they also must be provided with services for 

their academic, economic, and social needs. Gang members must be encouraged to 

control their behavior and to participate in legitimate mainstream activities. At the same 

time, external controls must be exercised on gang and gang-member behavior. For some 

gang members, secure confinement will be necessary. For others, graduated degrees of 

community-based supervision, ranging from continuous sight or electronic supervision to 

incarceration, will be appropriate. It is important that youth understand that they will 

face consequences if they do not follow rules, laws, conditions, or reasonable 
2. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model 5

expectations of the project. Thus, a range of services and sanctions is required, often in 

some interactive way. 

6. The work of the collaborating agencies is overseen by a Steering Committee of decision 

makers from agencies and organizations that have an interest in or a responsibility for 

addressing the community’s gang problem. These representatives should not only set 

policy and oversee the overall direction of the gang project, but they should take 

responsibility for spearheading efforts in their own organizations to remove barriers to 

services and to social and economic opportunities; develop effective criminal justice, 

school, and social agency procedures; and promote policies that will further the goals of 

the gang strategy.

7. Evaluation and sustainability. Results from the evaluation of the Little Village Gang 

Violence Reduction Project show that the Model is effective in lowering crime rates 

among youth gang members. Results from an evaluation of five communities chosen as 

demonstration sites for the Model show that a combination of intervention, suppression, 

and prevention strategies, along with a coordinated team approach to delivering services,

is effective in having a positive impact on reducing gang crime. For these reasons, the 

incorporation of a strong evaluation component is critical to assessing the impact of the 

project. Equally important is a plan for sustaining the project over the long term.

The Five Strategies of the Model

Communities should select appropriate activities within each of the five strategies for local 

implementation, and these strategies should be planned to address local community conditions and 

targeted gang members. 

The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model requires that these strategies be delivered in a focused manner, 

but it allows flexibility for local communities to select activities within each of the strategies that are 

appropriate to the community’s specific concerns. Although early implementation of the Model 

specifically and principally involved intervention and suppression, more recent demonstration sites have 

included prevention as a key component of their projects. The inclusion of prevention activities is based 

on the premise that focused gang prevention efforts must work in conjunction with the other strategies. In 

fact, it is the combination of the five strategies that ensures both short- and long-term reduction in gang 

crime and violence, and that the most cost-effective approach, prevention, can have an effect on those 

most at risk of gang involvement (Wyrick, 2006).

The five strategies will be discussed throughout this manual. They include:

Community Mobilization: Involvement of local citizens, including former gang youth, community 

groups, and agencies; and coordination of programs and staff functions within and across agencies.

Opportunities Provision: Development of a variety of specific education, training, and employment 

programs targeting gang-involved youth.

Social Intervention: Youth-serving agencies, schools, grassroots groups, faith-based organizations, law 

enforcement agencies, and other criminal justice organizations reaching out and acting as links to ganginvolved youth, their families, and the conventional world and needed services. 

Suppression: Formal and informal social control procedures, including close supervision or monitoring 

of gang youth by agencies of the criminal justice system and also by community-based agencies, schools, 

and grassroots groups.
2. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model 6

Organizational Change and Development: Development and implementation of policies and procedures 

that result in the most effective use of available and potential resources, within and across agencies, to 

better address the gang problem.

These strategies are equally important, and all should be implemented concurrently. A more lengthy 

description of each of these strategies, and relevant activities, is found in Chapter 4, 

page 21.

The following information should be considered by communities that are implementing the Model:

1. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model was designed primarily for use with young adult and 

teenage gang members. 

Adult crime organizations, such as motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, ideological gangs, and hate 

groups composed primarily of adults, are not the intended focus of this Model. 

2. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model was designed for communities with a serious, violent, 

and entrenched gang problem. 

Since the Model is resource-intensive, the strategies implemented in the target community should 

address gang-involved youth or youth who exhibit multiple risk factors for gang involvement and

their families, not all the youth in the target area or community. To that end, intervention and 

suppression activities should focus on immediate threats, real or perceived, to the community. 

3. The plan should incorporate prevention, intervention, and suppression approaches. 

These approaches must be integrated to respond to the interrelated aspects of the gang problem, from 

root causes to outward threats to public safety. For that reason, the Model calls for a mix of those 

strategies across the criminal justice system, social service agencies, schools, community groups, and 

citizens. 

Gang members who are already involved in serious and chronic crime should be targeted with 

suppression and/or intervention activities. Gang members who are likely to become involved in 

serious crime should be targeted by the Intervention Team with strategies such as social intervention, 

provision of job training and employment, family counseling, academic tutoring, or anger 

management classes, as appropriate, based on local conditions and as suggested by the Assessment 

Report. Prevention strategies should be implemented for youth who exhibit multiple risk factors that 

may increase the probability of joining a gang. 

4. The Model asks agencies and individuals to go beyond their traditional roles. 

For example, justice agencies such as law enforcement and the courts tend to restrict their roles to 

suppression approaches. However, over time, their roles can expand to include intervention and 

community mobilization activities. Gang officers continue to be primarily involved with arrests of 

gang members and investigations of gang crime, but they also can intervene in a youth gang 

member’s life by referring the youth to a social service program.
2. The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model 7

5. No single agency can solve the gang problem. 

Police officers must be a key part of any anti-crime effort because of their expertise and experience. 

However, other government and service delivery organizations must participate in project planning. 

These entities bring different perspectives on problems and solutions, as well as different approaches 

and resources, to the process. Aside from law enforcement, local agencies that should be involved 

include housing, health, parks and recreation, economic development, planning, mental health, 

schools, juvenile and adult probation, corrections, prosecution, judiciary, the faith community, 

grassroots groups, employment agencies, and social services.
3. Planning for Implementation 8

Chapter 3. Planning for Implementation

The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model is a data-driven, collaborative approach to reduce and prevent 

gang violence that is predicated upon having a thorough understanding of a community’s unique gang 

problem, and the factors within families, neighborhoods, and schools that play a role in this problem. In

order to implement the Model, a community must have completed a thorough assessment of the local 

gang problem and mobilized key agencies, including law enforcement, criminal justice, schools, social 

services, community-based groups, and local units of government, into a Steering Committee. Without 

that foundation, the Model cannot be implemented. For more information on the assessment process, 

please see the manual titled Assessing Your Community’s Gang Problem.

Once a community has completed an assessment, the data should be presented to the Steering Committee, 

either in a single report or during a series of meetings that allow the data to be fully examined and 

discussed by all key stakeholders.

At this point, the membership of the Steering Committee should also be examined to ensure that 

necessary stakeholders are still involved and to determine whether the membership of the Steering 

Committee should be expanded to involve important community influencers and/or programs whose 

services might be essential to gang members and their families. New members should be trained on the 

Model and the assessment prior to joining the group.

Using the Assessment Data

The Steering Committee’s discussions of the Assessment Report data will set the stage for development 

of the Implementation Plan for the first year of the project. Before the planning process begins, the 

committee members should develop a good understanding of the following:

1. Community Demographic Data

What factors in the community are affecting or contributing to local gang problems? The Steering 

Committee should consider racial, cultural, and ethnic aspects of the community’s demographics that 

play a role in local gang activity, and which should be taken into consideration. In addition, cultural, 

economic, employment, educational, and family structure issues should be examined.

2. Law Enforcement Data 

The Steering Committee should examine the law enforcement data to determine the level and extent 

of gang involvement in local crime problems, including the prevalent types of crimes being 

committed by gangs, and to determine the demographic profiles of gang members who are the most 

heavily involved in crime (police incident reports). These data will help to determine the target 

criteria for the intervention and suppression activities of the Model. The Steering Committee also 

needs to examine the aggregate number of gang members in the community by age, race, and gender

to identify the number of clients to be served by the project (gang intelligence data). Additional data 

collected from the police incident reports, such as types of crimes being committed by gangs and the 

times/places that these crimes are being committed, should be used to plan suppression activities.

3. School Data

The Steering Committee needs to determine which risk factors are affecting local youth, particularly 

young people who are affiliated with gangs (from the student survey). During implementation 

planning, these risk factors should be matched to appropriate prevention and intervention activities. 

The Steering Committee also needs to examine gang issues in and around local schools, as well as 

school and educational factors that should be addressed through the community’s implementation 

plan.
3. Planning for Implementation 9

4. Community Perceptions 

Public perceptions provide insight into how community members, including gang members, view 

gang activity and how gangs affect the community. Planning activities must acknowledge and 

address both perceptions and realities about the community’s gang problem. The community’s 

perspectives are driven both by direct experience with gang crime and by beliefs about gang crime 

drawn from many sources. Although police statistics might document a noticeable decline in 

property crime, residents of the neighborhood, if they believe they are still at risk, will think and 

behave in accordance with their fears. If community perceptions are not addressed, the likelihood of 

sustained support from the community is diminished. Both facts and beliefs must be taken into 

account in design of the plan. This will help establish trust and demonstrate concern for the 

community.

5. Community Resources

In addition to identifying the target population, target gangs, and target area, the committee should 

consider what resources and services are currently available. During implementation planning, the 

Steering Committee should be aware of gaps in services that may need to be addressed to effectively 

serve gang members.

The Planning Process

The Steering Committee must recognize that the process of developing the implementation plan is 

important. There is a tendency for some members, especially those who have been actively concerned 

for a long time, to begrudge time spent on planning. The lament that ―all we are doing is talking and 

meeting‖ is usually coupled with a plea such as ―let’s just get it done because we know what the problem 

is.‖ But the planning process helps to ensure that all voices are heard and that people and organizations 

have the opportunity to find out new ways to work together. Steering Committee members may not all 

know one another well or may come from organizations that do not have a history of working together. A 

planning process helps build group identity and unity. Having a process also provides a ready mechanism 

for reviewing, revising, and renewing plans periodically. The planning process does not have to be 

elaborate, but it does need to be clear and allow for participation.

The process must start with a clean slate; groups must be redirected from casting blame to finding 

solutions. Discussion should focus on responding to the problem rather than on why the problem has not 

been solved.

A number of key parties must be included in this process so that the targeted community will feel 

ownership of the plan. Elected officials and policy makers control budgets and program priorities, help 

generate public and media attention for this initiative, and lend additional credibility to the focus on a 

comprehensive and strategic approach. Alone, however, they are not a sufficient base upon which to 

build an effective planning process. The process must also include the formal and informal leaders of the 

community whose social or professional position, personal style, history of commitment to community 

activities, or role in neighborhood-based organizations helps shape the attitudes and behaviors of key 

segments of the community. 

Further, planning and implementation must encourage input from a wide variety of community members 

to build commitment to the plan. The Steering Committee should seek participation from those directly 

affected by gang crime, including youth and youth organizations, cultural and ethnic minority 

communities, and other community members. The process must solicit their participation and provide 

opportunities for them to contribute as equal partners with local officials. Obviously, geographic and 

demographic representation should reflect the community’s makeup. 
3. Planning for Implementation 10

The plan should be feasible, observable, and measurable. Drafting a plan that identifies clear, 

concrete results can be one of the toughest challenges the committee faces. The Steering Committee

should reject lofty, generic language and focus on clear tasks flowing from the group’s identified 

problems, goals, and objectives. 

Step 1: Identify the Target Community and Target Population

Research and experience indicate that some gang members are more likely to be involved in crime than 

others; that gang activity tends to concentrate in certain geographic areas rather than be evenly dispersed 

throughout a community; and that, though several may be active in a community, some gangs are more

active and violent than others. 

For these reasons, the first step in this planning process is to identify the target community and target 

population. Narrowing and targeting the efforts of the Model ensures the best possible allocation of

resources to achieve the maximum impact in gang violence reduction.

Communities should focus on targeted suppression, intervention, and prevention activities in the area of 

the community that is most heavily affected by gang-related violent crime. Appropriate candidates for the 

Intervention Team and for prevention activities should fit criteria that are data-derived. Data from the 

assessment will describe where the gang problem is most concentrated, the types of youth that should be 

the focus of project efforts, and which gangs have been most involved in serious crime. 

Communities that have successfully implemented the Model have affirmed the importance of setting clear 

criteria for prevention, intervention, and suppression activities early in the process of Model 

implementation. Limited resources dictate that effort be invested where it is most likely to be beneficial. 

The following questions will help guide the discussions on identification of the target community and 

population for implementation planning.

Target Community

1. What area(s) in the assessed community have the highest gang crime rates?

Ideally, the target community should have a population of no more than 100,000 and should be 

geographically contiguous. Preferably, this area would also have clear geographic boundaries and a sense 

of community identity. Based on assessment data, the boundaries of the target community may be 

adjusted to narrow or expand where the Model will be implemented. This process may require some 

discussion by the Steering Committee, and consensus should be obtained before moving on to further 

planning activities.

Target Population—Intervention

1. What is the demographic profile of gang members who are involved in violent criminal activities in 

the community (police incident reports)?

2. Is there a secondary population of gang youth at risk of committing gang crimes (gang member 

interviews, student survey)? If yes, what characteristics do they share? These characteristics might 

include school attendance/conduct patterns, family gang involvement, delinquent behavior, etc. 

The answers to these questions clarify the focus for the primary and secondary targets of the community’s 

intervention activities. 
3. Planning for Implementation 11

The criteria for intervention targets should include, at a minimum:

 Age range, gender, ethnicity, and gang affiliation based on the demographic profile of 

suspects in gang-related crimes and gang intelligence data.

The Steering Committee may wish to develop additional targeting criteria that narrow the prospective

target population to a manageable number. Consideration must be given to factors that appear to 

influence the level of activity (as indicated by the gang member interviews) within the gang, such as:

 School status.

 Criminal histories.

 Family characteristics.

Youth exhibiting characteristics common to gang members who are heavily involved in criminal activity 

should be targeted over youth not exhibiting such characteristics. Exhibit 3.1 contains a sample 

intervention target population description.

Exhibit 3.1

Sample Intervention Target Population

Primary Targets: 75 African-American males, aged 16–24, who are known or suspected 

gang members affiliated with the Hot Sauce Hustlers, the Tribe, the Valley Lows, and the Avenue 

Boys.

Secondary Targets: 25 African-American males, aged 12–15, with family members who 

are known or suspected gang members affiliated with the Hot Sauce Hustlers, the Tribe, the 

Valley Lows, and the Avenue Boys.

Target Population—Prevention

Criteria for targeting candidates of prevention activities should be drawn from an analysis of student 

surveys and gang member interviews that considers:

 The age at which gang members report joining (gang member interviews).

 Social factors that appear to correlate to gang affiliation in the target community (drawn 

from gang member interviews and the student survey), such as:

 Family member(s) involved in gangs.

 History of delinquent behavior.

 History of poor academic performance.

 Delinquent or antisocial behavior in school.

The prevention screening criteria should be based on the existence of multiple risk factors, rather than just 

a single characteristic.
3. Planning for Implementation 12

Targeting Suppression Activities:

1. Based on police incident reports, what are the most serious crimes that gangs are committing in 

the target community? What action can law enforcement and other criminal justice partners take 

to address these crimes?

Step 2: Prioritize Problems

In combination with the key findings from the Assessment Report, the Steering Committee should begin 

to identify problems that gangs are posing, as well as issues that are contributing to these problems. A 

great deal of discussion and negotiation may be required for the group to come to consensus. Once the 

problems have been identified, they should be prioritized, using a process such as the triage system used 

by hospital emergency rooms, to address most serious concerns first, while simultaneously working on 

problems that are going to require more long-term solutions.

Category 1

Serious threats to the physical safety of community members should receive top priority and warrant

immediate action. Prevention and intervention efforts will be compromised as long as these problems 

continue unabated.

Category 2

Problems that are perceived as threats to the safety of community members should receive medium 

priority and warrant a response that reassures community members that their needs are being listened to 

and addressed.

Category 3

Problems that are long-term and systemic in nature, and that deal with large, underlying social conditions 

in the targeted community, should be addressed with long-term strategies that will resolve these issues 

without creating new problems. These problems play a significant and contributing role in local gang 

issues but are not immediately life-threatening. 

Category 4

Problems that pose a serious obstacle to an effective response to local gangs should be addressed with 

strategies that change the policies and procedures of local agencies so they are more successful in 

responding to gangs.

The Steering Committee should identify three to five crucial problems that must be addressed to 

deal effectively with the community’s gang problem. While immediate suppression activities may be 

required to address immediate threats of harm, the problems identified for further action planning should 

also contain both intervention and prevention responses and should be both short- and long-term in the 

nature of their responses.

Using supportive data from the Assessment Report, these problems (and their underlying, related, and 

causal factors) should be clearly understood and described. 

Some sample problem statements are provided below in Exhibit 3.2.
3. Planning for Implementation 13

Exhibit 3.2

Sample Problem Statements

Problem Statement—Category 1

Rates of violent, gang-related crime are high in South Park. In particular, robberies have 

increased dramatically, comprising more than half of all gang-related crimes in 2008. 

These robberies have led to a significant fear for safety on the part of local residents. 

Nearly 40 percent of gang members report that they joined their gang for reasons of 

“protection/safety.”

Problem Statement—Category 3

The gang culture is pervasive in South Park. Factors contributing to gang joining include

lack of immigrant assimilation, low educational attainment, lack of economic 

opportunity, and cultural barriers that keep young people and their families trapped in a 

cycle of poverty and crime. 

Problem Statement—Category 4

Data collection problems have led to underreporting of the actual level and number of 

gang crimes within Metropolis. As many as 80 percent of gang-involved crimes were not 

labeled as such within the existing police incident report system, and officers report a 

disturbing lack of familiarity with identifying gang-related incidents when responding on

scene. This has led local residents to lose confidence in the ability of law enforcement 

officers to respond effectively to the gang problem. 

After identifying the target community and populations and prioritizing the community’s gang problems,

the Steering Committee can move forward to create its action plan.

Step 3: Develop Goals and Objectives

The Steering Committee should develop goals and objectives consistent with the problems that it has

prioritized and that facilitate delivery of necessary prevention, intervention, and suppression activities 

within the five core strategies (addressed in Chapter 4). The data from the assessment establishes a

baseline against which progress can be measured, allowing for the development of clear and specific 

objectives. 

It is necessary to identify current activities and services and/or develop new ones for each objective. 

These activities will provide specific tasks necessary to accomplish each objective. For each 

activity/service, the agency that will be responsible for delivering or designing the service, the person(s) 

responsible, and the time frame should be identified. 

Worksheets 1–4 are provided as a framework to guide the discussion and facilitate completion of the plan. 

It is recommended that the Steering Committee work through these worksheets in consecutive order.

Development of the implementation plan should be built step by step. Thus, once the problems have been 

prioritized and the target population identified, the following actions should be taken:
3. Planning for Implementation 14

1. Develop goals (three to five).

2. Develop measurable objectives for each goal.

3. Develop activities for each objective.

4. Identify target group (youth, family members, community residents, etc.) for activities.

5. Identify the agency (or agencies) responsible for the activities.

6. Identify potential barriers and a plan to overcome the barriers.

7. Identify the contact person(s) responsible for overseeing these activities.

8. Determine start and/or completion dates for these activities, or determine if they will be ongoing.

First, the Steering Committee should develop several (three to five) goal statements, based on the 

identified priority issues, to address during implementation of this project. Goals are general statements 

of desirable outcomes. In stating the goals, be careful to describe the desired end and not the means to the 

end. That is, goals should determine the overall direction of efforts and not the activities that will be 

implemented. Remember that goals are general, overarching statements that will guide the project. The 

following are a few examples of how to state a goal:

 Reduce gang-related violent crime in the target area.

 Alleviate community residents’ fear of gang activity.

 Reduce targeted youth gang members’ rates of school failure and poor academic performance.

Next, using Worksheet 1 on page 17, the Steering Committee should identify one or more objectives for 

each goal. As used here, objectives are a series of specific statements that describe a desired outcome but 

do not provide detailed information on the process. Objectives should also state a result that can be 

measured at a point in time. Objective statements describe an outcome, are measurable, and set a time 

frame during which they will be completed or answered.

The following examples show how an objective might be stated. Note that it is possible to create these 

specific and measurable objectives because the assessment has created a baseline measurement of the 

current status of the community’s gang problem.

 Reduce gang-related assaults and batteries, as measured by law enforcement crime data, by 15 

percent by Month 18 of the project and by 30 percent by Month 36 of the project.

 As measured by law enforcement crime data and community residents’ perceptions, reduce the 

level of gang-related property crime in the target area by 20 percent by the end of Year One of the 

project.

 As measured by self reports, reduce the involvement in gangs by gang members served by the 

project by 25 percent by the end of the project’s second year.

 Increase the number of project youth finding and keeping jobs for at least 120 days, as measured 

by project records, by 25 percent by the end of the second year of the project.

 As measured by standardized math and reading test scores, increase school achievement of 

school-aged project youth by two grade levels by the end of Year Two of the project.
3. Planning for Implementation 15

Step 4: Identify Activities and Services

Next, activities and services should be developed for each objective. Worksheet 2 on page 18 provides a 

format for organizing information by activities and services related to each objective, one or more of the 

five core strategies, the target group for each activity and/or service, the partner agency that will provide 

the service, the agency or agencies and contact person(s) responsible for initiating/completing the activity,

and the start/completion dates. The activities and services for each objective indicate the tasks to be 

undertaken to achieve that objective and should be an appropriate mix of intervention, suppression, and 

prevention activities and/or services. Services provided to gang members must be age and 

developmentally appropriate. (Some activities may actually be a mix of two or more of the core 

strategies). Exhibit 3.3 provides a few examples of how activities and services might be stated:

Exhibit 3.3

Sample Activities 

(with core strategy identified in parentheses)

 Train and place 25 youth in jobs in first year of project (Opportunities Provision)

 Provide anger-management class to project youth (Social Intervention)

 Provide joint police/probation patrols of hot spots during peak hours (Suppression)

 Offer three hours a week of tutoring in math and reading to each school-aged youth in the 

project (Opportunities Provision)

 Provide training for employers on working with target population (Organizational Change 

and Development, Opportunities Provision)

 Make participation in job training a condition of probation (Organizational Change and 

Development, Opportunities Provision)

 Inform parents of target youth of their children’s gang affiliation (Social Intervention, 

Suppression)

 Provide family counseling to target youth and their families (Social Intervention)

 Institute community/parent patrols during school and athletic events and neighborhood 

celebrations (Community Mobilization, Suppression)

 Initiate tattoo-removal program (Social Intervention, Opportunities Provision)

 Modify school policies as necessary to promote academic achievement of target population 

(Organizational Change and Development, Opportunities Provision)

Step 5: Anticipate Barriers

After Worksheet 2 is complete and the activities are identified, Worksheet 3 on page 19 provides a 

format for identification of barriers to implementing those activities/services and a plan to overcome the 

barriers. Barriers include anything the committee considers an impediment to achieving the objective. 

Examples of barriers may include:

 A lack of staffing for new services.

 Reluctance of businesses to hire gang members.

 Existing agency regulations.

 Public perceptions about gang activity and solutions.

 Transportation issues.
3. Planning for Implementation 16

Step 6: Finalize the Plan

Finally, Worksheet 4 on page 20 links the previous three worksheets: the five core strategies, goals and 

objectives, activities to be performed by partner organizations, barriers, target group for activities, 

agency/individual initiating each activity, and start/completion dates. In short, Worksheet 4 is the 

implementation plan. Separate worksheets (Worksheet 4) should be filled out for each goal. Use as many 

worksheets as necessary.
3. Planning for Implementation 17 Worksheet 1: Identifying Objectives Goal: Objective Statement Objective Statement Objective Statement = Time Frame Time Frame Time Frame + How Measured How Measured How Measured + Desired Outcome Desired Outcome Desired Outcome Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3
3. Planning for Implementation 18 Worksheet 2: Identifying Activities Goal: Objective: Start/Finish Dates Contact Person Agency Responsible Target Group Name of Model’s Strategy Activity/ Services
3. Planning for Implementation 19 Worksheet 3: Identifying Barriers Goal: Objective: Activities: How to Overcome Barriers Barriers to Implementation Activity/Services
3. Planning for Implementation 20 Worksheet 4: The Implementation Plan Goal: Objectives: Start/Finish Dates *Community mobilization, social intervention, suppression, opportunities provision, organizational change and development. Contact Person How to Address Barriers Barriers Target Population Activity Strategy*
4. Five Core Strategies 21

Chapter 4. Five Core Strategies 

This section lists the indicators that demonstrate that each of the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model’s 

five core strategies is being implemented. The Model is a flexible, community-driven process that may 

vary in replication from community to community based on the identified needs and problems. At a 

minimum, however, the indicators listed below each strategy should be implemented. Complementary 

activities for each strategy are listed in the table in Exhibit 4.2 at the end of this chapter. This section 

should be reviewed during the process of planning for implementation.

Exhibit 4.1

The Five Core Strategies

Organizational 

Change and 

Development

Suppression

Opportunities 

Provision

Social 

Intervention

Community 

Mobilization

GangInvolved 

Youth and 

Families
4. Five Core Strategies 22

Community Mobilization

A Steering Committee involves representatives of key organizations and other community leaders within 

the local target area. It guides implementation of the Model by responding to barriers to implementation, 

developing sound policy, lending support to the project where and when appropriate, and taking general 

ownership of the communitywide response. 

The Steering Committee creates and maintains interagency and community relationships that facilitate 

project development. For example, the Steering Committee might be engaged to work out policies and 

procedures for law enforcement/outreach worker interactions and information sharing to meet the needs 

of target youth and their families.

Steering Committee members and project staff work with residents in the target area and community 

leaders to elicit their ideas and afford them a voice in identifying services and activities in the community. 

The committee helps facilitate the development of community groups (e.g., block watches, 

neighbors/mothers against gangs, or other community alliances and coalitions).

Insofar as practical, the project is supported and sustained across all levels (policymakers/agency heads, 

middle-level managers, and line staff) of the criminal and juvenile justice systems (police, 

probation/parole, courts/judges, prosecutors, corrections), schools (superintendents, principals, 

counselors, teachers), community-based service and grassroots organizations, and government.

Community residents in the target area(s) are offered programs and training to educate parents, business 

owners, and neighborhood groups about gangs.

Opportunities Provision

Special access to economic opportunities in the local and wider community is provided for gang-involved 

youth.

Job-related education opportunities such as special educational and vocational skills and readiness 

training are structured, to the extent possible, within regular schools, training programs, and mainstream 

job opportunities. Care is taken to avoid segregating or alienating gang members from mainstream 

institutions unless serious safety concerns warrant it. 

Job-related education opportunities are also structured to meet special needs of gang members returning 

to the community after being incarcerated or in short-term custody.

Education, training, and job opportunity strategies are integrated with those of social service, particularly 

youth outreach work, along with close supervision and social control, as necessary.

Grassroots, faith-based, and community youth agencies are involved by sponsoring training, tutoring, 

remedial education, vocational, and job development/placement programs for gang youth.

Social Intervention

Although understanding and sensitivity to gang structure and ―system‖ are essential to influencing 

individual gang youth and providing effective intervention, social intervention is directed to the target 

youth individually and not to the gang as a unit. 

Access to social intervention services is provided to associates of the targeted gang members because 

these peers may contribute to a target youth’s gang involvement.
4. Five Core Strategies 23

Care is taken to ensure that services such as substance abuse programming, mental health counseling, and 

other services required by gang members are available and accessible, and, preferably, located within the 

target community. 

All key organizations and associated service providers are provided with training and support to ensure 

that their facilities are safe while providing needed services to gang members. 

Agency personnel are urged to contact target gang members in prison or detention centers to plan for

provision of wrap-around reentry services for these clients when they are released into the community.

Targeted youth (and their families) are provided with a variety of services that assist them in adopting

nondeviant values and in accessing programs and organizations that will meet their social, educational, 

vocational, and sometimes health, housing, and income needs.

Street outreach is established to focus on core gang youth, with special capacity to reach youth, both 

nonadjudicated and adjudicated, in the local community setting.

The primary focus of street outreach services is building an ongoing and prosocial relationship with youth 

and families while linking them to appropriate services. 

The safety of gang-involved clients, their families, Intervention Team members, and the wider community 

remains a primary consideration in service delivery, including interactions with street outreach staff.

Outreach activities such as recreation and arts are carefully arranged so as not to become a primary focus, 

but rather a means to build relationships with clients and provide access to essential resources or services.

In-school and after-school prevention and education programs such as the Gang Resistance Education and 

Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program, anti-bullying, peer mediation, tutoring, and others are being offered 

within the target area(s). 

Suppression

Gang suppression activities expand the traditional roles of policing to include informal contacts with 

target youth, their families, and other members of the community.

Police administration and police officers on the Intervention Team have a key role in the development and 

implementation of the project, not only through suppression but by participating in development of 

intervention plans, positive social contacts with target gang members, community mobilization efforts, 

and gang prevention activities focused on the target area(s).

Gang crime data collection and analysis (i.e., crime analysis) methods are used on an ongoing basis to 

track gang-related crimes, measure project effectiveness, and determine law enforcement strategies.

Definitions of gang-related incidents, gangs, and gang members are used consistently by all key partners. 

Gang intelligence is routinely collected, analyzed, and shared with other law enforcement and criminal 

justice entities.

Police contact with target youth is quantified and discussed with other members of the Intervention Team

for purposes of team planning and collaboration. Contacts should be generally consistent with the 

community policing policy.
4. Five Core Strategies 24

Parolees and probationers are closely supervised, and parole conditions and probation terms target gang 

behaviors and are shared with the rest of the Intervention Team, whose members consistently support and 

enforce these terms and conditions.

Aggregate-level data on the gang problem is regularly shared with all of the key agencies involved in the 

project, particularly the Steering Committee.

Professional respect and appropriate collaboration between police, street outreach workers, and other 

team members are established.

Tactical, patrol, drug/vice, community policing, and youth division units that have contact with targeted 

youth and gang members are briefed on the Model, and communication structures are established between

these entities and members of the Intervention Team. These units may modify procedures to meet and 

sustain the goals of the Model.

Targeted enforcement operations are consistent with current gang data and Model program goals and are 

coordinated to avoid negative impacts on intervention activities.

Organizational Change and Development

The policies and practices of organizations, particularly of agencies providing Intervention Team staff, 

accommodate the goals and objectives of the Model.

Each program, agency, or community representative on the Steering Committee ensures that its internal 

units are cooperating with one another and supporting the work of the Intervention Team.

The team approach means a maximum sharing of information about target youth such that the role of each 

member is expanded outside the normal professional boundaries (e.g., police may become involved in 

social intervention, and outreach workers may assist with crime suppression by discouraging criminal acts 

by their clients). 

Case management and associated data systems are established so that contacts and services by all 

members of the Intervention Team are quantified to track youth entry into and exit out of the project, and 

measure outcomes and intervention dosage (by contacts and services) at individual and program area 

levels.

Staff development and training for the Intervention Team are conducted for the different types of team 

participants separately and collectively, especially around data sharing, joint planning, and intervention

activities. Intervention Team and Steering Committee members also receive training on the entire 

implementation plan.

Special training, close supervision, and administrative arrangements are established for street outreach 

workers and law enforcement to carry out their collaborative roles in a mutually trustworthy fashion.

Organizational policies and practices become inclusive and community-oriented, with awareness of the 

interests, needs, and cultural backgrounds of local residents and target youth.
4. Five Core Strategies 25

Exhibit 4.2 

Table With Recommended Activities, by Model Strategy

Setting/Agency Suppression Social Intervention Opportunities 

Provision

Organizational Change 

and Development

Community Mobilization

Neighborhood hot

spots, parks, streets, 

roads

Targeted gang surveillance, 

monitoring, communication, 

warning, setting limits, 

dispersal, arrest, sweeps, 

incarceration

Outreach, contact with target 

youth (gangs) outside 

mainstream institutions, brief 

counseling, crisis intervention, 

mediation, referral for services, 

recreational programming

Referral for training, jobs, 

paid community service 

projects; e.g., graffiti 

removal, beautification, 

sidewalk/street repair, 

painting, cleanup

Staff availability—evenings and 

weekends; use of beepers and 

field supervision, mobile service 

vehicles for crisis intervention

(Networking) multiagency 

team patrols, availability of 

neighbors or local citizens as 

role models and mentors, use 

of agency workers and 

citizens to facilitate and 

supervise street events

Home (parents) Advice and supervision by 

schools, community-based youth 

agency staff, probation/parole 

officers; home visits by grassroots groups; e.g., parent groups, 

ministers

Counseling, support, advocacy, 

parent education regarding 

gangs, referral for services, 

including drug treatment, 

medical services

Referral of targeted youths’

parents for jobs, training, 

and educational 

development

Case management by a 

particular agency to coordinate 

service to families of gang 

youths

Parent participation in school 

and community meetings 

about gang problem; citizen 

patrols; community action to 

deal with crime and 

community improvement

Police Investigation, intelligence, 

analysis and appropriate 

information sharing, gang 

problem surveillance with other 

police units; enforcement, 

education of criminal justice, 

community-based agencies and 

grassroots groups, as to scope 

and seriousness of problem; 

close collaboration with 

prosecution

Mentoring of at-risk and ganginvolved youths, brief 

counseling, referral for social 

services, gang conflict 

mediation, case conferences 

around specific youth, conduct 

of anti-gang programs at school 

and community (e.g., 

G.R.E.A.T.)

Direct placement and 

referral of youth for jobs, 

training education, job 

development, supervision of 

youth in special training and 

job projects

Development of specialist gang 

officers, gang units, law 

enforcement task forces, 

computerized information 

systems, improved crime 

analysis procedures; e.g., 

definitions of gang incidents, 

gangs, gang members; internal 

agency coordination of policies 

and procedures; increasing 

emphasis on community 

involvement around gang 

problem solving

Participation in interagency 

community task force, 

collaboration with grassroots 

patrols and community agency 

and business anti-gang as well 

as school and job development 

programs

Schools In-school monitoring, use of 

metal detectors, uniform 

discipline code (including gang 

offenses), communication and 

application of fair rules re: gang 

symbols, dress, activities; use of 

in-school suspension, no 

tolerance of gang behavior (but 

inclusion of gang youth) in 

school; ―outreach‖ parent 

contacts, street patrols, 

collaboration with criminal 

justice agencies

For students: anti-gang as part 

of social/educational 

development programs, conflict 

resolution instruction, peer 

group counseling (re: gang 

problems), crisis intervention, 

provision of school-based social 

and health services, after-school 

recreation programs

For parents: outreach, referral 

for services, parent education 

regarding gangs

Remedial and enriched 

educational programs for 

gang youths with academic 

problems; vocational and 

apprentice training; joint 

school-work experiences 

and related tutorial and 

mentoring; field visits to 

business/industrial settings

Gang security units; outreach 

school-social service, 

community agency teams 

focused on gang problems; 

special systemwide curricula, 

social and academic 

development coordinating 

structures; incentives to teachers 

to work with gang youth and 

those at high risk; use of 

alternative schools to 

mainstream gang youth back to 

regular school, training, jobs

School-community advisory 

groups, participation in antigang community task forces, 

development of policies and 

procedures for sharing certain 

kinds of student information 

with other agencies, 

development and use of parent 

patrols and volunteers to assist 

with gang intervention, 

control, and prevention

Adapted from: Spergel, I. The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 1995.
4. Five Core Strategies 26

Setting/Agency Suppression Social Intervention Opportunities 

Provision

Organizational Change 

and Development

Community Mobilization

Prosecution

Investigation, case selection, 

knowledge of gang-applicable 

law, and development of 

recommendations for new gang 

laws, collaboration with police, 

development of case strategies 

(re: ball, detention, waivers, use 

of witnesses, witness protection, 

disposition recommendations)

Development of community 

service resource manuals for 

gang offenders, parents; focus 

on sentences directed to 

rehabilitation and use of 

community-based treatments

Collaboration with business 

groups and chambers of 

commerce in job 

development for gang 

youths

Special unit vertical 

prosecution; also development 

of policy and procedure for 

general prosecution re: gang 

processing, collaborative 

information sharing across law 

enforcement agencies and 

jurisdictions

Coordination with other 

criminal justice and 

community organizations, 

leading and assisting in the 

formation of task forces, 

communication with media re: 

nature of problem and 

potential social solutions that 

are community-based

Judges Ensure that gang members

obtain fair hearings, concern 

with both protection of 

community and youths from 

violent gang activities, pretrial 

supervision for chronic 

offenders, appropriate 

sentencing especially to 

community-based institutions, 

limited use of waivers of 

juveniles to adult court

Court orders to facilitate 

rehabilitations (e.g., diagnostic 

testing, psychiatric treatment, 

compulsory school attendance); 

recommendation of family 

services to gang youths and 

parents, pretrial services for 

chronic offenders; emphasis on 

community-based corrections

Recommendation of special 

programs, and pressure on 

schools, agencies, and 

advising businesses to 

provide appropriate 

education and training 

opportunities for gang 

youths

Regular supervisory meetings 

with probation officers; 

meetings with groups of 

probationers, access to 

computerized information on 

gang youth history and social 

adjustment

Provision of community 

leadership on gang problems

and focus on need for more 

resources, sitting on 

community boards in advisory 

capacity and avoiding 

conflict-of-interests situations

Probation Use of range of intermediate and 

flexible control procedures; 

close supervision of gang 

youths, enforcing court orders, 

appropriate use of detention, 

home confinement, collaboration 

with police (joint patrols), parole 

and prosecution; home and 

neighborhood visits

Counseling, referral for 

individual, family, mental 

health, medical and dental 

services, teaching of conflict 

resolution skills, mediation, and 

crisis intervention, organization 

of parent support groups of 

probationers; parent education as 

to gang problem; development 

of special programs for younger 

and older offenders, in 

collaboration with schools and 

youth agencies

Provision to youths of courtsponsored vocational 

assessment, training, and job 

opportunities; special 

remedial academic 

programs; placement and 

referrals for jobs

Development of risk/needs 

assessments, computer 

information systems (re: gangs 

and gang members, and 

available community resources), 

intensive supervision, vertical 

case management; outreach to 

employers, schools, youth 

agencies, neighborhood groups 

re: control of and collaborative 

services to gang youths

Simulation of community 

groups, including parents and 

former gang members, to form 

community anti-gang patrols; 

sponsorship and coordination 

of community agency and 

grassroots collaborative 

programs, including job 

development; participation in 

interagency community task 

forces

Corrections Identification and close 

supervision of gang youths; 

application of clear policy (re: 

participation in gang activity in 

institutions), dispersion of gang 

members throughout institution, 

if feasible; collaboration with 

police, prosecution, parole (re:

information sharing and joint 

approaches), transfer of selected 

hard-core gang youths to other 

institutions, as appropriate

Values change programs, 

conflict resolution instruction; 

drug/alcohol programs, personal 

group counseling, use of 

volunteer mentors, referral for 

services, including 

psychological, medical, dental

Remedial and advanced 

educational programs, 

training and job 

opportunities within 

institution and outside 

facility

Special staffing/team 

arrangements for institutions 

with serious gang problems, 

development of information 

systems on gang 

members/incidents, and 

risk/needs assessments

Community groups involved 

in institutional living 

programs, participation by 

staff in interagency and 

community task forces
4. Five Core Strategies 27

Setting/Agency Suppression Social Intervention Opportunities 

Provision

Organizational Change 

and Development

Community Mobilization

Parole/after-care

Close supervision of gang 

youths, enforcement of parole 

orders, appropriate use of 

detention and revocation of 

parole, collaboration with 

probation, police, other justice 

system officials, home, social 

agencies, neighborhood visits

Individual and group 

counseling; referral for social, 

medical, psychological services;

development of parent support 

groups; development of housing 

arrangements; family 

counseling, crisis intervention,

teaching conflict resolution 

skills; close case collaboration 

with institution prior to youth 

release

Provision of training and 

remedial education 

opportunities, direct job 

referrals, job development; 

close collaboration with 

schools, employers, to 

sustain youth in programs

Developing risk/needs 

assessments; use of case 

managers, trainers, specialized 

gang parole officers; use of 

halfway homes, special 

residence facilities, sometimes 

out-of-area facilities

Collaboration with variety of 

agencies and development of 

services and job opportunities 

for parolees; participation in 

community task forces re: 

gangs

Employment and 

training

Liaison with probation, parole, 

awareness of gang culture and 

potential problems; clear rules 

(re: proscribed behavior) in 

training and on job

Career counseling, peer worker 

support arrangements, 

collaboration with mentors, 

referral for services, social 

support for parents and family, 

crisis management

Intake screening and 

assessment, tutoring, work 

acclimation training, job 

placement and follow-up, 

academic and job skills 

training and/or referral

Integrated school/job training, 

multifunctional staffing, use of 

neighborhood mentors, 

monetary incentives for youths 

to participate in education, 

training, and special job 

preparation programs

Collaboration with various 

agencies (re: recruitment of 

gang youth and development 

of support services), staff 

participation as members of 

interagency and community 

task forces on job training and 

development

Community youthbased agencies (social 

and treatment 

agencies)

Setting clear, fair rules and 

implementing them; monitoring 

and supervising youths in 

agency and community hot

spots, appropriate collaboration 

with police, probation, parole, 

and other justice system officers; 

contracting with justice system 

to provide services for 

adjudicated youth under 

prescribed conditions

Outreach efforts to gang youth 

on streets; extensive mentoring, 

limited use of supervised 

recreation and group work 

activities; focus on individual, 

group, family counseling, parent 

education (re: gangs); referral 

for service; job support; crisis 

intervention, mediation; home 

visits; victim assistance

Tutoring, remedial 

education, job training, job 

development and placement, 

provision of small business 

opportunities, close 

collaboration with schools, 

re: involvement of gang 

youths and their families in 

the educational process

Case management outreach, 

decentralized centers; use of 

paraprofessional and 

professional teams of workers; 

joint case management with 

police and probation

Sponsor of neighborhood 

gang prevention and control 

programs, member of 

interagency task forces, 

advocate for additional 

services and resources on 

behalf of gang youths, 

organizer of parent patrols in 

collaboration with schools and 

police

Grassroots 

organizations

(especially churches)

Collaboration with police, 

probation, and other justice 

agencies, organizing parent 

patrols, advocating improved 

law enforcement supervision of 

youth activities in the 

neighborhood, supporting more 

victim involvement at court in 

prosecution of gang cases

Counseling, tutoring, referral of 

youths for services, parent 

education (re: gang problem), 

sponsor of youth activities, crisis 

intervention and mediation

Sponsoring special training,

educational, and job 

development programs for 

gang youths; stimulating 

local business development 

focused on job opportunities 

for gang youths

Outreach programs to youths, 

including gang youths, use of 

specialist gang workers in 

conjunction with social agency 

outreach workers, use of court 

watchers for gang cases

Sponsor local interagency and 

community gang task forces, 

advocate for improved agency 

services, support parent 

patrols, especially in school 

areas; social action for greater 

official attention to, control 

of, and better use of resources 

directed to gang problems; 

organization of block clubs 

and parent support groups 

both to prevent and intervene 

in the problem
4. Five Core Strategies 28

Setting/Agency Suppression Social Intervention Opportunities 

Provision

Organizational Change 

and Development

Community Mobilization

Emerging gang 

problem context 

emphasis

Identification and close 

supervision of juvenile gang 

members, and those at special 

risk for gang membership; arrest 

and prosecution of older gang 

members

Counseling, recreation 

programming, family services, 

G.R.E.A.T., anti-gang curricula, 

parent education programs

Referrals of youth for parttime jobs and volunteer 

services, coordination of 

training and better use of 

existing job opportunities 

for gang youth and their 

families

Outreach to newcomer and/or 

race/minority ethnic groups in 

community, use of local citizens 

and volunteers, focus on 

generalized or mainstream rather 

than specialized approach to 

problem

Development of informal as 

well as formal links among 

agencies and community 

groups; special emphasis on 

establishing links among 

schools, parents, and churches

Chronic gang 

problem context 

emphasis

Targeting older gang youths and 

leaders as well as younger highrisk, gang-prone youths; 

collaboration between justice 

system and as many communitybased agencies as possible

Crisis intervention, mediation, 

special service support projects 

to core gang youths at school 

and in neighborhood

Development of major job 

programs, alternative 

schools related to special 

educational mainstream 

programs for gang members 

to the extent possible

Facilitation of formal, 

specialized outreach worker 

units and procedures; use of 

computer information systems; 

development of multiagency 

field teams

Development of formal 

interagency and community 

anti-gang councils, monitoring 

of agencies so that they target 

hard-core gang youths as well 

as high-risk, gang-prone 

youths in a variety of social 

settings in the community
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 29 

Chapter 5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 

After the Steering Committee has developed an implementation plan, administrative structures will need 

to be created to carry out the planned activities, including hiring staff (if necessary), setting up data 

collection protocols, providing an employment structure through a lead agency, establishing memoranda 

of understanding and written agreements between key partners, and setting policies and procedures for the 

Intervention Team, Project Director, and outreach staff. 

Developing and implementing the Model requires hours of planning and management, and dedicated staff 

members are needed to carry out the details that will make these things happen. This chapter provides a 

description of the key staffing roles in the implementation of the Model. It also discusses communication 

among all involved staff. 

Comprehensive Gang Model Administrative Structure 

The Steering Committee 

After the completion of the implementation plan, the Steering Committee will: 

 Assign responsibility for specific tasks to specific agencies. 

 Identify a lead agency or agencies that will handle the administrative aspects of the 

project (employment/hiring, payment of salaries/benefits, contracting for services and 
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 30

equipment, financial administration, and storage and maintenance of information on 

clients).

 Revise the job description, if needed, for the Project Director to reflect this individual’s 

new responsibilities in implementation. The Director continues to report directly to the 

Steering Committee.

 Prepare the scope of work for the Research Partner. This scope of work should include 

the types of data that the Steering Committee will continue to collect and analyze during 

implementation, such as police incident report data, along with new tasks, such as 

collecting, maintaining, and analyzing client data. This partner may also provide 

feedback to the Steering Committee on project effectiveness using client data and gang 

crime data.

 Select the members of the Intervention Team (discussed later in this chapter, 

and in further depth in Chapter 7 on page 49).

 Ensure that a case management information system is designed to track service needs, 

services provided, and outcomes for target youth and their families.

 Ensure that gang crime data continues to be collected and analyzed on a timely basis.

 Assist in facilitating agency modifications in programs and policy to support the project. 

 Develop community involvement strategies to support the project. 

 Provide ongoing review and project modification.

 Identify ways to ensure long-term sustainability.

The Steering Committee should receive frequent reports from the Project Director regarding the number 

and general demographics of the youth being served, the services they are receiving and, as time passes, 

the progress or lack of progress being made by project youth as a group. Because the needs anticipated 

during planning may not accurately reflect real-time intervention efforts, the Steering Committee should 

also be briefed about unanticipated barriers or gaps in services that are affecting the target population. 

Occasionally, the Steering Committee may need to shift the direction of a planned activity to one more in 

line with the actual needs of project clients. To stay focused, the Steering Committee will need regular 

updates on gang activities and gang crime trends in the community. 

Steering Committee members should be coached to provide information about the project to their 

organizations and stress that they, too, are a part of this project and its ultimate success. As part of an 

overall strategy of organizational change and development, staff within agencies represented on the 

Steering Committee need to know why the project was started, what it hopes to accomplish, who it 

serves, how to make referrals, and how they are expected to relate to the Intervention Team and the 

Steering Committee.

Public education also is important to the project. Steering Committee members can do their part by 

making presentations to community groups (civic and service clubs, neighborhood organizations, etc.) 

and by distributing written materials within and outside the target areas.

The members of the Steering Committee should be champions of the project as a vehicle for change 

within the community. The chair and/or cochair(s) should be passionate and committed to the project and 

should work to ensure that the Steering Committee maintains momentum. 

Strategies used to maintain effective Steering Committees have included:
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 31

 Holding meetings consistently at a regular time/date. 

 Developing a newsletter for project partners.

 Engaging Steering Committee members in gang awareness education and community 

mobilization activities.

 Identifying an active and committed chairperson with positive visibility in the 

community.

 Providing a formal orientation process for new members.

 Holding annual retreats to identify future activities and reinvigorate the group.

 Making personal contact with all members periodically (Project Director or chair).

 Acknowledging members’ key contributions.

 Providing members with written materials and reports on project activities in advance of 

meetings.

 Using meeting time productively—not to report on activities, but for decision-making.

The Lead Agency 

Unlike other initiatives, the lead agency in the Model does not assume control of the initiative but instead 

provides an administrative framework to facilitate the work of the Intervention Team and the Steering 

Committee. Based on lessons learned with implementation of the Model in a number of communities, it 

is recommended that the lead agency be a public, not private, entity. A wide variety of public agencies, 

from school districts to mayor’s offices, have served as lead agencies. No matter which agency assumes

administrative responsibility for this initiative, its credibility and influence within the community are 

directly correlated to the success of the project’s activities. The lead agency has a number of important 

responsibilities:

 Providing a secure location to house client intake information, consent forms, and 

intervention plans.

 Tracking the activities of the partnering agencies.

 Providing an administrative framework for hiring and managing staff, as directed by the 

Steering Committee.

 Administering funds and grant contracts, as directed by the Steering Committee.

Each type of agency has advantages and disadvantages that will inevitably influence the selection of the 

lead agency. Each community has varying needs based on existing community dynamics (e.g., local 

politics, existing collaborations, history of agencies within the community, agencies’ management 

capacities, and the location of the target area). See Exhibit 5.1.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 32

Exhibit 5.1

Lead Agency, by Type

Lead Agency Advantages Disadvantages

Law Enforcement

 Law enforcement agencies involved in planning 

and implementation

 Processes in place for crime and gang information 

sharing

 Greater access to daily updates regarding criminal 

activity

 Access to financial and business management 

support

 Outreach staff must be wary of being too closely 

associated with law enforcement. 

 Community members may have difficulty 

understanding the role of project personnel.

 May be perceived as interested only in 

arresting/incarcerating gang members.

Prosecutors and 

Other Criminal 

Justice Entities

 Able to leverage the participation of law 

enforcement agencies

 Access to police incident reports and law 

enforcement data

 Access to financial and business management 

support

 May be perceived as interested only in 

prosecuting/incarcerating gang members.

 May not have a strong connection to the target 

community.

 There may be historic distrust between criminal 

justice entities and service providers.

City Government

 Access to key personnel in city departments and 

elected officials

 Access to sensitive data from law enforcement

 Credibility and buy-in from city agencies

 Access to financial and business management 

support

 Ability to set policy for key agencies 

 Shifts in political leadership can destabilize the 

project.

 City policies and/or budget constraints may make it 

difficult to hire personnel.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 33

Lead Agency Advantages Disadvantages

School Districts

 Buy-in from school administrators to ensure local 

school participation in the Intervention Team

 Access to comprehensive student and school-level

data

 Large enough to absorb the project once other 

funds are spent

 Access to financial and business management 

support

 May be unwilling to provide services to out-ofschool youth.

 District policies may bog down decision-making.

 Hiring policies may make it difficult for school 

districts to employ outreach staff.

Local Service 

Providers

 Working knowledge of the target area

 Experience with community planning and action

 Private providers may lack the clout with 

governmental agencies and law enforcement.

 Gang programming may not be given a priority.

 Often lack the administrative structure to manage 

funds/grants.

State Agencies

 Resources and credibility 

 Expertise in grant management and administration

 Access to financial and business management 

support

 The agency may be located well away from the 

actual project activities.

 State agencies may often be perceived as outsiders 

without a strong connection to the target 

community.

 There is less awareness of local politics and historical 

issues.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 34

The lead agency may incur significant costs, including those associated with providing office space, 

administration of funds and contracts, management of key personnel, and improving technological 

infrastructure to maintain necessary records.

Important questions to consider when determining which agency will be the lead agency for 

implementation of the plan are:

1. Is the proposed lead agency the most appropriate one to supervise this effort?

2. Does the proposed agency have a history of respect and support from the target area 

residents?

3. Does this agency have the resources and authority to direct the planning effort? 

4. Does this agency have the support of the Steering Committee? The support of the 

community? The support of the key community leadership? 

5. Does the proposed agency have the ability to follow the effort through implementation, 

including management of information?

It should not be assumed, however, that a single agency or organization will be responsible for all the 

work. Each of the participating agencies may be able to devote a portion of a staff person’s time to this 

effort. Additionally, some services, such as street outreach, may be subcontracted from other agencies. 

For example, a law enforcement agency serving as the lead agency might wish to subcontract outreach 

services from a local community-based agency. This way, some of the possible pitfalls of having 

outreach staff work directly for a police agency can be avoided.

The Project Director

The Project Director is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project and reports directly to 

the Steering Committee. The Director ensures that key agencies maintain proper representation on the 

Intervention Team and that the team meets regularly. The Project Director supervises other project staff, 

such as outreach workers. The Project Director maintains the smooth operation of the Intervention Team, 

including documentation of services provided to clients and handling of any disputes that may arise 

between team members. The Project Director should be in nearly constant contact with the Intervention 

Team members.

Other responsibilities are: 

 Makes recommendations regarding policies and procedures for the Intervention Team, 

any prevention activities undertaken by the project, and community mobilization 

activities. 

 Coordinates activities and reports regularly to the Steering Committee on the progress of 

these activities.

 Coordinates meetings of the Steering Committee and Intervention Team.

 Coordinates and monitors ongoing data collection.

 Develops public awareness documents and publicity materials.

 Provides or coordinates training and education on the project to community and civic 

groups, businesses, schools, and others.

 Ensures that all key partners receive appropriate training on serving gang-involved 

clients.

 Makes recommendations to the Steering Committee regarding additional activities that 

may be undertaken in conjunction with the project.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 35

The Project Director is the key to successful implementation of the Model. The Steering Committee and 

lead agency must ensure that a Project Director with high-level skills is selected to lead this initiative. 

The position is a demanding one, and the person who fills this role must be extremely capable of a wide 

range of skills. Best results have been obtained where the Steering Committee and the lead agency jointly 

develop a written job description for this position and, in concert, select the Project Director. This step 

may raise some difficulty, especially where funding for that position is being raised through joint 

contributions or as a result of a grant. Refer to Exhibit 5.2 at the end of this chapter for a sample Project 

Director job description.

The role of the Project Director requires the following skills:

 Ability to understand and work within complex systems such as criminal justice, 

education, and social services.

 Understanding of data collection and analysis protocols, as well as how to read, interpret, 

synthesize, and clearly explain data orally and in writing to a wide range of audiences.

 Ability to develop short- and long-term plans for implementation.

 Flexibility to move among a variety of complex tasks—from public speaking and writing 

grants to managing project funds and effectively supervising personnel.

 Professionalism in dealing with personnel at different levels of responsibility, from 

agency heads to grassroots personnel, and from a variety of disciplines: law enforcement, 

education, social services, justice systems, and outreach.

 Meeting facilitation, conflict resolution, and consensus-building skills that enable the 

Project Director to serve as an intermediary between agencies, resolve differences of 

opinion during meetings, and effectively address potentially inflammatory and emotional 

topics.

 Ability to learn and explain complex material such as risk factors leading to gang 

involvement, local gang activities and gang research, community dynamics and history, 

and prevention/intervention/ suppression strategies; and to explain these concepts to 

others from a variety of educational and cultural backgrounds.

 Skill in supervising, engaging, and motivating staff from a variety of agencies and 

racial/cultural/economic backgrounds, including staff over whom the director may not 

have direct supervisory authority. This is especially important when working with 

outreach staff who may have prior offending histories, prior gang affiliation, and unstable 

work histories.

 Ability to generate passion and enthusiasm to inspire others to achieve solid results. 

The importance of the Project Director’s role cannot be overstated.

The Research Partner

The Comprehensive Gang Model relies on continuous problem assessment even during implementation. 

The systems set up to collect and analyze data during the assessment should be examined by the Steering 

Committee, and measures put into place to maintain collection of law enforcement data and client 

performance data. Additional data may also be collected to measure the project’s impact on the 

community over time, such as community perceptions surveys and other measures that were discussed in 

―Assessing Your Community’s Gang Problem.‖ A Research Partner can help the Steering Committee

identify appropriate data to collect and analyze during the life of the project, and the methods by which 

this data will be gathered and analyzed.

The Research Partner can work through processes such as obtaining consent and ensuring and protecting 

confidentiality. The Research Partner also can perform more complex data analyses, as required. The 
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 36 

Research Partner may monitor project performance and progress towards meeting goals and objectives; 

prepare special reports about the target population or area; and keep the Intervention Team, Steering 

Committee, and others informed about new research and information related to the project. In addition to 

routinely collecting and analyzing data, the Research Partner may assist the Intervention Team in the 

development of data collection forms to document and track target youths’ services and progress. 

As with other service providers, staff should establish a detailed scope of work or a job description for the 

Research Partner to ensure that the project’s data collection/analysis needs are met by the partner. The 

scope of work varies from project to project but should include a summary of the data reports to be 

developed and a timeline for completion. The scope of work also should include a process for addressing 

issues that may arise with the Research Partner’s quality of work and timeliness. Refer to Exhibit 5.3 at 

the end of this chapter for a sample Research Partner scope of work. 

The Intervention Team

The Intervention Team is at the core of the Model’s strategies and is the primary delivery mechanism for 

the social intervention and opportunities provision strategies of the model. The Intervention Team also 

plays a key role in identifying organizational change and development strategies that should be 

undertaken. Staff members should be carefully chosen to serve on this team and must be willing, 

interested, and able to perform the functions required by the team. Both the key agencies and the 

personnel assigned to the team will be required to demonstrate flexibility and, in some cases, work 

outside the traditional boundaries of their professional roles. Further, individuals assigned to this team 

should be assigned for a minimum of two years to ensure the continuity of this project. 

The Steering Committee should determine the composition of the Intervention Team and assign 

representatives to serve on it. At a minimum, the following key agencies that are crucial to an effective 

Intervention Team should be represented on the team: 

 Law enforcement representatives who are very familiar with local gang activity and the 

target community. 
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 37

 Juvenile and adult probation/parole officers who will have frequent contact with project

clients.

 School officials who can access student educational data for project clients and leverage 

educational services.

 Appropriate social service and/or mental health providers who can connect clients to 

services and provide outcome information to the team.

 A representative who can assist in preparing project clients for employment and place 

them in jobs.

 Outreach workers who can directly connect to project clients on the street, in their homes, 

or at school.

Other agencies may be asked to participate on an as-needed basis, including faith-based organizations, 

recreational projects, community development organizations, and grassroots organizations. 

A more in-depth discussion of the day-to-day functioning of the Intervention Team can be found in 

Chapter 7.

Coordination of Effort 

The Model centers on the timely sharing of information about the target population, gang activities, 

implementation activities, and progress toward reaching the project’s objectives. Quickly disseminating

this information to those who need it is critical to the successful implementation of the Model. There

must also be a nearly constant flow of information between each of the administrative structures involved 

in the model (Steering Committee, Intervention Team, and Research Partner). While the Project Director

can facilitate much of this information sharing, each member of the Steering Committee and Intervention 

Team also needs to play a role in educating/informing his or her own agency’s personnel about the 

Model. Providing the Steering Committee with regular updates on the efforts of the Intervention Team is 

as important as the team members communicating among themselves.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 38

Exhibit 5.2

Sample Project Director Job Description

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED:

Receives direction from the Steering Committee; exercises direct supervision over professional and 

technical/clerical staff.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES: Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

 Coordinates meetings and activities of the Steering Committee and the Assessment Work 

Group and prepares appropriate materials for meetings.

 Coordinates, monitors, and assists with all data collection by the Assessment Work 

Group and assists with compiling information required for Assessment Report.

 Coordinates and/or performs the completion and submission of quarterly and annual 

reports.

 Works as a liaison between the Research Partner, Steering Committee, and Assessment 

Work Group, updating personnel on progress and challenges and arranging joint meetings 

as necessary.

 Confers with participating agencies, including schools, juvenile courts, law enforcement 

officials, probation officers, government agencies, local elected officials, grassroots 

groups, and others.

 Develops public awareness documents and publicity materials. Provides training on the 

assessment process.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Desired Knowledge:

 Familiarity with local agencies (schools, social services, law enforcement, 

courts/corrections), local units of government, and grassroots organizations.

 Knowledge of principles and practices of budget preparation.

 Knowledge of principles and practices of strategic planning.

 Knowledge of principles of supervision, training, and performance evaluation.

 Basic understanding of gang intervention, suppression, and prevention strategies.

 Basic knowledge of youth gang involvement and gang-related activities.

 Basic understanding of statistical principles and data analysis.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 39

Ability to:

 Network effectively with a variety of types of organizations, including government 

agencies, law enforcement agencies, schools, social service agencies, 

courts/probation/corrections, and grassroots organizations.

 Demonstrate organization, administration, and personnel management skills.

 Work effectively with key community leaders and residents, diverse population groups, 

and youth.

 Work with high-risk, gang-involved populations.

 Identify community resources to assist in implementation of the project.

 Interpret and apply federal, state, and local policies, procedures, laws, and regulations.

 Analyze problems, identify alternate solutions, project consequences of proposed actions, 

and implement recommendations in support of goals of the project.

 Gain cooperation and collaboration through discussion and persuasion.

 Exercise judgment regarding appropriate information sharing, confidentiality 

requirements, and human relations.

 Assist in selection of project staff and train, supervise, and evaluate those staff.

 Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.

 Provide training on the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model.

 Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with those contacted in the course of 

work.

 Set priorities and work independently in the absence of supervision.

 Use word processing and spreadsheet software.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 40

Exhibit 5.3

Sample Research Partner Job Description

Overview

The Research Partner works with the Steering Committee and Project Director to support the 

implementation of the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model through ongoing data collection and analysis. 

The Research Partner designs data collection protocols, assists with collecting and auditing project data, 

and analyzes raw data into formats that can be used by the Steering Committee for planning and policy 

purposes. The Research Partner should be familiar with the Model, the project’s implementation plan, 

assessment data, the target population, and the target community.

Core Responsibilities

The Research Partner works with law enforcement to ensure that gang incident data collection and 

analysis are standardized and ongoing. In this role, the Research Partner may assist with developing new 

data collection protocols, tools, and systems. The Research Partner analyzes law enforcement data to 

generate reports that will be useful to the law enforcement agency, Project Director, and Steering 

Committee.

The Research Partner assists with developing ways to measure service delivery to clients and tracking 

client behavioral changes, including identifying types of data to be collected on clients. The Research 

Partner helps develop client-focused data collection protocols and systems for self-evaluative purposes 

and audits systems regularly to ensure that data collection and entry are timely and accurate.

The Research Partner works with the Project Director to prepare and deliver reports on the progress of the 

project, as measured by data collection. These reports might include gang crime trend analysis, 

demographics of clients involved in the project, and client outcome reports. The Research Partner assists 

the Steering Committee and Project Director with interpreting project data to define implications for 

project strategies.

Additional Responsibilities

The Steering Committee may request that the Research Partner assist with additional data collection and 

analysis tasks to determine whether the Model is accomplishing the desired goals. For instance, the 

Steering Committee may decide to conduct community resident surveys to determine whether community 

members have been affected by the activities of the project. The Steering Committee, Project Director, 

and Research Partner should work together to identify cost-effective and scientifically valid ways to 

measure the project’s impact.
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 41

Exhibit 5.4

Sample Research Partner Scope of Work

The following information has been developed to serve as a guideline for tasks to be performed by the 

local Research Partner.

Product Task Responsible Hours

Community Data

Indicator (e.g., income, employment, 

abuse)

Gather RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Input/integrate data, analyze, 

graphing, writing

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

20

Gang Data

Gang identification and crime data Gather Police 

Department

na

Interpret data RESEARCH 

PARTNER

10

Gang interviews (100) Train interviewers RESEARCH 

PARTNER

4

Interview RESEARCH 

PARTNER

50

Input/integrate data, analyze, 

graphing, writing

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

50

School Data

School survey Train teachers/administrators Police 

Department 

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

4

Implement Schools

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

10

Gather RESEARCH 

PARTNER

4

Integrate data, analyze, 

graphing, writing

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

20
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 42

Student characteristics Gather RESEARCH 

PARTNER

10

Disciplinary reports Gather Schools

Police 

Department

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

10

Input/integrate data, analyze, 

graphing, writing

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

20

School staff interviews (24) Train interviewers RESEARCH 

PARTNER

4

Gather RESEARCH 

PARTNER

30

Input data, analyze, graphing, 

writing

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Community Perception

Leaders (20) Train interviewers RESEARCH 

PARTNER

4

Gather RESEARCH 

PARTNER

30

Input data, analyze, graphing, 

writing (quantitative and

qualitative)

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Parents (8) Focus groups RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Input data, analyze, graphing, 

writing (quantitative and

qualitative)

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Community at large Recruit, train, monitor 

interviewers

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

10

Conduct survey RESEARCH 

PARTNER

60

Input data, analyze, graphing, 

writing

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Current Services

Community Inventory RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Criminal justice Inventory Mayor’s Office

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

10

Input/integrate data, analyze, 

graphing, writing

RESEARCH 

PARTNER

20
5. Administrative Structure for Implementation 43

Final Tasks

Report Writing RESEARCH 

PARTNER

40

Report to various groups Presentation of results RESEARCH 

PARTNER (with 

Mayor’s Office)

20

TOTAL (includes time for specific 

tasks, not all preparation/meeting 

attendance time, etc.)

716
6. Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression 44

Chapter 6. Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression 

The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model initially focused primarily on intervention and suppression 

activities. It was understood that prevention activities were necessary to address community gang 

problems, but the model strategies did not include prevention.

However, communities that have implemented the Model have quickly realized that there is a need for 

strategies to address the risk factors that affect the community as a whole, as well as targeted prevention 

programming that assists local youth who are experiencing multiple risk factors for gang involvement. It 

is recommended that the community confront the most serious problems first: alleviating fear and 

intimidation within the community and addressing gang crime. As strategies begin to show effects, 

prevention programming should be selected and implemented.

Prevention

Two levels of prevention strategies should be considered in conjunction with the Model: primary and 

secondary prevention. Primary prevention strategies focus on the entire population of high-crime, highrisk communities. Programs that effectively reduce community risk factors or provide protective factors 

for community members are considered primary prevention. Secondary prevention strategies are 

activities and services targeting young people, primarily between the ages of 7–14, who are at high risk of 

joining gangs. Selected prevention strategies should have a direct connection to the problems identified 

in the assessment process and should be specific to gang issues.

Primary prevention activities might include:

 Conducting workshops and trainings to increase community awareness about gangs.

 Working to change conditions contributing to gang involvement within the targeted 

community. 

 Creating a one-stop center that facilitates effective distribution of health and support 

services.

 Creating procedures for community members to report crimes.

Sample Primary Prevention Strategy—School Safety Zone Partnership

The Pittsburgh Youth Intervention Project created an effective primary prevention strategy called “School 

Safety Zone Partnership” in conjunction with its implementation of the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model. 

In this initiative, assessments of community conditions were conducted within a 1,000-foot radius of each 

school in the target area. Problem areas of the community such as high-crime zones, abandoned dwellings, 

abandoned vehicles, and overgrown and dangerous vacant lots that served as dumping zones for 

construction waste were identified by community members. Key partners such as law enforcement, city 

code enforcement, city parks and recreation, the Urban League, and others were enlisted to respond to the 

problems identified in the assessment. Pockets of crime were dealt with by law enforcement initiatives to 

reduce crime in these areas. Abandoned properties were identified by code enforcement and were razed or 

cleaned at owner expense. Almost 6,000 tons of construction waste were removed from vacant lots in areas 

adjoining the schools. In some instances, these dangerous properties were replaced with community 

gardens where neighbors could grow fresh produce and flowers. Community members were able to see 

immediate results from these collaborative responses to local problems.
6. Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression 45

Secondary prevention programming is often focused on the families, siblings, or associates of 

intervention targets. The Steering Committee may identify a need to increase access to secondary 

prevention programming or to expand the types of services available after project implementation begins 

as a result of gaps in services, extended service waiting periods, and changes in community dynamics. To 

avoid duplication, a survey of existing resources should be undertaken to identify available prevention 

activities and services. 

Some examples of secondary prevention activities include:

 Tutoring.

 Mentoring.

 After-school programming.

 Recreational activities that incorporate service provision.

Both primary and secondary prevention service providers should understand the gang culture and possess 

experience working with at-risk youth and their families. When selecting prevention strategies, the 

Steering Committee should rely on the risk factor data from the assessment, along with knowledge of the 

unique cultural, familial, economic, and historical factors affecting the target community. Prevention 

programs should target multiple risk factors identified by the community assessment. A Strategic 

Planning Tool designed for matching promising and proven programs with specific risk factors can be 

found online at http://www.iir.com/nygc/tool/default.htm.

Since resources are limited in every community, the Steering Committee should be careful to define the 

most serious risks and respond to them efficiently. Prevention services should always incorporate a skillbuilding component that includes social intervention- and/or opportunities-provision elements.

Intervention

Within the framework of the Model, the Intervention Team is the primary mechanism for delivering 

intervention services. These intervention strategies are delivered in a comprehensive way to a certain

number of individuals identified based on the data collected during the assessment. Services that the 

Intervention Team should plan to provide include:

 Drug and alcohol treatment.

 Mental health and anger-management counseling.

 Job training and placement.

 Transportation assistance.

 Tattoo removal.

 Legal assistance.

 Transitional/reentry services.

Sample Secondary Prevention Strategy—The Story Project

The Los Angeles Gang Reduction Project partnered with the Story Project of Los Angeles. The Story 

Project is a multimedia project that focuses on developing reading, writing, and communication skills 

among middle school, at-risk youth using professional “Hollywood” storytellers who mentor the 

youth to discover self-expression in an artistic, on site, after-school setting. The primary aim is to 

increase reading and communication skills and encourage school attendance. The project in the Los 

Angeles GRP area is conducted at the GRP One-Stop service center in the targeted community.
6. Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression 46

 Mentoring by outreach staff to develop skills and to provide the target youth with positive 

adult relationships and role models.

The intervention plans developed by the team should also focus on ways of attracting target youth to this 

project, including access to recreational and art programming, field trips, and other desirable activities in 

which youth want to participate. These activities, however, are the means to an end, and not the end in 

themselves. They allow outreach and other project staff the opportunity to develop youth social skills, 

counsel youths on crucial life decisions, persuade youth to take advantage of programs to deal with 

substance abuse or anger-management issues, and so on. 

Reentry activities also are handled within the context of the Intervention Team. Because gang members 

are frequently in and out of custody for varying periods of time, the Intervention Team continues to serve 

these clients during their incarceration, maintaining regular contacts with the clients and then planning for 

their release back into the community. The Intervention Team, in conjunction with the Steering 

Committee, should develop a policy for serving incarcerated clients. The length and location of the 

incarceration may affect the project’s ability to maintain contact. In general, clients serving sentences of 

one year or less should receive at least monthly contacts from outreach workers and other agency staff. 

Depending on the policies of the facility where a client is incarcerated, these contacts may take place face 

to face, by phone, or by letter/postcard. 

The Intervention Team may consider putting clients serving long-term sentences on inactive status, but 

even a low level of contact with incarcerated clients can create positive change. As an incarcerated 

individual nears his or her release date, the Intervention Team should begin planning for that individual’s 

return to the community. This planning should begin 1–3 months prior to release to ensure a smooth 

Sample Intervention Strategy—On-the-Job Training Program

In response to a lack of jobs in the target area, the Miami Gang-Free Schools Program (Project MPACT) 

partnered with an alternative high school and a local builder to create a construction trades training 

program. The program served gang-involved clients in the target population who were already receiving 

services from the Intervention Team and included the following components:

1. Clients received two hours per day of construction trades education at the local high 

school, in conjunction with weekly life skills sessions. The classes were taught by an 

experienced tradesman and were incorporated into the normal school day. Clients 

were required to attend school regularly, maintain drug- and alcohol-free lifestyles (and 

submit to regular drug testing), attend and participate in the construction classes, and 

remain free of additional criminal or delinquent charges.

2. After several weeks of participating in classroom work, students were placed on job 

sites working as part of a construction crew to obtain on-the-job experience. A portion 

of their pay was provided by a local workforce improvement grant.

3. After completing the program, clients were placed in construction trades jobs.

During the OJT program, outreach workers maintained regular contact with clients to support and mentor 

them. Clients built strong relationships with the employers and work-site foremen and received other 

services from social service providers and the Intervention Team to supplement their job training 

experiences.
6. Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression 47

transition back into the community. At this point, face-to-face meetings with the client to involve him/her 

in the reentry plan are essential. Preplanning can help clients avoid reoffending and can help them more 

successfully follow the conditions of parole. This type of intensive support from several key agencies is 

essential to helping gang members transition out of gangs, instead of being reabsorbed back into the gang 

lifestyle.

Beyond maintaining intervention clients, it is recommended that project staff be aware of the influence of 

incarcerated gang members returning to the community and develop policies to address these individuals. 

For instance, the project may want to establish a relationship with probation/parole authorities, and also 

with corrections personnel, to identify gang members who are due to be released. Outreach staff can visit 

these inmates prior to release to help develop a supportive plan for their return to the community and to 

recruit them into the project. 

Probation/parole representatives who serve on the Intervention Team can also ensure that clients receive 

needed services and supervision. Probation and parole officers are familiar with reentry services within 

the community and can educate the team members on available services. Projects may want to augment 

existing services in communities where reentry programs are inadequate for the target population or are 

scarce.

Refer to Chapters 7–9 for an in-depth discussion of intervention program components. 

Suppression 

Law enforcement plays a key role in suppression, but within the context of the Model suppression also is 

referred to as ―social control.‖ Ideally, all project partners work together to hold the targeted gang 

members accountable. Gang crime data should drive gang suppression strategies used in the target 

community. These strategies should be viewed as part of a larger whole, rather than as one-time-only 

activities. Some examples of successful suppression strategies include: 

 Participating in joint police/probation activities, including conducting probation searches 

of homes, vehicles, and gang-involved probationers.

 Targeting enforcement to the times, places, and events in which data and historic gang 

enforcement patterns indicate that gangs are active.

 Designing investigative strategies to address specific gang-related crimes.

 Executing directed patrols of locations where gang members congregate.

 Conducting community forums to address incidents.

 Establishing community prosecution and/or vertical prosecution strategies to prosecute 

gang crime more effectively. 

 Making informal contacts with targeted youth and their families. 

Project partners should work together with law enforcement to enforce community norms for youth 

behavior. These activities may be used in concert with suppression strategies to address less serious 

antisocial, gang-related behavior. Examples of ways that other partner agencies can assist with 

suppressing gang activity include:

 Use of in- and out-of-school suspensions, when needed.

 Tracking and reporting of attendance/grades to the Intervention Team and 

probation/parole.

 Tracking of project participation. 

 Being aware of and supporting conditions of probation/parole.
6. Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression 48

 Reinforcing project requirements and supporting other programs’ rules.

In the most successful projects, suppression has been integrated with service providers. Even outreach 

workers can play a significant role in addressing negative behaviors with project clients and requiring 

accountability.

As communities begin to select programs and activities, they may wish to consider using the online 

OJJDP Strategic Planning Tool (www.iir.com/nygc/tool) to assist in planning strategies to deal with their 

gang problems. The four components of the tool are described below. 

(1) Community Resource Inventory

A community resource inventory is an essential step in assessing a community’s gang problem. This 

inventory allows the user to record information about community organizations, programs, services, and 

activities that could be incorporated into a collaborative, comprehensive approach to gangs. Templates are 

provided to guide the collection and manual recording of this information. The information can 

subsequently be entered into a searchable database. Once the database is populated, the user can produce 

a matrix that answers the questions, What does our community have in place? and What do we need that 

is missing?

(2) Planning and Implementation

After a user has answered the questions above, a second function of the tool permits the user to access a 

database containing descriptions of numerous gang prevention, intervention, and suppression programs, 

strategies, and activities, as well as juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention programs. Programs 

in the database were reviewed using several criteria and designated as effective or promising. The user is 

offered options, cross-referenced by age of the intended target population and linked to risk factors in five 

domains. These programs, strategies, and practices can be selected to fill gaps in service coverage. 

(3) Risk Factors

The tool also contains a description of research-based risk factors for delinquency by age (developmental) 

periods, and risk factors that are correlated to gang behavior are annotated. Empirical indicators and data 

sources are shown for community-level measurement of risk factor prevalence. 

(4) Program Matrix

This matrix allows users to view the age range of clients served by each program in the database. Users 

are able to examine a description of each program and to form a continuum of promising and effective 

programs by age range of clients served. Each program description contains contact information. 
7. The Intervention Team 49

Chapter 7. The Intervention Team

The Intervention Team is at the core of the Comprehensive Gang Model. This team is composed of a 

multidisciplinary group of professionals from the fields of law enforcement, probation, outreach, 

education, and social services, who work together to case manage the intervention targets of the Model 

and to identify additional prevention, intervention, and suppression activities needed in the target 

community. Participation on the Intervention Team can increase the effectiveness of each agency’s 

efforts, reduce duplication of services, increase access to needed services, and ensure that gang members 

are held accountable for their actions.

The work of the Intervention Team is predicated on the following beliefs:

 Each gang member is a unique individual who joined the gang for unique reasons and 

who needs an individualized response.

 Each gang member affects (and is affected by) multiple domains such as family, 

neighborhood, school, and peers.

 Gang members often experience uncoordinated multiple-agency involvement and are 

high-end service users.

 Gang members frequently encounter barriers to needed services.

In general, research suggests that a relatively small number of gang members are responsible for the 

majority of gang-related crime and violence in the community. In most cases, this core group of gang 

members becomes the focus of the team’s efforts. Because gang members often receive services 

simultaneously from multiple agencies, the team facilitates information-sharing and collaboration among 

these agencies. In many instances, gang members have had negative experiences dealing with the very 

agencies that are designed to offer assistance. The team-based approach helps ensure that all agencies 

working with these clients have a common goal and shared strategies for each client.

Short-term goals for the team include:

 Creating individualized case management plans for gang members participating in the 

project.

 Engaging gang members in direct services to address their specific needs.

 Working together to dismantle or surmount barriers to accessing services.

 Holding gang members accountable for negative behaviors.

Long-term goals for the team include:

 Assisting gang members in transitioning out of the gang lifestyle.

 Improving the effectiveness of agencies serving gang-involved clients.

 Reducing overall gang-related crime in the community.

The Intervention Team also seeks to achieve a much larger goal. By identifying and providing 

concentrated services to those within the gang culture, the team seeks to improve the quality of life for all 

residents of the community by reducing gang crime and improving community safety. Ultimately, the 

goal is to create systemic and communitywide change that will reduce overall gang involvement and 

criminality.
7. The Intervention Team 50

Creating the Team

First, the Steering Committee should identify the agencies that are involved in serving or interacting with 

gang members, and whose staff should serve on the Intervention Team. Each of these partners plays a 

crucial role in working with gang-involved clients. They should include:

 Law enforcement.

 Education/schools.

 Probation and/or parole officials.

 Court staff (juvenile and adult).

 Social service agencies.

 Youth-serving agencies.

 Grassroots community agencies.

 Outreach staff.

While the Steering Committee remains in control of overall strategies and policy decisions, the 

Intervention Team works more directly with gang members. The roles performed by each agency’s 

Intervention Team member should be formalized in writing through the use of memoranda of 

understanding between the agencies.

Based on data from the Assessment Report, the Steering Committee should develop the criteria that will 

be used to screen and target gang members to receive services. Sample screening criteria might include:

 Age/race/ethnicity.

 Gender.

 Social factors (gang members from the same family, history of school problems, etc.).

 Threshold level of criminal history.

 Specific gang affiliation.

 Place of residence.

For instance, the target population for this team-based approach might be:

15- to 24-year-olds, residing in a particular section of town, affiliated with X, Y, or Z 

gangs, with a history of weapons possession.

To ensure that the Intervention Team’s efforts have the greatest effect, the team should strictly adhere to 

these criteria, and ongoing crime and client data should be collected and analyzed to determine whether 

adjustments should be made to the screening criteria.

The Steering Committee should task the key agencies to appoint members to represent them on the team. 

It should be understood by all of the key agencies that membership on the team is a commitment to 

regular meetings (weekly or biweekly), providing access to appropriate information and services, and 

participating in the activities of the team. The agencies should plan for their representatives to serve on 

the team for a minimum of two years to cement team relationships, establish momentum, and enable 

individual representatives to gain expertise in working together. 
7. The Intervention Team 51

Selecting Team Members

Ideally, agencies should select team members who:

 Have experience in working with high-risk and gang-involved youth. This is one of the 

most important criteria in selecting team members. The emphasis for the team (as 

discussed in this bulletin) is on active gang members. Potential team members who would 

prefer to work with youth representing little or no risk are probably not appropriate.

 Are willing, interested, and able to work within a team setting.

 Are well-respected within their own agencies.

 Are open to new ways of collaborating and interacting with different disciplines to 

achieve a common mission. 

 Are committed to providing intervention options to youth and to holding youth 

accountable for negative and/or dangerous behaviors.

Because of the key roles they play, personnel assigned from law enforcement and outreach agencies must 

have specific qualifications. 

Law enforcement team members should: 

 Be familiar with gang dynamics and activities in the target area.

 Have a plan to interact and maintain liaison with other police department units/members 

who interact with gang members or their families.

 Be willing to work with other disciplines and respect what each discipline brings to the 

team’s activities with clients.

 Be well-respected within their agencies, because this will lend credibility to the team with 

other law enforcement divisions.

 Understand and value intervention efforts and their complementary role with suppression.

 Understand the long-term benefits of collaborative teamwork.

Outreach staff should: 

 Be familiar with the target population. Ideally, the outreach worker(s) will share a 

common ethnicity with clients. If the assessment shows that the majority of clients are 

likely to speak a language other than English, the outreach worker(s) should be bilingual.

 Be familiar with the community/neighborhoods targeted for team-based gang 

intervention.

 Be comfortable working with gang members and communicating with them in 

uncontrolled settings in the community.

 Be willing to serve as role models for clients, modeling prosocial behaviors in their own 

lives and being law-abiding and ethical.

 Demonstrate maturity and common sense, since they will be thrust into potentially 

dangerous and explosive situations.

 Be willing to work with the team to address and hold clients accountable for negative 

behaviors through verbal counseling and by supporting other agency sanctions.

 Always share information when it involves a possible threat of harm.

It is extremely important that reputable individuals and agencies serve in the outreach role. These 

individuals must have no current gang ties, current gang involvement, or other types of recent criminal 

involvement. A sample job description for outreach workers is found in Exhibit 9.1 on page 70.
7. The Intervention Team 52

Formalize Information-Sharing Protocols

Information is shared within the team for specific reasons. First, safety is paramount. All participating 

team members have an obligation to share information when there is a risk of harm to clients, other team 

members, or community members. This information should be shared with the knowledge that it will be 

acted on by team members to protect public safety. Furthermore, clients in these projects must be briefed 

so they understand that team members have an obligation to report certain types of information. For 

example, if a team member from a social services agency receives information from a client that members 

of that client’s gang plan to shoot at members of a rival gang, the team member needs to share this 

information with the team. However, law enforcement team members who receive this information must 

protect the other team members and the clients. Because law enforcement team members may receive 

information from grassroots agency personnel or outreach workers, they also must avoid jeopardizing the 

safety of these workers. Thus, great care should be taken in dealing with such scenarios.

Team members also should understand that information about clients is shared to help clients, not to 

penalize them. Potentially damaging or embarrassing information about a client must be closely guarded. 

For instance, a school representative at the team meeting who hears information about a client’s family 

situation should not reveal this information to others at the school who have no reason to receive this 

information. A school should not use information about a client’s gang involvement to justify expelling 

or excluding the client from school. The team may wish to create confidentiality agreements that commit 

each team member to protecting client information. Team members also need to be trained in mandatory 

reporting issues specific to their states or regions.

Prior to accepting clients, the team members must formalize protocols for information sharing at the team 

level. Because agency staff may be restricted in the types of information they can share, it is important 

that team members know and understand these limits. In some cases, the Steering Committee may 

require team members to sign confidentiality waivers detailing the types of information that will be 

shared, along with the ways that confidential client information will be safeguarded. These parameters 

can also be set through a memorandum of understanding determined at the Steering Committee level. 

Developing a Referral/Screening Process

As discussed earlier, the screening criteria are set by the Steering Committee. When the team is getting 

started, it is important that team members create a protocol for screening and assessing new clients. The 

following questions should be answered:

 Which agencies will be making referrals? 

 Will a referral form be created?

 If so, what client information will it include? 

 How will referring agencies be made aware of the screening criteria? 

 How will the team utilize the screening criteria in selecting appropriate clients? 

It is recommended that referring team members present information about prospective clients to the team, 

outlining how each client meets the screening criteria. The team members can then come to consensus 

about whether a client is suitable for the project. A sample referral form is provided in Exhibit 7.1 on 

page 54.

Client Consent Issues

Because the information shared across agencies may be sensitive and potentially damaging to a client, it 

is important for team members to ensure that they can legally serve the client. The client himself (if he is 

of age), his parent/guardian, and/or a state-appointed legal guardian must consent to the sharing of the 
7. The Intervention Team 53

client’s information and to the provision of services by the team. A sample Client Consent Form is found 

in Exhibit 7.2 on page 55.

Needs Assessment

Finally, a needs assessment instrument should be developed to ascertain the status of each client when he 

is accepted into the project. This should include information on:

 The client’s future goals, abilities, talents, and desires.

 Family situation and structure.

 Gang involvement of family members.

 Other family issues that may affect the client’s gang involvement.

 Criminal history.

 Gang history (and gang affiliation).

 School history, including special issues such as learning disabilities or a history of 

behavioral problems.

 Gang climate in the client’s neighborhood.

 Substance abuse or mental health issues.

 History of abuse or neglect.

 Client’s employment history and skill levels.

 Special circumstances, such as a client who is a teen parent.

 Agencies that are currently serving the client.

 Possible safety issues involving the client.

 Current needs assessments from any of the team agencies.

 Court requirements such as community service hours and restitution.

Some of these factors may have played a role in the client’s decision to join a gang and may become an 

impetus that can motivate or assist him in transitioning out of the gang. It is important that the team focus 

on each of these areas when developing a plan to intervene with the client.
7. The Intervention Team 54

Exhibit 7.1 

Sample Referral Form

OJJDP COMPREHENSIVE GANG MODEL 

REFERRAL FORM

FIRST NAME: MI: LAST NAME: DATE:

ALSO KNOWN AS: DATE OF BIRTH: / / Age: MALE FEMALE

ADDRESS: Neighborhood:

CITY: STATE: ZIP: PHONE: ( ) –

ETHNICITY:

White/Anglo, not Hispanic Hispanic/Latino Asian/Pacific Islander Specify other:

Black/African American American Indian/Native American Other/Multiracial _____________________

PARENT/GUARDIAN’S NAME: PARENT/GUARDIAN ADDRESS: 

THE REFERRED YOUTH:

Admits gang involvement

Is known to associate with 

 gang members

LEVEL OF GANG INVOLVEMENT: 

With 1 being the lowest and 4 being the 

highest, how would you rate this 

individual’s level of gang involvement?

1 2 3 4

PROBATION STATUS:

On probation Not on probation

Terminated probation Do not know

Name of gang (s): ________________

Location/set: _____________________

SCHOOL STATUS:

Attending school High school graduate Not attending school 

SCHOOL NAME:

REASON FOR REFERRAL: Meets criteria: Primary Secondary Other ________________________________

REFERRING PERSON: REFERRING AGENCY: PHONE NUMBER: 

( ) –

Comments:
7. The Intervention Team 55

Exhibit 7.2 

Sample Client Consent Form

PARTICIPANT AND/OR PARENTAL CONSENT FORM

for Participants in

_______________ PROJECT

This consent form may contain words that you do not understand. Please ask the staff to explain any words 

or information that you do not clearly understand. You may take home an unsigned copy of this consent 

form to think about or discuss with family or friends before making your decision.

The purpose of this project: 

A team of individuals and organizations in your community collaborate with ________________ Project.

They include school district personnel, alternative education providers, law enforcement officers,

juvenile and adult probation officers, social service providers, and outreach workers.

The project includes five types of activities: 

 Getting the people in your community to work together to prevent and stop gang violence 

(called community mobilization).

 Working with youth who are in gangs and their families to get them whatever kind of help they 

need (called social intervention).

 Giving training to youth so they can get good jobs (called opportunities provision).

 Trying to stop gang activities and gang violence by keeping a close watch on gangs and youth 

who are in gangs (called suppression).

 Getting the schools, law enforcement, and other organizations to change the way they do things 

so they can help prevent and stop gang violence (called organizational change).

Those who participate in this project will be asked to do the following things: 

If you agree to participate in ____________________ Project, you will be asked a number of intake 

questions about yourself and your family. We will ask you to update this information periodically during 

your involvement with the project. Once accepted as a participant in this project, you will develop a 

goal plan that will help you outline the things that are important to you. Your active participation in the 

project is important for your success! An outreach worker will be assigned to you to help you reach 

your goals.

Voluntary participation/withdrawal: 

Your participation in this project is voluntary. You do not have to participate. If you agree to 

participate, you can stop at any time.

Your participation in this project may be ended at any time by the Project Director or the outreach 

worker without your consent.
7. The Intervention Team 56

About your consent: 

Do not sign this consent form unless you have had a chance to ask questions and have received 

satisfactory answers to all of your questions. If you agree to participate in this project, you will receive a 

copy of this signed and dated consent form.

I have read this consent form (or it has been read to me). Anything I did not understand was explained 

to me. I had all of my questions answered to my satisfaction. 

If 18 or older, please initial: I agree to participate in this project. __________

If under 18, parent or guardian, please initial: I agree to allow my child to participate in this project. 

__________

CONSENT SIGNATURE:

__________________________________________

Participant Name (printed)

Signature of Participant Date

Signature of Parent/Legally Authorized Representative (if participant Date

is under 18)

Signature of Person Conducting Informed Consent Discussion Date
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 57

Chapter 8. Team-Based Case Management of 

Gang-Involved Clients

Once the Intervention Team has been established and the appropriate administrative structures have been 

put into place, the real work can begin. 

Creating an Intervention Plan

Referrals have been made to the team, the team members have considered the appropriateness of these 

referrals, and the team has begun to select clients. At this point, the team begins to work together to 

create an intervention plan for each client.

The client’s case information from the needs assessment is shared with team members during regularly 

scheduled meetings. The team members discuss possible methods of addressing the client’s core needs 

and then come to consensus on the prioritization of these efforts. 

Areas to consider:

 Social Intervention

 Is the family supportive of the youth’s efforts to change, or are they contributing to 

the client’s difficulties? 

 Are the siblings or parents gang-involved? 

 What actions are needed from the family? 

 What support services may be required to assist the family in addressing the youth’s 

gang involvement and any related issues?

 Does the client have substance abuse or mental health issues?

 Has the client previously experienced abuse or neglect?

 Are there serious family conflicts?

 What services does the client need? 

 What methods can be used to motivate the client to participate in programming?

 Opportunities Provision

 Is the client currently attending school? 

 Does the client have special educational needs or require remedial services?

 Does the client have a current individualized educational plan at his/her school?

 What type of educational setting is most appropriate for this client? 

 What educational services are available in the area? 

 What are possible pros and cons of each of these options? 

 Which educational activities will the team pursue with this client?

 Does the client wish to seek employment? If so, what type? 

 Does the client have any unaddressed issues that will hinder work success? 

 What will the team do to address employment prospects for the client?

 Suppression

 Is the client court-involved? 

 Does he have pending charges? 

 Does he have gang-specific conditions of probation or parole? 

 Could some aspects of the intervention plan be court-ordered? 
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 58

 What role can probation or parole play in holding the client accountable for following

through with intervention activities? 

 How can the team help the client comply with court-ordered requirements?

 Is the client engaged in ongoing criminal activity? 

 Does he pose a threat to the community? How will this be addressed?

The intervention plan should address all relevant issues, be documented, and be reviewed and/or updated 

on a regular basis (every 30 to 90 days depending on the client’s situation).

Take into account the client’s current capacity

When creating an individualized case management plan, the team should take the client’s current capacity 

into consideration and address issues on a prioritized, step-by-step basis that proceeds in a logical fashion. 

For instance, if the client has serious substance abuse issues but states that one of his priorities is to gain 

employment, the team must work with the client’s drug abuse before placing him in a job. Similarly, if 

the youth has behavioral issues that have kept him chronically in trouble at school, the team must address 

these issues before mainstreaming the client into a school setting. Safety must be the top priority. If the 

client is engaged in ongoing dangerous criminal activity, the focus of the team must shift to suppression, 

and the team’s law enforcement members should take the lead in addressing the client’s activities. It is to 

no one’s benefit, including the client’s, to leave a client at large in the community if he poses a threat to 

himself and others.

Assign responsibility for follow-up to members of the team

One of the key benefits of the team-based approach to intervention is that it can divide the workload of 

managing clients who are often heavy consumers of services and involved in the criminal justice system, 

with frequent contacts with law enforcement. Each team member plays a specific role in ensuring that the 

client is able to access services and that the team is kept apprised of the client’s progress (or lack thereof). 

The Project Director should supervise this process, assigning responsibility for follow-up with the 

appropriate team members. The Project Director should also ensure that these actions are documented 

appropriately in the client’s file and ensure that the agencies are reporting to one another during meetings 

on actions they have taken on behalf of clients. 

For instance, school representatives might ensure that the client is assessed for learning disabilities if team 

members suspect a problem. The school representative is also responsible for reporting to the team on the 

client’s progress, attendance, and any behavioral issues. The same holds true for other agencies. Law 

enforcement team members should share information on gang activity and trends in the community, as 

well as criminal activities of targeted clients. Law enforcement officers also interact with clients in the 

community, not only to arrest them for criminal offenses and to enforce criminal statutes but also to 

provide positive feedback when possible. The Project Director ensures that each of these activities takes 

place and manages the work of the team.

Team Member Roles

Each member of the team brings to the table specific skills, access to information, resources for clients, 

and other professional attributes. The following activities reflect the roles team members play and can be 

used to develop the memoranda of understanding that quantify these roles.

Education

 Ensure client access to educational services.

 Perform educational evaluations as needed. 

 Create individual educational plans as mandated by the district.
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 59

 Provide feedback on intervention plans.

 Make recommendations for appropriate educational placements.

 Leverage services provided by schools, including counseling or mental health.

 Provide the team with information on clients’ performance, attendance, and behavior.

 Hold clients accountable to required standards of behavior in the school setting.

 Facilitate school access by outreach workers.

Law Enforcement

 Report to the team on gang climate and trends affecting the area and/or clients being 

served.

 Provide input on issues that may affect intervention with clients (e.g., safety 

risk, association with known gang members, suspected drug-trafficking, 

witness/victim/perpetrator in a violent crime).

 Provide information on criminal involvement by current clients.

 Brief the team on safety issues.

 Share information with key partners regarding gang incidents that may spawn retaliations 

or other safety risks.

 Hold clients accountable in the community, assessing appropriate responses depending 

on the level and severity of each client’s behavior.

 Provide clients with positive feedback regarding their positive efforts. 

Probation/Parole

 Recommend/enforce conditions of probation that take clients’ gang affiliations into 

consideration.

 Access services available through the justice system to address clients’ needs (e.g., 

substance abuse assessment and treatment).

 Provide feedback on intervention plans.

 Work in conjunction with law enforcement to conduct home visits and/or hold clients 

accountable to the conditions of probation/parole.

 Share information on each client’s court status with the rest of the team.

 Hold clients accountable for accomplishing educational/employment goals.

Social Services

 Provide a link to services for project clients.

 Conduct assessments (mental health/substance abuse) as needed.

 Provide feedback on intervention plans.

 Access services to address family issues (counseling, crisis management, abuse/neglect 

issues, and parental skills training).

 Hold clients accountable for completing services.

 Share information on clients’ progress with the team.

Outreach

Outreach work may be performed by a contracting agency that is already working at the grassroots level 

in the community or by outreach personnel working for one of the key agencies. The goal of outreach is 

to identify and engage clients who may be difficult for mainstream organizations to reach. Outreach 

workers in this type of team-based approach:
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 60

 Work directly with clients in gang-intensive settings to assist them in identifying and 

accomplishing goals.

 Provide further information to the team on the gang climate in affected neighborhoods and causal 

relationships/factors.

 Recruit gang-involved individuals.

 Encourage prosocial behavior.

 Assist project clients in accessing services.

 Report to the team on each client’s progress, interests, and goals.

 Provide feedback on intervention plans.

A more detailed outreach worker job description is found in Exhibit 9.1 on page 70.

The following forms will assist the Intervention Team in developing client plans and tracking client 

progress.

Exhibit 8.1 Client Intervention Plan

Exhibit 8.2 Client Contact Log

Exhibit 8.3 Sample Intervention Plan Checklist Form

Exhibit 8.4 Sample Client Tracking Form
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 61

Exhibit 8.1

Sample Intervention Plan

CLIENT INTERVENTION PLAN

First Name: MI: Last Name:

Date of Birth:

 / / 

Date: 

 / / 

School / Status: 

 

Intervention Goal(s):

Social Intervention:

Person(s) responsible:

Possible Provider(s):

Education:

Person(s) responsible:

Possible Provider(s):

Criminal Justice:

Person(s) responsible:

Possible Provider(s):

Employment: 

Person(s) responsible:

Possible Provider(s): 

Family:

Person(s) responsible:

Possible Provider(s):

Recreational:

Person(s) responsible:

Possible Provider(s):

Other:

Person(s) responsible:

Possible Provider(s):

Review Date:
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 62

Exhibit 8.2 

Sample Contact Log

CLIENT CONTACT LOG

First name: MI: Last name:

DOB: Who was contacted? Client  Family 

Contact date: Person making contact:

Type of agency:

Education

Law enforcement

Outreach worker

Probation

Parole

Social service

Other

Agency:

Contact length:

5–15 minutes 30–45 minutes 60+ minutes

15–30 minutes 45–60 minutes

Contact result:
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 63

Exhibit 8.3

Sample Intervention Plan Checklist Form

Youth Intervention Project

Intervention Plan Checklist

Name of Youth Converted to 

Intake

Plan 

Created

Plan 

Review 

Due

Plan Areas Personnel Responsible 

for Plan

Client 

No.
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 64

Exhibit 8.4

Sample Client Tracking Form

Name of Client: ______________________

Current Date: ________________________ Date of Youth Intake: ____________

Number of Months Since Intake: _________

Current Status in the Project (use list): Active _____ Not Active _____

Current Status: 

Current Living Situation 

Residence

No longer resides in target area: ____ 

Continues to reside in target area: ____

Please check one of the following living conditions that 

best describes the individual’s current family status.

____ Mother and father

____ Mother only

____ Father only

____ Mother and stepfather

____ Father and stepmother

____ Mother and another adult (specify)

____ Father and another adult (specify)

____ Other relatives (specify)

____ Legal guardian (not relative) 

(specify)______________

____ In a foster or group home 

____ Living by self—independently or with 

other person

____ In local or state jail 

Current School Status

Was the individual enrolled and regularly attending school this 

reporting period?

____ No ____ Yes (If yes, what grade?) _____

Please check the individual’s school status.

____ Attends school regularly

____ Attends school only occasionally

____ Attends an alternative school, or participates in 

nontraditional school-sponsored program (name of 

school or program): _______________________

Was the youth suspended or placed on some other disciplinary 

status? Yes ____ No _____

If yes, describe________________________________

Gang Affiliation Status

List the gang with whom the youth is affiliated.

____________________________________________

Did this affiliation change since the last reporting period?

Yes ____ No ____

Current Employment Status

Was the individual employed at the time of intake?

____ No

____ Yes (if yes, please check following):

____ Employed part-time (no. hrs/wk)____

____ Employed full-time

Job title: _______________________________

Current Substance Abuse Involvement 

Alcohol Use

___ Occasional use (use list)

___ Regular but not problematic use (use list)

___ Chronic and problematic use (use list)

Drug Use 

___ Occasional use of drugs (use list)

___ Chronic use of drugs (use list)

Selling drugs? Yes ___ No ___ 
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 65

Activities During Reporting Period

Number of Contacts With Youth in Reporting Period

Number of outreach worker contacts with individual during this reporting period: _______

Number of probation officer contacts in this reporting period: _________

Other official contacts with youth: _______

List the programs in which the youth participated during this reporting period.

Service program (1): ________________________________ No. of service hrs. provided: _______

Service program (2): ________________________________ No. of service hrs. provided: _______

Service program (3):________________________________ No. of service hrs. provided: _______

Participation in School and Community Activities

During the reporting period did the youth:

____ Enroll in any school-based activities?

List: ________________________________

____ Participate in any nonschool, community-based activities?

List: _______________________________

Criminal History Update on Youth During the Reporting Period

New Criminal Offenses

Was the youth arrested for any new offenses during this 

reporting period? Yes ____ No ____ 

(If yes, complete the following)

Date of first new offense: ____/______/______

List offense: __________________________

Gang-related: Yes ____ No ____

Did offense involve violence? Yes ___ No ___

Did offense involve use of a weapon? 

Yes ____ No ___

If yes, list type of weapon: ____________

Date of second new offense: ___/______/_____

List offense: __________________________

Gang-related: Yes ____ No ____

Did offense involve violence? Yes ___ No ___

Did offense involve use of a weapon?

Yes ____ No ___

If yes, list type of weapon: ____________

(Repeat for any additional offenses committed.)

Probation Information

If the youth was on probation, did the individual 

violate any of the terms of his probation during this 

reporting period?

_____ Total number of probation violations

_____ No. of contempt of court violations

_____ No. of missed curfews

_____ No. of failed drug tests

_____ No. of failures to appear at referral 

programs or services

_____ No. of school truancy violations

_____ Other violations (list)

__________________________________

Detention/Jail Information

Was the individual sentenced to a jail or other 

institution during this reporting period?

____ No ____ Yes 

If yes, what facility? _____________

Length of sentence:_______________
8. Team-Based Case Management of Gang-Involved Clients 66

Other Incidents During This Reporting Period (include dates and details)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 67

Chapter 9. The Role of Street Outreach in the

Comprehensive Gang Model

Many different versions of street outreach have been experimented with in the United States, and many 

types exist today. Outreach staff within the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model play a critical role that 

may differ from those in other types of outreach. This chapter will discuss the role of outreach in the 

Model and provide guidance on administrative issues related to outreach personnel.

Role of the Outreach Worker

The role of the worker is to reach out to the target population and link the population to services available 

in the community and to mainstream institutions of which youth may be skeptical. The workers’ specific 

goals are to reach out to gang-involved youth in the target area and to recruit and retain them in the 

project by providing access to resources, prosocial role modeling, and encouragement.

The job requires the ability to walk a fine line between the gangs and the system, specifically law 

enforcement. Outreach workers are not snitches, ―narcs,‖ or informants, nor are they gang members or 

―wannabes.‖ The worker must understand that sometimes he is an advocate for the youth and other times 

a reporter of negative behavior. Outreach workers are referred to as ―street‖ outreach workers for a 

reason—they work on the streets. These positions are not intended to be office-based or even institutionor school-based. While workers may go to these places to accomplish a specific task (e.g., checking up on 

clients, visiting, mediating), their role is to reach out to youth in their environment at community events, 

on street corners, in parks, in homes of youth, and in other places where youth hang out. For this reason, it 

is even more important to have workers who are comfortable with the population and are not 

uncomfortable being in these areas without the company of police or probation. 

Tasks routinely performed by outreach workers include:

 Identifying youths’ needs and goals to help the team develop a more comprehensive 

intervention plan.

 Coaching and providing role models for each youth.

 Coordinating appropriate crisis responses to project clients following episodes of 

violence in the community.

 Providing assistance to families in distress, ranging from accessing basic services to 

helping resolve family conflicts.

 Visiting clients who are incarcerated and helping to reconnect them to services when they 

are released from custody.

 Resolving conflicts and/or mediating between clients, their families, other youth, and/or 

agencies.

 Acting as a liaison between project clients and service providers/schools to facilitate 

client access to services.

 Working with clients who are seeking employment, from helping these youth develop 

résumés, to identifying their skills and qualifications, to helping them apply for jobs or 

work with workforce services programs.

 Conducting gang awareness presentations in schools.

As members of the Intervention Team, outreach workers provide information that helps the entire team 

gain a better understanding of what is going on with the target population and in the target area so that 

team interactions with gang members will be more informed. Outreach workers will fill in blanks for 

others on the team who may not be as familiar with the individuals or groups being targeted. Workers 
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 68

may describe treatment needs or compounding factors (such as family violence, substance abuse, etc.) 

that are affecting a youth’s behavior. Outreach workers also may provide information about specific 

crimes that have occurred or are planned. In these cases, police and probation may act appropriately, 

although cautiously, so that the workers are not endangered and their reputation is not jeopardized. 

Although outreach workers may inform new clients that they do not want information on specific crimes 

and activities, some youth may offer this information. In these cases, it is imperative (and may be required 

by law) that the workers pass this information to law enforcement. On the other hand, police and 

probation should provide outreach workers with information such as identifying dangerous situations, 

areas, or individuals; keeping workers away from planned police activity that may be dangerous (without 

revealing specific intelligence, addresses, or individuals); and notifying workers of simple things such as 

court dates, charges, status of investigations, or information that outreach workers can use to dispel 

rumors about incidents and individuals. It is imperative that team members share appropriate information 

freely and willingly and trust one another to handle the information appropriately and confidentially.

While case load sizes have varied, it is suggested that workers be in a position to spend time in the 

community making contacts with unknown youth, service providers, and families; therefore, a case load 

of not more than 25 is recommended. Some of the youth may be incarcerated; some may not need 

intensive services at the time; and some may be on the run. Others may need daily in-person contact

and/or phone calls or contact several times a week. The level of service provided by outreach workers is 

determined by team consensus for each youth.

Outreach workers interact with other team members during team meetings and each day—in person, by 

phone, or through other methods of communication. It is important that the workers utilize both formal 

and informal methods of communication and stay in contact between meetings. 

While the Model relies on the Intervention Team to accomplish many of its goals, there are times when 

outreach workers operate individually. For example, while police and probation can conduct joint patrols 

and searches, outreach workers should not accompany police or probation on patrols. The youth must be 

able to trust the outreach workers and understand their roles as individuals and as a team. Outreach

workers should be seen as staff willing to help gang-involved youth, including advocating on their behalf, 

ensuring they have access to services and opportunities, and acting as their link to community institutions. 

While there are times when outreach and law enforcement will need to work together, the youth need to 

understand and believe that the outreach workers are not police officers. In addition to helping the 

targeted youth, team members should help each other. In some cases, police and probation have covertly 

backed up outreach workers who were in dangerous situations, and outreach has provided information to 

law enforcement regarding safety issues (advising of threats made, weapons possession, etc.) with youth 

in the project and others in the community. Exhibit 9.1 on page 70 provides an outreach worker job 

description.

Hiring Outreach Workers

Communities should consider the following issues when hiring outreach staff. First, the outreach worker 

must have a thorough understanding of the community that he will serve. The best outreach workers have 

strong ties to the local community and existing relationships with community members. Additionally, the 

outreach worker must be familiar with the gang culture of the target community and have skills to work

effectively with high-risk teenagers and young adults. Outreach workers need to represent the population 

they are trying to reach, especially in terms of ethnicity.
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 69

Second, outreach work is not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. desk job in a comfortable office. The majority of the 

outreach worker’s time will be spent in the community: in homes, schools, and local agencies, and on the 

street, working with gang-involved clients. The outreach worker must be comfortable and willing to 

work in high-risk community settings at nontraditional hours. 

Third, if the outreach candidate has a criminal history, law enforcement and other criminal justice 

partners must ensure that this individual is no longer involved in gangs, crime, or other questionable 

behaviors. Because of the outreach worker’s role as a mentor and role model to gang-involved youth, it is 

important that his behavior be beyond reproach.

Outreach workers should possess the following skills:

 Maturity and good judgment.

 Ability to work independently and manage time effectively.

 Ability to interact with a variety of different agencies, including schools, law 

enforcement probation, religious organizations, and grassroots community agencies.

 Ability to write descriptions of client interactions for project record-keeping.

 Mediation and/or problem-solving skills.

Hiring Versus Contracting

In some communities, a local agency is already providing effective outreach services. Additionally, 

hiring policies of school districts, police agencies, and other criminal justice agencies may make it 

impossible to hire an individual with a criminal background, no matter how long ago these offenses 

occurred. In these instances, it may be desirable to contract for outreach services versus having the lead 

agency hire outreach workers. Pros and cons of each are found in Table 1 on page 72.

If a community does contract for outreach services, it is important to verify that the type of outreach

service that will be delivered by the contracting agency conforms to the Model. Further, the Steering 

Committee should insist on clear deliverables, including the number of clients to be served by each 

outreach worker, the number of contacts to occur per week with each client, a clear chain of supervision 

for the outreach staff, and policies and procedures that ensure that client safety, community safety, and 

appropriate information sharing are paramount. Community agencies that are used to having outreach 

workers perform case management services on their own may need training on the OJJDP Model to 

ensure that outreach workers are familiar with the role they will play. 

The outreach workers also need to be comfortable working with law enforcement and other criminal 

justice agencies. If there is no relationship established between these agencies, the Project Director

should be prepared to facilitate these relationships. It should be understood that the interactions between 

outreach and criminal justice personnel can be difficult, and it can take time to create trust and respect 

between these partners. The Project Director needs to play a proactive role in providing training to both 

outreach and criminal justice personnel on the boundaries of information-sharing and safety issues.
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 70

Exhibit 9.1

Outreach Worker Job Description

JOB TITLE: OUTREACH WORKER

BASIC FUNCTIONS

Under the supervision of the Project Director, the successful candidate will be responsible for reaching 

out to identified gang members and linking them to services and institutions, providing access to 

resources, reducing attachment of project youth to gangs and gang activities, and assisting in 

community mobilization in the target area. The incumbent will be a member of and participate in all 

Intervention Team meetings.

SUPERVISION:

Supervised by the Project Director (or a lead outreach worker, as applies).

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:

 Identify appropriate youth to participate in the project based on target characteristics.

 Recruit and retain project youth by providing access to job skills training, information, resources, 

prosocial role modeling, and encouragement. 

 Provide outreach services, including street, home, and institutional contacts with project youth.

 Manage a caseload of up to XX clients. 

 Serve as an advocate for project youth in securing social services, education, and job-related 

opportunities; providing information about services; and assessing needs. 

 Assess the needs of family members as related to the target youths’ gang involvement, identify 

gang-affected siblings of target participants, and make referrals to appropriate services.

 Provide information on available services for participants’ family members. 

 Provide appropriate referral and follow up to ensure that target youth are aware and able to 

access services.

 Plan and attend social and recreational activities for the target youth.

 Maintain records of contacts with youth and write reports on status of clients.

 Identify community resources to assist in implementation of the project. 

 Complete documentation paperwork as required for contacts with and services provided to 

target youth on a timely basis.

 Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Desired Knowledge

 Familiarity with the community.

 Knowledge of gang culture in general.

 Familiarity with the ethnic culture of the target population.

 Knowledge of local agencies’ programs and services (schools, social services, law enforcement, 

courts/corrections), local units of government, and grassroots organizations. 
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 71

Abilities

 Possess strong communication and interpersonal skills. 

 Work effectively with agency staff and service providers and with gang members and their 

family members.

 Work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends. 

 Clearly communicate ideas in both written and verbal form.

 Understand and relate to the needs of project participants of diverse ethnic, cultural, 

educational, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

 Work effectively with high-risk, gang-involved populations.

 Operate a computer to enter data, maintain records, and generate reports.

 Network effectively with various types of organizations, including government agencies, law 

enforcement agencies, schools, social service agencies, courts/probation/corrections, and 

grassroots organizations. 

 Work effectively with community residents, diverse population groups, and youth.

 Exercise judgment regarding appropriate information sharing, confidentiality requirements, and 

human relations. 

 Prioritize tasks and work independently in the absence of supervision. 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Education: High school graduate (minimum)

Experience Preferred: At least one year in performing client-directed services in a field such as social 

service, grassroots organizations, community advocacy, or youth intervention. 

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Valid driver’s license and car insurance by date of hire. 
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 72

Supervising Outreach Personnel

Outreach personnel often have varying levels of professional experience. Some outreach workers may 

have never held professional employment; others may have a college degree and/or extensive work 

history. This professional or educational background is no predictor of an outreach worker’s level of 

success in working with clients. However, if a community uses outreach workers with very little work

experience, the Project Director may also wish to designate a lead outreach worker with more experience

to work on professional development and administrative issues with these personnel. The Steering 

Committee and Project Director should also plan to do extensive training and development work with the 

outreach workers.

Supervision issues with communities that have implemented the Model have ranged from teaching 

outreach workers to manage their time wisely, to setting up reporting protocols to ensure that the outreach 

workers are seeing enough clients daily to meet their weekly contact goals, to documenting client contacts 

appropriately. Beyond these administrative issues, the Project Director, Steering Committee, and 

Intervention Team will also need to set policies for:

 Ensuring that both outreach workers and clients are protected during client contacts.

 Providing training on mandatory reporting situations.

 Ensuring that outreach workers know how to handle clients with mental health and 

substance abuse issues.

 Helping outreach workers understand the boundaries of their positions when interacting 

with clients and families.

 Detailing what types of personal and professional information about clients are shared, 

and with whom.

 Setting out safety protocols relating to gang activity in the community.

Table 1

Lead Agency Advantages Disadvantages

Outreach Staff 

Employed by 

Lead Agency

 Greater control and 

accountability over the job 

performance of outreach 

workers

 Opportunities for intensive 

professional development

 Many lead agencies may resist 

hiring individuals who have a 

criminal history.

 Outreach workers must maintain 

boundaries to avoid being 

considered police informants if the 

lead agency is a criminal justice 

entity or law enforcement agency.

 Outreach workers may not have a 

strong connection to the 

community, and it may take time 

to develop these connections.

Outreach Staff 

Employed by 

Contracted Entity

 Often have a long-standing 

history working with high-risk 

populations in the community

 May have an existing client base 

that can be leveraged for this 

project

 Steering Committee and/or lead 

agency may have less control over 

the job performance of outreach 

workers.
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 73

 Standards of dress when working in the community and with key partners.

 Documentation of client contacts and services provided.

Two forms are provided to assist outreach workers in managing client contact information:

Exhibit 9.2 Sample Outreach Worker Client Contact Attempt Log

Exhibit 9.3 Weekly Outreach Worker Contact Tracking Form
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 74

Exhibit 9.2

Sample Outreach Worker Client Contact Attempt Log

Client Contact Attempts

Client Name:

Date Time Method

Result

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person
9. The Role of Street Outreach in the Comprehensive Gang Model 75

Exhibit 9.3

Weekly Outreach Worker Contact Tracking Form

Weekly Contact Log

Outreach worker: Week of: / /

List contacts, by client name, for each day. Check method of contact.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person

Client Name:

▫ Phone 

▫ In Person
10. Evaluation and Sustainability 76

Chapter 10. Evaluation and Sustainability

It is a common perception that evaluation occurs after a project ends. In reality, data collection should be 

built into the project design and should be ongoing for evaluative purposes so it can shape project design 

and sustainability for the life of the project. Securing and maintaining the commitment of the 

cooperating agencies to collect essential data is critical to evaluating a project’s success.

During the process of designing an implementation plan, the Steering Committee should consider sources 

of data that will be important to measure outcomes from the project’s efforts. The data collected during 

the assessment process helps to establish a baseline from the onset of project activities.

At a minimum, communities should plan to collect the following data for the purposes of evaluation and 

sustainability:

 Police incident report data, in the same crime categories and fashion as was collected 

during the assessment, for the purposes of measuring impact and potentially 

adapting/modifying suppression activities.

 Police intelligence data, in the aggregate form, for reporting to the Steering Committee, 

key agencies, and Intervention Team on gang trends.

 Individual client data, to determine the types of clients being served, the dosage of 

activities, and the impact of project activities. Data should include, but should not be 

limited to: 

 Individual characteristics (race, age, gender, level of gang affiliation, and other 

factors such as family structure, etc.).

 School attendance/activity level, pre- and postinvolvement in the project.

 Criminal history and/or activity subsequent to being involved in the project.

 Employment history, pre- and postinvolvement in the project.

 Probation referrals and/or violations, pre- and postinvolvement in the project.

 Substance use levels, pre- and postinvolvement in the project. 

Reporting on individual data should be done in an aggregate, analyzed form to protect client 

confidentiality. These data can be used to show project effectiveness and also to ensure that the project is 

serving the proper target population.

 Participation of key agencies, including hours of services provided to clients, contacts (by 

duration) with clients, and suppression activities by hours and number of personnel involved.

The Steering Committee, the involved agencies, and the community need to know how well the overall 

implementation plan is working and how to improve it. The Steering Committee should monitor progress 

made during implementation, using data and other information, and make any necessary changes to 

ensure that objectives are being met and the committee’s mission is being accomplished. Project staff 

also should document the project’s impact and identify barriers to its overall functioning, as well as 

methods to overcome those barriers. The following questions may be appropriate for self-evaluation of 

the Steering Committee’s progress in the implementation plan:
10. Evaluation and Sustainability 77

 What is being accomplished by each objective?

 How will this work be measured? What is success? 

 What are the indicators that the plan is moving in the desired direction?

The Steering Committee can also measure changes in community perceptions about gangs through 

surveys of community members, families, clients, and school/agency personnel. These surveys should 

measure perceptions of the work that is being done and overall feelings about the gang problem in the 

community. (Has it gotten better? Stayed the same? Gotten worse? Are the right things being done? 

What else should be done?)

While some of this data analysis and collection can be done by a talented data analyst, quantitative data 

on project clients will probably require the assistance of the Research Partner. Other persons with 

professional evaluation expertise who are associated with the Steering Committee or involved in the 

initiative may be willing to conduct an evaluation.

The benefits of an effective evaluation include:

 Knowing where to focus energy for project improvements.

 Knowing when you are falling behind schedule and when to make mid-course 

adjustments.

 Knowledge of and ability to document project success.

 Providing support for grant applications.

 Knowledge that staff are making a difference.

 Ability to report success to Steering Committee, staff, and funders.

Congruent with evaluative and data collection efforts, sustainability planning should begin during the 

assessment and planning phase and continue through implementation. One of the key roles of the 

Steering Committee is to provide for the sustainability of the project. Ideally, the implementation plan 

developed during the initial planning stage will lay a foundation for sustainability by ensuring ongoing 

data collection and analysis for self-evaluation.

Several factors were common to projects that were sustained by local communities. These communities: 

 Standardized and institutionalized data collection to show project outcomes. Access to 

these data was invaluable for leveraging funds and resources. 

 Utilized strong and engaged Steering Committees that shared ownership and 

responsibility for the programs among the key agencies. 

 Formalized the participation of key agencies through the use of MOUs and letters of 

commitment that specifically outlined the roles and responsibilities of these agencies and 

their personnel, prior to implementation of the Model.

 Did not become reliant on grant funds for the performance of duties that fall within the 

normal roles and responsibilities of key agencies.

Other successful sustainability strategies included: 

 Participating in statewide efforts to further develop anti-gang strategies backed by federal 

and state funds. Projects that can demonstrate positive outcomes and that have a good 

reputation in the target community are more likely to be funded as a part of larger efforts.

 Seeking the local business community’s support for specific elements of the project such 

as the Intervention Team, outreach staff, or specific prevention programs. 
10. Evaluation and Sustainability 78

 Pursuing commitments from key agencies to dedicate staff time to the project prior to 

implementation through the use of MOUs or letters of commitment.

 Leveraging funds from other agencies or planning for the project to be absorbed within 

an established agency. 

 Requiring sustainability planning from contracted agencies. This may enable project

partners to identify resources to sustain specific elements of the project after the original 

funding expires.
11. Resources 79

Chapter 11. Resources 

Arciaga, Michelle. (2007). Multidisciplinary Gang Intervention Teams: Bulletin No. 3.

(http://www.iir.com/nygc/publications/NYGCbulletin3.pdf). National Youth Gang Center.

Tallahassee, FL. 

Burch, J. and Kane, C. (1999). Implementing the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model. Fact Sheet 

No. 112. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/fs99112.pdf . Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 

Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Cahill, M., Coggeshall, M., Hayeslip, D., Wolff, A., Lagerson, E., Scott, M., Davies, E., Roland, K., 

and Decker, S. (2008). Community Collaboratives Addressing Youth Gangs: Interim Findings from 

the Gang Reduction Program. http://www.urban.org/publications/411692.html. Washington, 

DC: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center. 

Esbensen, F. (2000). Preventing Adolescent Gang Involvement.

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/182210.pdf. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 

Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

Howell, J. C. (2000). Youth Gang Programs and Strategies. 

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/171154.pdf. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Howell, J. C. and Curry, G. David. (2009). Mobilizing Communities to Address Gangs.

http://www.iir.com/nygc/publications/NYGC-bulletin-4.pdf. National Youth Gang Center.

Tallahassee, FL. 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Best Practices to Address Community 

Gang Problems. (2008). http://www.ojjdp.gov/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=253257. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

Spergel, I. A. (2007). Reducing Youth Gang Violence: The Little Village Gang Project in Chicago. 

Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. Appendix A, p. 51.

Spergel, I. A. (1995). The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. Oxford University 

Press: New York, NY.

Spergel, I. A., Wa, K. M., and Sosa, R. V. (2006). The comprehensive, community-wide, gang 

program model: Success and failure. In J. F. Short and L. A. Hughes (eds.), Studying Youth Gangs 

(pp. 203–224). Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.

Wyrick, P. (2006). Gang prevention: How to make the “front end” of your anti-gang effort work. 

United States Attorney’s Bulletin, 54, 52–60.

U.S. Department of Justice. (2008). Gang Issues.

http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/documents/usab5604.pdf. United States Attorneys 

Bulletin. 56:4. Executive Office for United States Attorneys: Washington, DC.
11. Resources 80

Program Contacts

Errika Fearbry Jones, Director, Pittsburgh Youth Intervention Project, Pittsburgh Public Schools, 

Room 424, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15214, (412) 622-3932.

Victor Gonzalez, Director of Intervention Programs, Houston Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office, 

900 Bagby, Houston, TX 77002, (713) 437-6296.

Laura Kallus, Project Coordinator, North Miami Beach Gang Reduction Project, Island Place 

Apartments, 1541 Northeast 167 Street, North Miami Beach, FL 33162, (305) 956-2524, 

Extension 2243.

Esther Welch Anderson, Project Director, Richmond Gang Reduction Project, Office of the 

Attorney General of Virginia, 900 East Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 786-0004.

Miguel Leon, Project Coordinator, Los Angeles Gang Reduction Project, Office of Gang Reduction and 

Youth Development, 200 North Spring Street, Room 303, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 473-9768.

Renee Parker, Project Coordinator, Project MPACT, Miami-Dade County School District Police 

Department, 10650 Northwest 42nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33054, (305) 621-4598.