Note to the reader: The graphics, charts, and tables are taken out of this report. The 

original report was done in Adobe InDesign and is available in PDF format. This 

document is the text only formatted in Microsoft Word.

Action Collaboration Transformation

(ACT)

A plan to break the cycle of youth violence and foster hope

Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task 

Force Strategic Work Plan 

Update

2011–2013

Working Draft
2

San José Mayor and City Council

Mayor Chuck Reed 

City of San José

City Council 

Pete Constant

Council member, District 1 

Ash Kalra

Council member, District 2 

Sam Liccardo 

Council member, District 3 

Kansen Chu

Council member, District 4 

Nora Campos 

Council member, District 5 

Pierluigi Oliverio 

Council member, District 6 

Madison Nguyen 

Council member, District 7 

Rose Herrerra

Council member, District 8 

Vice Mayor Judy Chirco 

Council member, District 9 

Nancy Pyle 

Council member, District 10

Debra Figone

City Manager 

Albert Balagso

Director, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services 

Chris Moore

Chief of Police 
3

2011 Mayor’s Gang Prevention 

Task Force Policy Team

Chris Moore, Co-chair 

Chief of Police, 

City of San José 

Chuck Reed, Co-chair 

Mayor of San José 

Madison Nguyen

City Council, District 7 

City of San José 

George Shirakawa Jr.

County Board Supervisor 

Santa Clara County 

Sarah Gonzales

Foothill Division Tech Team 

Representative 

Filipino Youth Coalition 

Executive Director

Jeff Bornefeld 

Western Division Tech Team 

Representative 

CCPY, Executive Director 

Steve Nordseth 

Central Division Tech Team 

Representative 

Bill Wilson Center

Suzie Rivera 

Southern Division Tech Team 

Representative 

Law Program Director: 

Fresh Lifelines for Youth 

John Hirokawa 

Acting Chief of Corrections 

Department of Corrections 

Santa Clara County 

Brenda Crowding

Unit Supervisor 

CA Dept of Corrections & 

Rehab-Division 

Rose Herrera 

City Council, District 8 

City of San José 

Angelique Gaeta 

Assistant City Attorney 

City of San José 

Norberto Duenas 

Deputy City Manager 

City of San José 

Cora Tomalinas 

Community Representative 

St. Maria Goretti – People 

Acting in Community Together 

Pastor Tony Ortiz 

Faith-based Representative 

California Youth Outreach, 

Executive Director 

Albert Balagso 

Director, Parks, Recreation and 

Neighborhood Services 

City of San José 

Angel Rios 

Deputy Director 

Parks, Recreation and 

Neighborhood Services 

City of San José 

Sheila Mitchell 

Chief Probation Officer 

Santa Clara County Probation 

Jeff Ruster 

Work2Future Liaison 

Jeff Rosen 

District Attorney 

Santa Clara County 

Dr. Maurice Ghysels 

Chief Schools Officer 

Santa Clara County Office of 

Education 

Laurie Smith

Sheriff, Office of the Sheriff 

County of Santa Clara 

Mary Greenwood 

Public Defender 

Santa Clara County 

Judge Patrick Tondreau 

Presiding Juvenile Court Judge 

Santa Clara County 

Superior Court 

Kip Harkness 

Strong Neighborhoods Director 

City of San José 

Dan Moser 

Superintendent 

East Side Union High 

School District 

Dr. John Porter 

Superintendent 

Franklin-McKinley School 

District 
Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force Technical 

Team

The limited amount of space in this document is insufficient to express our gratitude and appreciation for the 

many contributions and contributors to this strategic work plan. We wish to acknowledge the following 

organizations for their ongoing support and collaboration formalized by way of a Memorandum of Understanding 

with the City of San José:

Adrian Flores Presents-Building RespectThrough Dance

Alchemy Academy

Allied Barton Security Services 

Alum Rock Counseling Center

Alum Rock School District

Americorps Restoring Youth and Communities

Asian American Recovery Services

Asian Americans for Community Involvement

Bill Wilson Center

Boys and Girls club of Silicon Valley

California Community Partners for Youth

California Youth Outreach-Breakout Prison Outreach

Carol Percent

Catholic Charities

CCPA

Center for Employment and Training

Center for Training and Careers

Community Arts and History Support

Cross-cultural Community Services Center of Silicon Valley

Crossroad Calvary Church

East Valley/680 NAC

EMQ FamiliesFirst

Family and Children Services

Filipino Youth Coalition

Firehouse Community Development Corp

For Pits sake/Knock out dog fighting

Franklin Mckinley School District

Fresh Lifelines for Youth

Friendly Bible Church-Cathedral of Faith

Friends Outside in Santa Clara County

George Mayne Elementary

Girl Scouts of Northern California 

Go Kids INC

Happy House/Community United

Henkels & McCoy Training Services

Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara

Joyner/Payne Youth Services Agency=Aquarius

KONA and Distrct 8 Round Table

Liliana Rossman

Mexican American Community Services Agency

Mid-Peninsula Housing Services Corporation

Moreland School District

Most Holy Trinity Church

New Harvest Christian Fellowship

Next door Solutions to Domestic Violence

North Valley Community Association

Oakgrove School District

Pathway Society

Positive Alternative Recreation Teambuilding

Pueblo de Dios

ROHI Alternative Community Outreach

Sacred Heart Community Service 

San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School

San Jose Job Corps

St. Maria Goretti PACT

The Bay Area After-School All-Stars

UJIMA Adult and FamilyServices

Victory Outreach

Westfield Oakridge Security

YWCA of Silicon Valley

City of San José Departments/Programs

San José City Council, 

San José Police Department, 

Independent Police Auditor, 

Work 2 Future,

Youth Commission, 

PRNS Community Centers, 

San José Public Library, 

Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, 

Anti Graffiti Program, 

Clean Slate Tattoo Removal Program, 

S.T.A.N.D., 

Safe SchoolCampus Initiative.

Other Government Offices

Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa Jr., 

Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, 

Santa Clara County Juvenile Probation.

Schools

San José Unified School District, 

Moreland School District, 

Oakgrove School District, 

East Side Union High School District, 

Latino College Preparatory Academy, 

Franklin McKinley School District, 

Alum Rock School District, 

Santa Clara Office of Education.
Foreword

“Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to 

those who have rekindled this light.”

-Albert Schweitzer

Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT): A community plan to break the cycle of 

violence and foster hope- The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) 

2008–2013 Strategic Work Plan, is a collaborative effort involving youth; private residents; city, county, 

and state government; community and faith based organizations; schools; parents; and local law enforcement. 

Since 1991, a sustained commitment has been put forth by a diverse group of stakeholders, representing a range 

of entities, to “ACT” in the best interest of San José’s youth and families. Through the Leadership of Mayor Chuck 

Reed the MGPTF continues to serve as a positive influence against anti-social forces that influence youth and 

disconnect them from their families, schools, and communities.

This document was developed following an extensive community input process that began in Spring 2007 with a 

retreat that involved community based organizations serving as members of the Technical Team. The communityat-large participated in the input process from April to May 2008, and included forty-three (43) focus groups that 

were facilitated at sixteen (16) distinct meetings, involving over 1,200 participants. This Work Plan was updated in 

March of 2011 to continue the historical process of keeping the strategic work plan a “living and breathing” action 

plan.

This plan incorporates the latest research on successful approaches to healthy youth development across a 

continuum of care with an emphasis on reclaiming gang-involved and disconnected youth through intervention 

services. Acting in the interest of San José’s youth is a commitment on behalf of the community to get them back 

into schools, reconnect them with their families and communities, provide them with a supportive and healthy 

environment to learn and grow, and redirect them toward more pro-social behaviors. 

Ultimately we envision youth acting with a sense of responsibility for their actions and accountability to 

themselves, their families, and the community at large. San José’s youth will be afforded the opportunity and 

support to personally transform themselves and their circumstances, while those seeking to employ intimidation 

and fear to exert their influence on the residents and neighborhoods of San José will be held personally 

accountable to the full extent of the law.

The original strategic plan was intended to cover the period of 2008 through 2011. During this period there have 

been many successes including year-to-year reduction in gang violence culminating in the lowest number of 

gang homicides (6 gang homicides in 2010) in a decade, Subsequently, the “ACT” Work Plan has been deemed 

worthy of an extension/update for the period of 2011 to 2013. The focus of the “ACT” update will continue to 

build upon the original bold vision and goals in addition to adding two new strategic goals consisting of Re-Entry 

and Public Private Partnership.

There are five guiding principles that drove the development of this strategic work plan: 

1. We value our youth. 

2. We cannot arrest our way out of this problem. 

3. We will address this community challenge with a community response. 

4. We will hold our youth accountable for their actions and assist them to get back on the right path. 

5. We will not give up on any youth and are committed to facilitate personal transformation. 

This work plan is a call to action for all community stakeholders to renew their commitment to ensuring the health 

and well being of the youth of San José. We invite you to join us in reaffirming our collective effort to implement 

this plan to

“ACT”in the best interest of San José’s youth.
6

Introduction

“We will work together to reclaim and reconnect our youth to schools, community, and the home. We have high 

expectations for our youth to become important members of our community. It is everyone’s job to raise our youth and 

ensure that we have safe neighborhoods. By working together we can reclaim our youth and bring them into our 

community as productive and contributing members. We are not giving up on any neighborhood, that’s a promise...”

-Mayor Chuck Reed

The City of San José remains one of the “safest big cities in America” due in large part to the sustained efforts of 

the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF). The MGPTF, one of San José’s leading grass-roots initiatives, and 

a nationally recognized model, addresses issues of gang violence, and provides support to gang-involved youth 

and their families.1 The MGPTF model brings together the appropriate individuals and organizations to discuss 

community safety issues and comprehensive strategies to address anti-social behavior exhibited by youth. This 

national model has validated the theory that collaborative efforts, spanning a broad spectrum of community 

partners and stakeholders can be collectively responsible and accountable for promoting the safety, health, and 

welfare of our youth, families, and communities.

The MGPTF partners focus the majority of their efforts on promoting personal transformation, creating 

opportunities for youth to recognize and participate in positive alternatives to anti-social and violent behaviors 

through intervention services and new learning experiences. Additionally, an emphasis is placed on personal 

accountability in responding to violence and the use of fear or intimidation to exert influence in any 

neighborhood within the City of San José. During his inauguration speech, Mayor Chuck Reed issued a call for the 

City of San José to be a beacon of peace and prosperity for all of its residents.

“San José is the 10th-largest city in the nation, the 3rd-largest city in California, a state that alone would be the 

world’s 8th largest economy, but our role in the world is more than just economic development and 

technological innovation. We have an opportunity and an obligation here in San José to demonstrate to the 

world how people from different ethnicities, religions and cultures can live, work, play, and prosper together. 

San José will be a beacon of peace and prosperity to show the world what can happen when people from 

around the world come together and focus on what they have in common rather than on their differences. In a 

world full of ethnic and religious hatred and violence, we have a chance to show the world a better way of life. 

We can do it and we will do it...” – Mayor Chuck Reed

Under the leadership of Mayor Chuck Reed, the City of San José, the MGPTF, and its partners renew their 

commitment to ensure the overall safety and health of the city’s youth. 

Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT): A community plan to break the cycle of 

violence and foster hope—The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) 

2008–2013 Strategic Work Plan reflects this renewed commitment.

 

1 National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, California Cities Gang Prevention Network Strategy 

Paper: Implementing a City-wide Gang Violence Reduction Strategy. (2008)
7

Background

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the 

smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

-Leo Buscaglia

MGPTF: The San José Way

During the mid-1980s, several San José neighborhoods began experiencing significant increases in drug use, gang 

violence, and other criminal activity. In response to this emerging trend, community members approached the 

City Council and the Mayor seeking assistance to purge their neighborhoods of crime and drugs. Project 

Crackdown was launched as the City of San José’s initial response to the call for action from residents and 

community members. 

For the first time in the history of San José, several city departments combined efforts to improve the safety of its 

neighborhoods. The departments who participated in the launch of this effort included Parks, Recreation, and 

Neighborhood Services (PRNS), San José Police, and the Code Enforcement Division. The San José Police 

Department was responsive to resident calls for assistance, however, city leaders proactively observed that 

response efforts needed to be more coordinated and comprehensive in order to address the root causes and not 

just the “symptoms” of anti-social behavior. To address the trend, a continuum of services including prevention, 

intervention, suppression, and rehabilitation was developed to leverage resources through collaboration and 

coordination. Schools, community and neighborhood groups, other law enforcement agencies, and the County of 

Santa Clara Probation Department entered into collaborative partnerships, to institute a bold and comprehensive 

campaign focused on eradicating drugs and violence at their sources, in some of the most crime-ridden 

neighborhoods in the city. The spirit of collaboration continued to gain momentum over time, later evolving into 

the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF), a sustainable approach to addressing the root causes of 

violence and anti-social behavior. 

The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force developed two bodies that work in tandem to reduce gang violence. To 

this end the MGPTF Policy and Technical Teams were formed to drive forward the Gang Task Force Strategic Plan.

The Policy Team evaluates emerging trends, monitors the Technical Team, establishes the overall policy direction 

of the MGPTF, and facilitates interagency collaboration. The Technical Team executes the policy direction as set 

out by the Policy Team, provides direct service to youth and their families, and serves as the “safety net’ for youth. 

Since the early 1990’s the MGPTF has benefitted from the support and vision of two previous mayors, in addition 

to a continuous improvement model, which enables the Task Force to evolve in response to the needs of the 

youth, families, and neighborhoods in the City of San José. The MGPTF target population is: youth ages 6–24 

exhibiting high-risk behaviors; youth committing intentional acts of violence; youth exhibiting high-risk behaviors 

related to gang lifestyles; youth identified as gang members and/or arrested for gang-related incidents or acts of 

gang violence; in addition to families (including parents and children) and friends of youth involved with the gang 

lifestyle or incarcerated for gang-related crimes. . The MGPTF has become a vehicle for results-oriented 

collaboration and capacity building, enabling agencies to work together to address the root cause of crime rather 

than simply suppressing it. Through this comprehensive approach partnering agencies learn and work together to 

develop internal capacity to better serves the target population. 
8

MGPTF Technical Team Organization

In 2005, the Technical Team was reorganized into four regional divisions: Western, Central, Foothill, and Southern, 

which are aligned with those of the San José Police Department. Each division has three co-leads: division police 

captain, and a representative from PRNS and one from a community based organization. The team of leads for 

each division oversees the coordination and provision of services to gang-involved and/or disconnected youth 

and their families, and manages the response to incidents of youth and gang violence throughout 

neighborhoods, including community centers and school campuses, in their division. Community Center 

supervisors and school administrators actively participate on this team and play key roles in the implementation 

of the safety protocol, by ensuring that centers and schools remain a safe place for youth to congregate, play, 

learn, and by serving as points of contact for neighborhood groups. The Technical Team also adopted a 

communication strategy that ensures: 

• Integration of MGPTF objectives with the City of San José’s priorities to continue to have the lowest 

violent crime rate for large California cities as reported in 2008 FBI study. San José is dedicated to regain 

our status as the safest big city in America. 

• Program manager-level staffs attend monthly meetings, to facilitate the implementation of Technical 

Team plans and initiatives. 

Under the leadership of San José Mayor Chuck Reed, the City Council continued its support of the Mayor’s Gang 

Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) and the Bringing Everyone’s Strengths Together (B.E.S.T.) Program for Fiscal Years 

2006–2011 despite significant budget challenges. Within the first year of Mayor Reed’s tenure, an additional 

$1 million in new funding for gang prevention and intervention programs was provided to the MGPTF, the first 

increase since 1999. This continuing support was influenced by research that showed that B.E.S.T. and the Mayor’s 

Gang Prevention Task Force provided public value. 

Additionally, Mayor Reed and the City Council have continued to focus the B.E.S.T. Program to maximize school 

success, increasing school safety, reduce gang violence and measure short and long-term results. As such, the 

B.E.S.T. Program has used an evaluation design that integrates a logic model with a performance-based evaluation 

system. This has enabled the Task Force to hold partners accountable, practice continuous improvement, and 

have flexibility to move efforts to meet new needs, and base funding on performance.

Furthermore the success of the San José B.E.S.T. program has been its ability to focus on harder to serve youth 

who are out of the mainstream of most community services. The City of San José has been a standard-bearer for 

not giving up on some of their most valuable assets—youth out of the mainstream. In the last nineteen years, the 

B.E.S.T. Program has expended a total of $40 million in City and $34 million in matching funds to deliver 

10.7 million hours of direct service to gang involved and impacted youth in order to reduce gang activity and 

violence.2

 

2 Community Crime Prevention Associates, BEST and MGPTF Evaluation Report 2009-2010 page 116
9

MGPTF Policy Team Organization

The B.E.S.T. Program and MGPTF have established themselves as major contributing forces to the City of San José’s 

recognition as one of the safest big cities in America. In January 2008, the MGPTF Policy and Technical Team 

restructured forming four sub-committees to reinforce partnerships and maximize the efficiency through the 

leveraging of resources and facilitation of timely communication. The four sub-committees to which MGPTF 

partners were assigned include: 

• Community Engagement

• Interagency Collaboration

• MGPTF Technical Team

• City-School Collaboration 

Staff from the Mayor’s Office, San José Police Department (SJPD), and Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood 

Services (PRNS) provide support to the sub-committees in executing their respective committee charges. In the 

vein of continual improvement in 2010 Mayor Reed directed each subcommittee to produce individual work plans 

designed to drive forth the ultimate goals of the Task Force—To reduce gang violence and promote personal 

transform in youth. 

The MGPTF Policy Team continues to be comprised of all the relevant partners (e.g., Mayor’s Office, San José Police 

Department, Schools, Probation, etc.) to facilitate both the implementation of its policy directives and the 

brokering of resources. The MGPTF Technical Team, meets monthly and takes action based on needs identified in 

the four divisions of the city. In 2010, the MGPTF Tech. Team successfully completed 151 specifically planned 

actions to increase the safety of neighborhoods and schools. 

This updated plan has seven strategic goals:

1. Well-coordinated “asset-based” service delivery system. 

2. Enhanced crisis response protocol, emphasizing prevention and after-care services. 

3. Capacity-building and fund development strategy. 

4. Education and awareness campaign that employs culturally competent strategies to inform and engage 

youth, families, and community in fostering opportunities to live, work, and prosper together. 

5. Formalized partnerships with related local, state, and national initiatives. 

6. Partner, Coordinate, and Support the County led re-entry Model.

7. Forge a public/private sector partnership 

Over the past 19 years, the City of San José and its partners have built their capacity to reconnect our out of the 

mainstream youth to opportunities to assist them to make positive healthy choices for their future as members of 

our community. To continue to insure community safety, a series of community safety programs have evolved 

under the direction of the City of San José and the MGPTF. These community safety and improvement initiatives 

include Weed and Seed, the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), Project 

Blossom, Project Crackdown, and the Safe School Campus Initiative. The City of San José Parks, Recreation, and 

Neighborhood Services Department also began operating citywide programs such as The Right Connection, Clean 

Slate, Anti-Graffiti, STAND, and Turn-It-Around. The MGPTF recommended and helped institute long-term 

structural changes that are now in place such as the school-based emergency response protocol through the Safe 

School Campus Initiative, which allows city staff and the San José Police Department to directly interface with 

other front-line service providers and community members. 
10

Results from Strategic Work Plan 2008–2010

Following is a summary of achievements relative to the five strategic goals from the Strategic Work Plan 

2008–2010:

Strategic Goal 1: Develop and implement an “asset-based” service delivery system aimed at 

connecting, coordinating, and leveraging intervention resources. 

San José B.E.S.T. contracted with twenty-four agencies to provide services including gang mediation and 

intervention, truancy intervention, parent and family support, service to adjudicated youth, and outpatient 

substance abuse treatment. Between 2008–2010, 10,585 participants were served with 740,047 hours of direct 

care and service through the B.E.S.T. program, among whom seventy five percent (75%) were high risk 

gang-impacted (supporter or member) participants. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of participants surveyed were 

satisfied with services received and seventy-eight (78%) reported that services received were effective in 

producing a change for the better on numerous knowledge, attitude and behaviors change outcomes.

Strategic Goal 2: Create and implement a Crisis Response Protocol aimed at keeping schools, 

community centers, and neighborhoods safe. 

The Crisis Response Protocol is an established procedure that activates police, other city departments, community 

based organizations, social service agencies, and schools to respond in a timely manner to acts of violence on 

school campuses and community centers. San José Police Department and Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood 

Services are the primary responders to an occurrence of gang or youth violence. The protocol facilitates the 

notification of community stakeholders, alerts the Safe School Campus Initiative to deploy intervention teams to 

surrounding neighborhoods, and engages the MGPTF partners to restore “peace” in the community through 

targeted services. In 2008–2010, the Crisis Response Protocol was activated in response to homicides, engaging 

service providers in an effort to prevent any further escalation of violence. 

Strategic Goal 3: Develop and implement a comprehensive capacity-building strategy aimed 

at equipping Task Force members with the skills and resources necessary to re-direct youth. 

Eighty percent (80%) of MGPTF members reported that their involvement allowed them to take action with other 

collaborators to address community needs and respond to challenges in the City. Four out of Five (80%) task force 

members reported that their involvement assisted them and/or their agency to form partnerships with related 

local, state, and national initiatives being implemented in the City. Eighty-two percent (82%) of members 

indicated that they have established new and/or strengthened existing relationships as a result of their 

participation in the MGPTF. The MGPTF Technical Team’s monthly average attendance was 139 participants in 

2010.

Strategic Goal 4: Create an education and awareness campaign regarding the risk factors 

affecting youth and resources available to them. 

Numerous gang awareness and parenting workshops were held to educate and increase awareness among 

community members regarding the dangers of gangs and violence in our community. Public meetings were 

videotaped and made available to the community through the San José Mayor’s web site. City wide Gang 

Summits were held for the community each of the last three years. Developed the award winning San José Youth 

Commission Public Service Announcement “Ignorance Isn’t Bliss”. Videos were made by California Youth Outreach 

in three languages for parents about gangs and schools and gangs and distributed to the community by the 

MGPTF and its members.
11

Strategic Goal 5: Integrate the city of San José’s MGPTF Intervention Strategy with local, 

state, and national initiatives. 

The MGPTF hosted numerous site visits for cities and attendees from the California 13 City Gang Prevention 

Network Conference and from National Youth Violence Prevention Forum. The MGPTF was represented on the 

State of California Cal-Grip Board - a state wide effort to reduce gangs and violence.

The MGPTF Strategic Work Plan (SWP) 2008–2011 and B.E.S.T.’s Performance Logic Model Evaluation identified a 

series of population results as outcome indicators to be tracked over time to determine how we, as a community, 

are progressing. These results were derived from the effort, effect, and performance of the whole community of 

San José in raising healthy children who will have the opportunity to succeed in life. 

Population Results

The following population results indicate that San José residents working together were successful in favorably 

impacting juvenile crime and school success outcomes. This conclusion is based on the fact that: 

The rate of violent crime per 100,000 population has decreased by 38% since 2000.3

• There has been a 27% decrease in juvenile violent crime rate since 2000.

• The number of gang related incidents are down 34% from 2009 to 2010.4

• The number of violent gang crimes are down 20% from 2009 to 2010.

• There has been a 37% increase in the number of high school graduates that meet the University of 

California/California State University admissions requirements since 2001. 

• The Academic Performance Index for San José school districts has increased by 12% since 1999. 

• The high school graduation rate has improved as measured by the Cumulative Promotion Index by 19% 

since 1999.5

 

3 State of California, Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Justice Statistics Center 4 San José Police Department - Crime Analysis Unit 5 California Department of Education- http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest
12

Challenges and Emerging Trends

“Should it not be a right, a civil right, not a program, to walk the streets, walk to school without fear of being shot and 

killed?”

-John Calhoun

Author of Hope Matters

Desirable Violent Crime Trends

Despite the successes of the MGPTF over the past 19 years, challenges continue to persist in 2011–2013 and that 

require continually working with our youth, parents and community members to break the cycle of violence to 

make San Jose the safest big city in America. 

Incidents of Violence Among Gang-Involved Youth 

Data from the San José Police Department Crime Analysis Unit for gang related incidents over the last five years 

shows an decrease trend since a high in 2007 resulting in a reduction of 34% in gang related incidents in the City 

of San José from 2009 to 2010. Table 1 indicates the Gang Related Incidents for the last five years for calendar 

years 2006–2010. The percentage row is calculated by dividing the total gang related incidents by the number of 

specific gang related crimes to calculate a percentage of total gang related incidents. The data shows that the 

percentage of violent gang crimes to incidents has increased 11% in 2010 from 2009. Similarly weapons offences 

are up 7% from 2009.

Table 1 indicates that the total gang related incidents and violent gang crime are trending in a desirable direction.

Chart 1 shows this desirable trend over the five three years with a decrease from a high in calendar year 2007.

San José Violent Crime Rate per 100,000 Population is the Lowest 

in Ten Years

Total violent crime rate as reported by the State of California Attorney General’s Office—Criminal Justice Statistics 

Center indicates a desirable trend since a high violent crime rate per 100,000 population in 2001.

A Recent FBI Report Ranked San José as Having the Least Violent 

Crime of the Ten Major California Cities

San José was ranked number One by a Federal Bureau of Investigation report published in September of 2009 for 

having the least violent crime of California’s largest cities.

Youth Disconnecting from Schools before High School 

Graduation

There are numerous socio-economic and developmental consequences for youth becoming disconnected from 

schools prior to high school graduation, not the least of which are reduced contact with caring adults, reduced 

access to community resources located on school sites, limited future career options, and an increased risk of 

engaging in anti-social behaviors. The Schools/City Collaborative was established to strengthen and formalize the 
13

relationship between the City of San José and all San José schools to establish a policy that addresses areas of 

common interest. The mission of the collaborative is to develop sustaining partnerships that include all members 

of our community, and that engage all youth and their families in becoming responsible members of society. The 

Schools/City Collaborative serves as a vehicle to coordinate the use of facilities and neighborhood services, 

promote school safety, and the recruitment and retention of quality teachers to prepare our youth to meet future 

workforce needs and sustain the local economy. The City of San José works in collaboration with local school 

districts, the Santa Clara County Office of Education, and other community stakeholders to monitor trends related 

to the education of youth. Recently, increased emphasis has been placed on enhancing efforts to abate truancy 

and to develop a system for tracking youth who are not in school. From 2008–2009, 4,050 youth dropped out of 

high school in the City of San José. High school graduation rates have stayed steady with a 78% graduation rate 

over the last three years. Four year dropout rates have averaged 19% for the past three years which, requires 

serious consideration and attention, particularly because of the disproportionate representation of Black, Latino, 

and Native American youth. The high school graduation rates for Black, Latino, and Native American males are 

even lower.6

Limited Alternatives to Incarceration

The Santa Clara County Juvenile Justice Systems Collaborative (JJSC) effort was implemented to address the

disproportionate representation of certain youth, particularly minorities, on probation and in confinement. The 

goal of JJSC was to incarcerate youth who constitute a real and imminent danger to our communities, not the 

youth who have angered an adult or broken a non-violent law. Non-violent youth offenders who are not detained 

or incarcerated are best served remaining connected to school and participating in intervention programs as an 

alternative to incarceration. The long-term success of JJSC may be compromised unless more alternatives to 

incarceration are implemented for youth to hold them accountable for breaking laws that may not represent a 

direct threat to our communities, but are examples of anti-social behavior nonetheless. The Juvenile Justice 

Systems Collaborative (JJSC) has created a coordination structure through which future alternatives to 

incarceration and gaps in service might be explored more fully. 

Community Responsibility Council (CRC) program and the development of a M.A.R.C. Transition Center aimed at 

redirecting first-time offenders. These and other related efforts would serve to fill a gap in services for low-level 

youth offenders, provide a more timely response to youth cited and released, partner with community members 

in community justice, and prevent further saturation of youth offenders in the juvenile justice system. This 

updated Strategic Work Plan will also address the need for expanded after care services for youth and adults 

coming back into our community after incarceration. This effort will be lead by the County of Santa Clara.

Fiscal Challenges 

The leveraging of community resources and coordination among stakeholders have significantly contributed to 

the sustainability and effectiveness of the MGPTF as the City’s fiscal challenges have mounted in recent years. The 

City of San José’s commitment to keeping its communities safe remains steadfast as evidenced by a recent 

infusion of $1 million in new funding to the MGPTF over the last two years. Nonetheless, with the city facing a 

projected gap of $110 million for the fiscal year starting July 1 2011.7

Connecting Available Resources to Community Needs 

Families, schools, and others intervening in the lives of youth who have been influenced by gangs, in most cases, 

require additional resources. The recognition of the available resources and how to access them in a timely 

manner is an on-going challenge that requires a sustained, consistent effort throughout the community to 

disseminate this information widely. San José has funded the B.E.S.T. program for 19 years with $39.9 million in 

City funds that were matched with $34.0 million of partners funds for a total of $73.9 million dollars of funding to 

 

6 California Department of Education- http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest 7 San José Mayor Reed 2011 State of the City Address
14

work with gang impacted and involved youth and families. Policy-makers and other community leaders are 

engaged in the difficult task of setting budget and policy priorities. This exercise is inherently difficult, but more so 

when resources are limited, as is the current circumstance for our City, County, and State. Decision-makers will 

need to be mindful of the compelling evidence that highlights the importance of building family and community 

capacity to work with anti-social and other troubled youth.

This diagram illustrates the four core resources upon which society relies to resolve issues that youth face. 

(1) The center of the concentric circles is the youth him/herself. The most preferable way for resolution is for 

the youth to have the ability to identify the issues by him/herself, access resources as needed, and address the 

problem. 

(2) The second most preferable way for resolution is for the family, the next most immediate extension to the 

youth, to support the youth and address the problem. 

(3) The third closest extension to the youth is community: neighbors, teachers, coaches, or community-based 

service providers, to name a few. Community is the third most preferable method of resolving issues and, if 

effective, can prevent the need for law enforcement, court, or social worker intervention. 

(4) The least preferable way to address youth problems is through “Systems.” Systems (e.g. dependency, 

delinquency, or health and hospital systems) are defined as large institutions, generally government-run, such 

as the courts, Juvenile Hall, emergency room, etc. While these Systems provide a safety net and critical 

services these more costly services should be reserved for those youth and families who have exhausted the 

first three methods.

While severe budget cuts must be endured by both communities and Systems, decision-makers should keep in 

mind that the perpetual disruption or dissolution of resources to communities may foster society’s reliance on 

Systems, the more costly and least ideal place to resolve problems. 
15

Next Steps: Building on Our Success

“The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force is a model program that brings together resources from throughout the 

community in an effort to reduce gang violence and provide our youth with safe alternatives to the gang lifestyle.”

-Chief Chris Moore

Continuous Improvement

Implicit within the practice of continuous improvement is a commitment to further developing strengths that 

have emerged from the MGPTF model as it has been implemented over the past 19 years. The City of San José has 

continued to employ its national model of an intervention-based service strategy. This strategy enhances the 

capacity of service providers and establishes a common language to be employed across agencies in delivering 

services to youth and their families. The MGPTF will link this intervention-based strategy with other initiatives in 

Santa Clara County, the State of California, and the United States which support improving the lives of 

disconnected youth. Leveraging and connecting internal resources, utilizing the latest research, and integrating 

with other youth initiatives enables the MGPTF collaborative to benefit from fresh perspectives and best practices 

operating both inside and outside the City of San José. This overall strategy challenges stakeholders on an 

ongoing basis to critically assess and evaluate their provision of services and care to ensure they are: 

• Culturally and ethnically relevant, as well as age appropriate.

• Actively engaging families in the lives of their youth.

• Responding to the evolving needs of the community. 

• Developing and nurturing youths’ strengths and assets.

• Reconnecting youth who are disconnected from families, schools, and their communities. 

• Optimizing precious limited resources. 

• Achieving desired outcomes grounded in the public’s best interest. 

Facilitating a Community Response to a Community Issue 

Ongoing monitoring and intervention activities of gang-related violent crimes is addressed through a 

collaborative response that included coordination between the City of San José, MGPTF partners, and local 

neighborhoods. Monitoring emerging trends enabled the MGPTF to mobilize short-term, high impact 

remediation efforts while factoring in for long-term strategies and tactics to disrupt the cycle of violence. As the 

capacity of intervention service providers has been developed, many valuable lessons have been learned 

regarding best practices in working with disconnected youth. The MGPTF is structured such that trainings and 

technical assistance is offered to members of the Technical Team. The need for parent training and community 

workshops was a recurring topic that emerged during the community input process. Thus, an education and 

awareness campaign continues toward the goal of increasing the capacity of parents, families, and 

neighborhoods as partners in intervening in the lives of disconnected youth. 

Promoting Personal Transformation and Personal Accountability

The MGPTF Continuum of Care is designed to afford youth the opportunity, at different stages in their development, to recognize anti-social behaviors and alternatives that they can exercise to develop their talents, skills, and 

abilities through pro-social activities. Youth who are willing to invest the time and effort in transforming 

themselves and their circumstances will have access to and the support of a number of experienced service 

providers who are vested in the short- and long-term success of their youth clients. A vigorous effort will be made 

to afford every youth client served through the Continuum of Care the opportunity to utilize the resources 
16

available to realize their potential and develop into contributing members of the community. Accordingly, the 

age range of eligible clients or customers is from age 6 to age 24 years old. 

Youth who choose to employ violence and intimidation to exert influence on neighborhoods will be subject to an 

equally vigorous effort to disrupt and suppress their activities. The prosecution of violent offenders, whether 

youth or adult, will be pursued to the full extent of the law to hold individuals personally accountable for inflicting 

physical or any other harm upon members of the San José community. 

Strengthening the Continuum of Care Model 

The MGPTF has honed its strategies and increased its effect on the lives of disconnected youth through a 

collaborative approach with a network of community partners. Resources have been allocated primarily to an 

intervention-based service delivery strategy while linkages have been leveraged to fully implement the other 

strategies (i.e., Early Care, Prevention, After Care, Suppression) of the MGPTF Continuum of Care. 

Moving forward, emphasis will be placed on youth referrals to service providers across the continuum of care to 

assess the outcomes that result. To this end, The Community Crisis Response Protocol and Juvenile Justice 

Systems Collaborative (JJSC, formerly Juvenile Detention Reform) efforts are essential elements of the intervention 

services based approach that has shown favorable results for the MGPTF. The Crisis Response Protocol is a 

procedure that activates the police department, other city departments, community-based organizations, social 

service agencies, and schools to respond to acts of violence in the community. When crisis has surfaced, the 

protocol has been effective in getting notice to community stakeholders, alerting the Safe School Campus Initiative to deploy intervention teams to surrounding neighborhoods, and engaging the MGPTF partners to restore 

“peace” in the community through after care services. 

The primary goals of Juvenile Justice Systems Collaborative is to create alternatives to detention/ incarceration, 

reduce the disproportionate representation of ethnic minorities, reduce unnecessary delays in case processing, 

and engage impacted parents and youth, intervening before youth penetrate the system, and providing 

alternatives so that youth can continue to attend school and receive appropriate treatments and support. The 

Juvenile Justice Systems Collaborative reflects a renewed effort that is being undertaken to explore, develop, and 

coordinate alternatives to incarceration for youth offenders. Enhancing the capacity of community-based service 

providers and other members of the MGPTF to serve youth and their families, coupled with viable, appropriate 

alternatives to detention/incarceration will likely yield favorable results in relation to school success and juvenile 

justice over time. 

The increase in homicide and juvenile crimes in 2007 placed a renewed emphasis on developing the capacity of 

staff in all partner agencies through targeted training that will increase their ability to be successful in working 

with gang-impacted youth. 

Addressing the Socio-Economic Factors that Influence 

Anti-Social Behavior 

Addressing the participation of youth in gangs and other anti-social behaviors requires innovation in responding 

to the socio-economic factors that influence the behaviors of youth. The adverse effects of a youth becoming 

disconnected from schools, having limited access to health and dental care, and limited access to nutritious food, 

among other factors, are multi-dimensional and difficult to quantify in the long-term. While it would be difficult 

for any single agency to respond to any combination of the aforementioned challenges, the network of B.E.S.T 

funded and non-B.E.S.T funded agencies that actively participate on the Technical Team have certainly developed 

the ability to respond to a growing range of needs as demonstrated by youth and families. By forging 

relationships with new partners such as local community colleges and businesses, existing workforce and training 

needs can be leveraged toward the long-term goal of stimulating economic development in the City of San José 

by training and employing parents and youth in need of career-oriented jobs. Developing and enhancing 

opportunities for further educational pursuits and workforce training can be leveraged to hold youth and their 
17

parents accountable for their success in school and diversion from anti-social behavior. In addition, cultivating San 

José’s greatest resource, its youth and residents, in the long-term could result in a better trained, more 

employable citizenry which could appeal to current and future business partners seeking to locate themselves 

within the city limits. 

According to Project Cornerstone’s Asset Charts8

, there is a direct correlation between increasing the number of 

assets that youth possess and decreasing the incidence of high-risk behaviors, such as drug and alcohol abuse and 

acts of violence. Stakeholders are united behind the notion that it is not enough to just prevent youth from 

joining gangs and getting involved in violence and/or gang-involved activities. Families and communities must 

also make other opportunities available to youth, and provide them with the care, support, and encouragement 

necessary to enable youth to pursue those alternatives. Research published by Child Trends alludes to the 

significance of youth having caring and supportive families, suggesting that good relations between parents and 

adolescents lessen the likelihood that teens will exhibit problem behaviors.9

Research also indicates that youth without supportive parents can receive care, love, and support from other 

adults found in extended families, community, and in schools. This research on “resiliency” also identifies the 

importance of high expectations by youth, and adults working with them, to become good at something. Another 

factor in resiliency research is that youth need to have meaningful participation in home, school, and/or the 

community. When youth have these three factors in their lives (Caring Adults, High Expectations, and Meaningful 

Participation), they have a very good chance of achieving success as they transition into adulthood. The strength 

of the resiliency research and theory is that a youth that does not have a caring adult at home can be connected 

to one in the schools or the community or their extended family. This same approach can be used high 

expectations, and meaningful participation, resiliency is not a deficit model but an asset model of youth resiliency 

development. 

Evaluation

An independent evaluator will conduct an annual evaluation of the programs funded by San José B.E.S.T., the 

funding arm of the MGPTF, using a Performance Logic model. The results of the annual evaluation will be 

presented to the Mayor and City Council. For more information on this evaluation model, please see 

Attachment A.

 

8 http://www.projectcornerstone.org/content/charts.pdf

9 Child Trends, Promoting Well-Being Among America’s Teens (October 2002)
18

Strategic Goal 1

Strengthen and expand the “asset-based” service delivery system to connect, coordinate, and leverage community 

resources in executing the MGPTF Continuum of Care Strategies. 

Strategic Goal 1—Service Delivery

The “seamless” service delivery system of the MGPTF connects all local intervention-based initiatives, thus establishing a “Safety Net” to surround youth with positive influences to create stronger relationships to their families, 

friends, church, community, school or other pro-social groups. The multi-dimensional challenge of reconnecting 

youth is a community issue that requires a community response grounded in communication, collaboration, and a 

sustained commitment to leveraging available resources to intervene in the lives of youth. To expand the model 

service delivery system, a new focus will be placed on the coordination of youth referrals among the members of 

the MGPTF and the corresponding outcomes that result within the strategic areas of Early Care, Prevention, Intervention, After Care, and Suppression. Leveraging community resources will create safe spaces for youth to 

develop their talents, skills, and abilities through pro-social activities and engagement. 

Objectives:

1. Continue to the improve the Bringing Everyone’s’ Strength Together—B.E.S.T. collaboration of early 

intervention and intervention qualified service providers by practicing continuous quality improvement and 

yearly focusing of needed services to neighborhoods of the city where needs are the greatest. 

2. Continue to develop and implement strategies with City of San José (i.e., Smart Start) and Santa Clara County 

(i.e., First 5) early childhood education initiatives to promote the healthy and safe development of youth. 

3. Continue to develop and coordinate prevention and intervention activities in conjunction with school 

districts, charter schools, and alternative education providers that leverage available resources. 

a. Encourage the optimization of early care and prevention programs and ensure that disconnected children 

and youth are given the opportunity to participate in our city’s schools, after school, libraries, youth centers, and early childhood programs. 

b. Pilot a student development strategy at the elementary and middle school level that incorporates prevention and intervention activities. 

c. Expand efforts, in collaboration with schools and alternative education service providers, to monitor and 

address truancy. 

4. Continue and monitor strategies to reduce and remove graffiti throughout the City. 

5. Explore and exercise elements of Cease Fire Model with the City Attorney, Santa Clara County District 

Attorney and Courts to suppress the activities of known entities that promote violence and intimidation in the 

City of San José. 

6. Continue a “user-friendly” information and referral system in collaboration with community and faith-based 

partners aimed at connecting youth and their families to the appropriate resources in a timely and resultsoriented manner. 

7. Develop a Communication Strategy aimed at ensuring smooth and effective communication and 

coordination between MGPTF Technical Team Members. 
19

a. Administer, monitor, and enforce Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). 

b. Facilitate “action-oriented and results-based” MGPTF Technical Team meetings

c. Monitor school and community climates, review crime analysis data, and respond to emerging trends. 

d. Utilize technology to streamline communication. 

e. Monitor and report out on youth referrals at the MGPTF Technical Team meetings. 

f. Track, monitor, evaluate, and report on the accomplishments and effectiveness of programs offered 

through the MGPTF Technical Team (e.g., SJ B.E.S.T., Safe School Campus Initiative, and intervention 

programs supported by the City’s General Fund). 

g. Review and revise the MGPTF Sub-committee structure to explore innovations in the areas of school 

success, addressing the socio-economic factors that lead to anti-social behavior, and an integrated 

approach to executing the continuum of care. 

8. Understand and integrate Project Cornerstone’s 41 Developmental Assets, Cognitive Behavior Theory, 

Resiliency Theory, and other Personal Development and Transformation strategies into the MGPTF Continuum 

of Care (Prevention, Intervention, Suppression, and Aftercare). 

9. Expand and implement a strategy for community engagement in the providing prevention and intervention 

and community policing strategies that will engage community members, parents, and youth in building safe 

and livable neighborhoods.

Indicators 

Effort—What will we do? (Outputs) 

1. MGPTF will monitor the volume and resulting outcomes for youth referrals in the strategic areas of Prevention, 

Intervention, After Care, and Suppression. 

2. MGPTF will produce an 80% attendance rate for both City-funded and community-based service providers at 

Tech Team meetings each year. 

3. MGPTF will produce an 80% attendance rate for Policy Team members each year. 

4. MGPTF Policy and Technical Team will take action to find solutions to problems presented. These solutions 

and actions will be tracked to determine the impact realized over time. 

5. City-funded Service Providers and some of the County of Santa Clara funded providers will track the number 

of customers, type of customer, type of service provided, amount of service provided and cost per hour for 

services delivered. 

6. 100% of community-based City-funded service providers (B.E.S.T.) and City Youth Intervention staff will be 

continually trained in asset-based evaluation design. 

7. 80% of B.E.S.T. service providers will connect youth customers to at least 2 additional caring and supportive 

adults. 

8. MGPTF will track the amount of funds used in providing prevention, intervention, and suppression services. 

9. MGPTF will continue to review the percent of B.E.S.T. funds allocated by type of service and time of day the 

service is provided. 
20

10. MGPTF will continue to review the breakdown of B.E.S.T. youth participants by level of gang involvement.

11. MGPTF will continue to monitor and address the high school dropout and truancy rates. 

12. MGPTF will monitor the growth of the community engagement strategy to insure an expanded role for youth, 

parents, and community members in addressing the implementation of action, collaboration and 

transformation.

13. Work with Santa Clara County Mental Health providers to insure access to mental health services.

Effect—Are we better off because of our efforts? (Outcomes)

1. B.E.S.T.-funded service providers will produce a 70% customer satisfaction rate for youth and their parents. 

2. 70% of youth participants in B.E.S.T.-funded services will report an improved ability to connect with caring 

adults. 

3. 80% of MGPTF Tech Team and Policy Team members will report that City-funded services were effective in 

supporting youth developmental assets. 

4. Staff members of B.E.S.T.-funded services will report that the level of participation in their communities 

increased for 60% of youth. 

5. Youth, their parents/guardians, and staff providing service will indicate, via survey reports, that 60% of youth 

will meet the target changes in youth development assets because of the services they received from MGPTF 

services. 

6. 80% of MGPTF Policy and Technical Team members will report that the MGPTF was effective or somewhat 

effective. 

7. 80% of MGPTF Policy and Technical Team members will report their knowledge of other service providers 

increased. 

8. 70% of MGPTF Policy and Technical Team members will report improved communication with other service 

providers. 

9. 80% of the youth and parent advisory groups will indicate that their advisory group was effective or 

somewhat effective. 

10. Assist schools within the City of San José to reduce their dropout rate. 

11. 100% of gang-related graffiti will be removed within 24 hours of being reported. 

12. Report yearly to the MGPTF on B.E.S.T. eligible services to make sure that domestic violence, substance abuse, 

recreational, transition back to school, and parental services for disconnected youth are included.
21

Strategic Goal 2

Design and execute an education and awareness campaign that employs culturally competent strategies to 

inform and engage youth, families, and community partners to live, work, and prosper together.

Strategic Goal 2—Education and Public

Awareness

The MGPTF Technical Team serves as a hub of information for the public about the resources that are available 

and how to access community resources to reduce violence and youth participation in anti-social behavior. In an 

effort to ensure widespread dissemination and appeal, associated marketing efforts will employ strategies that are 

culturally relevant and reflect a commitment to leveraging the city’s diversity to enrich the life and community 

experience. In addition, the Technical Team will work with other youth initiatives and create a uniform 

“antiviolence” message. 

Objectives: 

1. Continue to deploy a culturally competent multi-media marketing strategy to inform the public of the 

intervention resources available. 

a. Deploy information regarding crime reporting options, restoring property damage (i.e., graffiti), and 

fostering healthy neighborhoods throughout the City of San José. 

b. Increase outreach to youth and the deployment of the Independent Police Auditor’s (IPA) Student Guide 

to Police Practices. 

c. Coordinate with the Youth Commission to expand the MGPTF website to provide the public with online 

access to youth-related information and resources. 

d. Expand the “youth focused” resource and information system through the MGPTF website. 

e. Identify and facilitate the coordination of informing the community of volunteer opportunities to serve 

youth and families in the City of San José. 

2. Coordinate with the Youth Commission and local youth service providers to develop an anti-violence Public 

Service Announcement (PSA) campaign. 

3. Identify and integrate strategies to meet the developmental needs of female and male youth. 

Indicators

Effort—What will we do? (Outputs) 

1. Continue the multi-media strategy and website to insure cultural relevancy and wide ranging appeal. 

2. Expand B.E.S.T. eligible services to make sure that all cultural and ethnic groups are included in intervention 

services. 

3. Expand the dissemination of the IPA’s Student Guide to Police Practices. 
22

4. Monitor the public awareness campaign to track impact. 

5. Monitor MGPTF B.E.S.T- funded services to make sure the services contracted serve all cultural groups affected 

by gangs, youth violence, and drugs. 

Effect—Are we better off because of our efforts? (Outcomes)

1. Increased public awareness regarding the City’s programs and services. 

2. Increased participation in and utilization of the City’s programs and services.
23

Strategic Goal 3

Implement a comprehensive capacity-building strategy to equip Task Force members, youth, families, and 

neighborhoods with the skills and resources necessary to reduce violence and anti-social behavior in the City of 

San José.

Strategic Goal 3—Capacity Building

The MGPTF Technical Team builds and expands the capacity of its members to effectively redirect youth away 

from gangs and connect them to positive alternatives. In recognition of the significant influence of the home 

environment on the pro-social development of youth, the capacity of parents, families, and neighborhoods will be 

enhanced to compliment the MGPTF members in addressing violence and anti-social behavior in our 

communities. 

Objectives: 

1. Implement and enhance the “Gang Intervention Training Institute” aimed at building capacity and equipping 

MGPTF Technical Team members with the skills required to redirect youth from gangs. Invite other service 

providers from schools, after school programs, youth centers, libraries, and the community-at-large to build 

their capacity to work with gang involved youth. 

a. Identify “best practices” among MGPTF Technical Team Members and afford them the opportunity to 

“cross train” with their peers at monthly Technical Team Meetings. 

b. Build the capacity of community and faith-based service providers to address the cultural and genderspecific needs of youth and families. 

c. Build the capacity of the community and service providers to understand and address the connection 

between substance abuse and the gang lifestyle. 

d. Develop and deploy training opportunities for teachers and school administrators to increase their 

capacity to intervene in the lives of gang involved and disconnected youth. 

2. Continue to support “Parent Awareness Training Institute” in conjunction with the Santa Clara County District 

Attorney’s office (i.e., Parenting Project) and community partners. 

3. Continue the yearly community gang prevention summit through the Policy Team Community Engagement 

sub-committee. 

4. Expand a youth component toward the goal of enhancing youth resiliency and teaching practical skills 

regarding how to cope with peer pressure, gangs, violence, and drugs/alcohol. 

a. Identify and incorporate strategies and tactics to meet the distinct developmental needs of female youth. 

b. Engage youth as “Community Ambassadors” who will facilitate at least one peer workshop as a follow-up 

community service-learning project at a school site, community center, church, or other venue in the City 

of San José. 

c. Formalize the participation of youth in developing community solutions and responses to violence and 

anti-social behavior. 
24

d. Engage youth in a discussion of recent trends and appropriate community responses. 

5. Deploy parent-training workshops in strategic locations including community centers, schools, churches, 

community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and other accessible facilities. Incorporate 

opportunities for youth participants who have successfully completed programs to share their experiences 

and lessons learned through a leadership component. 

a. Gang Awareness 

b. Accessing Youth Intervention Resources (i.e., Drug/alcohol, mental health, etc.)

c. Accessing community resources regarding workforce training and economic development 

d. Domestic Violence Prevention/Intervention 

e. Parents as “Youth Advocates” 

f. Cultural Sensitivity/Awareness 

6. Deploy early prevention and intervention workshops for youth in collaboration with schools, communitybased organizations, the City of San José Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services, the Police Department, 

and other community resources. 

Indicators 

Effort—What will we do? (Outputs) 

1. 90% of MGPTF members will take part in the Gang Intervention Training Institute. 

2. Assist schools, parents, neighborhoods, and other institutions to build capacity to reduce violence, bullying, 

and other anti-social behaviors. 

3. Build capacity of our youth to cope with peer pressure, gangs, violence, drugs, alcohol, and other anti-social 

influences. 

4. Multiple parent workshops provided each year in different languages. 

5. Build capacity of our youth service providers to reduce the adverse impact of drugs and alcohol. 

Effect—Are we better off because of our efforts? (Outcomes) 

1. 90% of B.E.S.T.-funded service providers will build their capacity to work with gang-involved youth by 

participating in B.E.S.T-funded services, professional development services, and cross-training opportunities. 

2. Gang Intervention Training will be provided to other youth service providers who work with youth in schools, 

libraries, youth centers, etc. 

3. Participants in parent trainings will indicate a 70% customer satisfaction rate with the trainings. 

4. 70% of parents will indicate that they improved their skills and knowledge about youth and gangs, accessing 

youth intervention resources and how to advocate for their child due to their participation in the workshop.
25

Strategic Goal 4 

Enhance the citywide Crisis Prevention and Community Response Protocol to keep schools, community centers, and 

neighborhoods safe and accessible to youth

Strategic Goal 4—Crises Response

The MGPTF Technical Team standardizes and implements a well-coordinated crisis prevention and response 

protocol aimed at keeping youth safe at schools, community centers, parks, and their neighborhoods. Of primary 

importance is the establishment of a multi-system protocol that defines clear lines of authority and direct lines of 

communication among the MGPTF Technical Team, schools, parents, law enforcement, the Strong 

Neighborhoods Initiative, the Neighborhood Development Center, emergency preparedness agencies, 

community-based organizations, community center staff, and community leaders. Through collaboration across 

these various stakeholder groups, the MGPTF will promote safety and the creation of spaces for youth and families 

to engage in pro-social activities. 

Objectives: 

1. Build a “Bank of Trust” between MGPTF members, youth, families, and neighborhoods to increase collaboration and active community policing.

a. Continue to support and coordinate the Summer Safety Initiative that engages all youth at different 

stages of the continuum of care with an emphasis on gang-impacted and gang-involved youth. 

b. Support National Night Out “Block Parties” in collaboration with city departments and community 

partners. 

c. Deploy recreation activities (i.e., sports tournaments, youth field trips/outings, etc.) to foster youth 

development during the summer and evenings. 

2. Explore opportunities to leverage community resources to extend the availability and accessibility of 

community centers, schools, churches, and other facilities during evenings, weekends, and summers.

a. Engage faith-based organizations to explore capacity and feasibility. 

b. Engage community-based organizations to explore capacity and feasibility. 

c. Engage school districts to explore capacity and feasibility. 

d. Engage neighborhoods to explore capacity and feasibility. 

3. Continue to work with the Strong Neighborhood Initiative and Neighborhood Development Center to engage 

neighborhoods in the City San José to generate a local response to local needs pertaining to issues of violence 

and anti-social behavior. 

4. Continue to expand the existing Safe School Campus Initiative Crisis Response Strategy to include community 

centers. 
26

Indicators

Effort—What will we do? (Outputs) 

1. MGPTF will implement a Community Response Protocol for 90% of our high schools and 90% of our youth and 

community centers. 

2. Gang-related incidents of violence will be reported at the Technical Team meetings, and the Technical Team 

will implement action steps to resolve the incidents. Technical Team members will interview and visit all 

victims of violence in hospitals, homes, or schools to meet their needs, reduce retaliatory incidents, and 

prevent future incidences of violence. The MGPTF will track these incidents and their outcomes. 

3. Organize a Safety Summit by Police Division with all the relevant stakeholders and partners. 

4. Continue to build our capacity to work with all the diverse cultural groups that are strength of the City. 

5. Create safe spaces for youth to engage in pro-social developmental activities. 

6. Continue to develop a community response protocol and corresponding trainings. 

Effect—Are we better off because of our efforts? (Outcomes) 

1. Participants in the Community Crisis Response and Safety Trainings will indicate a 70% customer satisfaction 

rate with the trainings. 

2. 70% of Community Crisis Response service providers will report that their participation in the MGPTF has 

enabled them to take action with other members to meet needs and solve problems in our City. 

3. Community Crisis Response Protocol will produce a 70% customer satisfaction rate among schools, 

community centers, and neighborhoods. 

4. 70% of service providers will report that they have developed effective partnerships focused on solutions that 

protect public safety. 

5. 70% of service providers will report that open and direct lines of communication between schools, law 

enforcement, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, community center staff, and 

community leaders were established.
27

Strategic Goal 5

Leverage and coordinate the City of San Jose’s MGPTF Continuum of Care Model with local, state, and national 

initiatives. 

Strategic Goal 5—Local, State, & National 

Collaboration

The MGPTF Technical Team creates a seamless intervention-based service delivery system, one that establishes a 

single point of contact so that families and providers can easily access services, resources and information. In light 

of the history of the MGPTF and lessons learned over the years, the City of San José will disseminate information 

regarding best practices and replicable strategies and tactics that have made the Continuum of Care model 

successful. The MGPTF Technical Team will align and coordinate the Strategic Work Plan with other similar plans 

and initiatives in order to gain local, state and national support, ensuring that San José youth remain safe and can 

achieve their fullest potential. Special emphasis will be placed on leveraging the collaborative nature of this effort 

and facilitating the creation of a fund development strategy aimed at increasing the financial resources required 

to support program enhancements and expansion. 

Objectives: 

1. Participate in the California 13 Cities Gang Prevention Network in conjunction with the National Council on 

Crime and Delinquency and the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education, and Families. 

2. Participate in the California Gang Reduction, Intervention, and Prevention Program (Cal GRIP). 

3. Participate in National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention

4. Coordinate a regional strategy with the Santa Clara County Department of Probation for the re-entry of 

formerly incarcerated youth to San José. 

5. Create and implement a Fund Development Strategy that will generate $2,000,000 in non-city funding to 

support the City’s intervention strategy form local, state, & national collaboration 

6. Identify local, state, and national initiatives that support intervention-based programs and formalize linkages 

with them. 

7. Coordinate and leverage all City-funded, intervention-focused programs through the MGPTF Technical Team 

network and this local, state, and national collaboration.

Indicators Effort—What will we do? (Outputs) 

1. Track the involvement of MGPTF members in each of the local, state, and national initiatives. 

2. Continue to assist Santa Clara County’s Juvenile Justice Systems Collaborative to fund and develop 

alternatives to incarceration. 

3. MGPTF will actively work together to raise funds from public and private sources to meet its goals. 

4. The MGPTF will track the responses to requests for proposals. 
28

5. Continue to work to insure the successful transition of youth out of foster care and out of incarceration. 

6. Continue to coordinate efforts with other local agencies in the County of Santa Clara. 

7. Continue to participate in the California 13 Cities Gang Prevention Network. 

8. Continue to assist other cities and communities in addressing gang problems through the development of 

their own continuum of services and gang prevention networks. 

Effect—Are we better off because of our efforts? (Outcomes)

1. MGPTF members will report on the effect of the Juvenile Justice Services Collaborative at MGPTF meetings 

twice a year. 

2. By 2013, $2,000,000 of new funding from grants will be secured to support the continuing activities of the 

MGPTF. 

3. 70% of service providers will report that their involvement in the MGPTF has assisted them to form partnerships with related local, state and national initiatives being implemented in the City. 

4. Document the cooperation of the MGPTF strategy with other local, state, and national initiatives.
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Strategic Goal 6

Partner, Coordinate, and Support the County of Santa Clara Led Re-entry Model

Strategic Goal 6—Partner, Coordinate, and 

Support the County of Santa Clara Led Re-entry 

Model

The Santa Clara County is leading the effort to build a network of resources, both public and private, to support 

the development and implementation of programming to facilitate the successful transition and re-entry of 

juvenile and adult offenders into the community from a custodial setting or out-of-home placement. The MGPTF 

represents an existing network with established capacity to partner, coordinate, and support the probation 

department’s initiative to create a more formal and structured transition and re-entry model.

Re-entry involves the use of programs targeted at promoting the effective reintegration of offenders back into 

communities upon their release. 

Objectives: 

1. Identify and convene relevant stakeholders to formalize the partnership and communication structures of the 

Re-entry Network that includes faith-based partners, other providers and a system of case management 

documented continuum of services and care.

2. Explore and identify National Evidence-Based Practices related to locally identified needs to deploy pilot 

services for transition and re-entry program participants.

3. Identify and develop strategies that leverage the family structure and other caring, supportive adults in the 

reintegration of juvenile (aftercare) and adult (re-entry) offenders into the community.

4. Expand and enhance the coordination and collaboration with the MGPTF through Policy and Technical Team 

representation and intentional service delivery of existing B.E.S.T. resources.

Effort—What will we do? (Outputs)

1. Track the number of juvenile and adult offenders served by the aftercare re-entry model.

2. Track the resources utilized and social capital used to implement the re-entry model.

3. Explain the various models of re-entry that operate.

Effect—Are we better off because of our efforts (Outcomes)

1. Track recidivism rates of participants in the re-entry programs.

2. Survey participants for customer satisfaction and indicators of benefits from the re-entry participation.

3. Track the number of participants gainfully employed.
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4. Track the number of participants currently enrolled in educational programs.
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Strategic Goal 7

Forge a public/private sector partnership aimed at community transformation through sustainable and effective 

mentorship, job creation, workforce development and resources development

Strategic Goal 7—Forge a Public/Private Sector 

Partnership

Forge a public/private sector partnership aimed at community transformation through sustainable and effective 

mentorship, job creation, workforce development and resource development. Effective public/private 

partnerships recognize that the public and the private sectors each have certain advantages, relative to the other, 

in performing specific tasks. By working together in partnership, the public and private sectors can link together 

to find ways to implement the goals and objectives of this strategic work plan.

Objectives:

1. Explore and identify areas for collaboration, resource needs, infrastructure, and intended outcomes for 

public/private sector partnership activities.

a. Research and identify best practices in public/private sector partnerships.

b. Convene a focus group of public and private sector members to define elements of the partnership. 

c. Research and develop asset mapping to determine the location, volume, and limitations of available 

resources relative to community needs. 

d. Create a portfolio of gaps in current services. 

e. Develop performance measures and indicators to evaluate efforts, effects, and results of the public/private 

sector partnership.

2. Develop a communication strategy to facilitate the timely and sustained transfer of information between the 

MGPTF and the business community.

a. Determine the role of the private sector at the Policy Team.

b. Develop a mechanism for the private sector to link with existing MGPTF strategies and goals. The link will 

expand the use of private sector employees as mentors, field trips and internships for youth to explore the 

work environment, school presentations, funding for joint projects, and other joint ventures.

3. Explore and align public/private sector partnership activities with community-based service delivery 

mechanisms (i.e., B.E.S.T., Franklin McKinley Children’s Initiative) that are addressing the needs of children, 

youth and families.

Effort—What will we do? (Outputs)

1. Track the activities conducted to implement the above objectives.

2. Track the resources developed through the public and private partnership.
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Effect—Are we better off because of our efforts (Outcomes)

1. Track the resources generated by the public and private partnership. 

2. Survey participants in the public and private partnership for benefits and suggestions for improvement.

3. Track the number of jobs created through workforce development and partnership.

4. Track the number of mentorship opportunities created by the partnership.
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Population Results

The MGPTF uses population results as an indicator for measuring our communities’ general well being. The 

MGPTF and its members, along with the efforts of other community partners, influence these population results. 

The MGPTF and its members do not use population results to evaluate any individual program, but rather use the 

results to help focus community resources on improving these conditions for the youth and young adults of San 

José. Population result indicators that will be monitored include, but are not limited to:

• Rate and number of gang-related violent crimes.

• Rate and number of Juvenile Arrests.

• Rate and number of Juvenile Violent Crime Arrests.

• Rate and number of Juvenile Arrests for Drug Offenses.

• Rate and number of Juvenile Arrests for Property Crimes.

• Rate and number of youth who are truant.

• Rate and number of adults contributing to the anti-social behaviors of youth.

• Rate and number of youth who graduate from high school.

• Rate and number of youth who have dropped out before completion of high school.

• Rate and number of youth and young adult recidivism rate.

• Rate and number of youth and young adults who are enrolled in educational programs.

San José Police Department will work with the MGPTF to develop other indicators we can use to measure longterm results.

The MGPTF will work with local school districts and the County of Santa Clara to develop other indicators we can 

use to measure long-term results.
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A Word of Acknowledgement

The following staff from Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services and San José Police Department 

played a key role in coordinating the development of the Strategic Work Plan: 

Albert Balagso—Director 

Julie Edmonds-Mares—Assistant Director 

Angel Rios, Jr.—Deputy Director 

Dan Wax—Division Manager 

Mario Maciel—Superintendent

Esther Mota—Community Services Supervisor 

Charlie Hall—Youth Outreach Specialist

Philip Solis—Recreation Program Specialist 

Meynard Gamez—Captain San José Police Department

Richelle Goede—Captain San José Police Department

Larry Esquivel— Captain San José Police Department

Edgardo Garcia—Captain San José Police Department

John Spicer—Lieutenant San José Police Department 

The following individuals served on the Review Committee for the Strategic Work Plan: 

Jose Salcido & Khoa Nguyen—Office of Mayor Chuck Reed 

Chris Moore—Chief of Police 

Cora Tomalinas—Community Engagement, P.A.C.T. 

Norberto Duenas—School Safety, Deputy City Manager 

George Shirakawa—Board of Supervisors Member Santa Clara County

Andrea Shelton—Communications Director, Public Safety and Justice Committee Staff - George Shirakawa

John Porter—Superintendant Franklin McKinnley School District

Sheila Mitchell—Chief Probation Officer Santa Clara County

Peter T. Ellis, Ph.D. —Community Crime Prevention Associates 

Rachel Camacho—Community Crime Prevention Associates 

Marco Antonio Cruz—Community Crime Prevention Associates 

Thank you to the community of the City of San José for responding to the invitation to participate and for 

your support throughout the process. The individual contributors and community partners who 

participated in the development of the strategic work plan are far too numerous to acknowledge 

individually given the limited space available in this document. Nonetheless, without their participation, 

we could not have realized the goal of charting the course for the MGPTF for 2008–2013. We extend a 

heartfelt thanks to each of you for your service to the community and City of San José.
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For more information on the San José Mayor’s 

Gang Prevention Task Force please contact:

Angel Rios 

Deputy Director 

Parks, Recreation and 

Neighborhood Services 

City of San José 

408-535-3576

Mario Maciel 

Superintendent

Parks, Recreation and 

Neighborhood Services 

City of San José

408-277-2741

Jose Salcido 

Senior Policy Advisor, 

Public Safety

San José

Mayor’s Office

408-535-4800

Khoa Ngugen

Police Analyst

San José

Mayor’s Office

408-535-4800

Report Prepared with Assistance from:

Community Crime Prevention Associates LLC

510-814-1844