Jeremy Travis, Director October 1995

Evaluation of Boys and Girls Clubs

in Public Housing

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFF ICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

BJA NI J OJJDP BJS OVC

R e s e a r c h P r e v i e w

National Institute of Justice

For the children living in America’s inner-city public

housing, few alternatives to the streets exist. Nearly

every organization and institution that could serve as a

focal point for crime and drug-abuse prevention, healthy

child development, and community recovery has relocated or disappeared. The Boys and Girls Clubs in Public

Housing program is a part of Operation Weed and Seed,

a comprehensive multiagency approach to law enforcement and community revitalization. Weed and Seed was

created to break the cycle of drugs, violence, and crime

(weeding) and to develop an integrated network of

educational, medical, and social services (seeding).

Through a partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of

America (BGCA), the Bureau of Justice Assistance

sponsored 22 demonstration projects in public housing.

These BGCA programs at Weed and Seed sites (funded

for 12 months) have focused on raising educational

achievement, opening access to medical services, and

establishing new clubs offering extensive social, educational, and medical services. A National Institute of

Justice evaluation of the implementation of these programs found that the most promising approaches actively

sought out partnerships with a broad range of public and

private agencies, employed an experienced coordinator,

enlisted existing community resources, and built trust

among residents.

Study method

Researchers reviewed 15 projects; they examined youth

case management records; observed BGCA activities;

and interviewed club directors, project directors, project

staff, program participants, parents of program participants, law enforcement personnel, school representatives, community members, and representatives from

agencies and organizations participating in the demonstration projects.

Comprehensive medical programs

Five of the programs attempted comprehensive medical

services, emphasizing health education, screening, and

access to medical services. Major challenges were

securing the trust of neighborhood youths and residents

wary of public health agencies and finding adequate

resources.

What worked. The most promising program formed a

partnership with the State department of health to obtain

partial funding, assistance in hiring a public health nurse,

technical assistance, and supervision for maintaining

medical records and clinic operations. Also important was

finding an energetic, experienced coordinator and staff to

identify health care needs and to design strategies

persuading residents to seek health services. The most

effective strategy was a door-to-door canvass to elicit

participation in health care assessments.

Educational enhancement efforts

Five BGCA programs focused on educational enhancement. These programs used a “high yield” approach in

which children were given extensive opportunity outside

of school to practice reading, writing, verbal communication, problem solving, and decisionmaking.

What worked. For programs reporting increased enthusiasm for and participation in educational activities, an

active and well-organized coordinator was a crucial

factor. A strong coordinator served as an effective liaison

with schools and, most importantly, aggressively sought

to address parental apathy and lack of involvement—the

single biggest obstacle to any program’s success.

Another key factor was the active support of school

administrators and teachers, who reinforced educational

enhancement activities in the classroom.

New “full-service” clubs

The evaluation also assessed five new BGCA clubs

designed to offer a broad but intensive mix of services to

establish a positive, stable community resource.
Coordination of activities. To avoid turf battles and

duplication of services, each club should develop cooperative relationships with other agencies and organizations. This issue is of special concern in providing

medical services, where support of local hospitals and

public health authorities must be developed.

Use of incentives in educational enhancements.

Although a powerful motivator, use of incentives should

be placed in the context of the overall program, and they

should not drive participation.

New program in a new site. Establishing both a new

club and a new program simultaneously can be overwhelming. It may be advisable to focus first on obtaining

residents’ trust to establish the club before networking

with outside community groups (schools, police, etc.) to

initiate specific services.

Weed vs. seed. Programs should be sensitive to residents’ mistrust of overly aggressive law enforcement

practices. A healthy balance must be struck between

suppressing criminal activity and rebuilding communities.

What worked. The success or failure of new clubs was

linked directly to their ability to network in the community

and coordinate their activities for youths with existing

community-based service providers, including other

Weed and Seed efforts. Programs showing the most

promise invested considerable time and energy building

trust and acceptance among local children, parents,

teachers, community leaders, law enforcement agencies,

corporations, and community institutions that could

provide vital financial resources, volunteers, and other

support.

Improving youth services in public housing

Although all clubs achieved some level of success in

meeting the goals they set, analysis of those with lower

levels of achievement revealed the following suggestions

for improvements:

Long-term programming. Clubs should develop clear,

long-term objectives. Programs of short duration may

raise expectations, and when they end, participants may

become cynical about any future efforts. Therefore,

consideration should be given to multiple-year funding or

spreading limited funding over longer periods. Proposals

should include a plan for continuing operations after a

particular grant terminates.

Needs assessment. Clubs should work with local

schools, law enforcement agencies, and residents to

determine which youths are most at risk and what services they need.

Staff training. Even programs with adequate funding are

only as good as the staff who run them. Club staff must

not only be enthusiastic but competent in their roles. Staff

also must be extensively trained in accurate record

keeping.

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Washington, D.C. 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

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Permit No. G–91

The full unpublished report on this study, prepared

under NIJ grant 92–DD–CX–K038, Boys and Girls

Clubs in Public Housing, by Carl E. Pope, Ph.D.,

Timothy S. Bynum, Ph.D., Jack R. Greene, Ph.D.,

and William H. Feyerherm, Ph.D., is available

through interlibrary loan or as photocopies from the

National Criminal Justice Reference Service, P.O.

Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849–6000; call 800–

851–3420 or e-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.aspensys.com.

Ask for NCJ 156389.
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Washington, D.C. 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

BULK RATE

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/NIJ

Permit No. G–91