YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION

NATIONAL FORUM on

Forward Together

Youth violence is a 

serious problem in 

the U.S. 

The Centers for Disease Control 

estimates that 5,048 youth 

between the ages of 10 and 

24 were victims of homicide in 

2009– that’s an average of 14 

young people murdered every 

day.1 Homicide is the second 

leading cause of death for 

children and young people in the 

U.S., and the leading cause for 

young African Americans.1

Beyond the trauma it inflicts on 

victims and their families, violence 

exacts painful burdens on entire 

communities: it creates fear that 

causes people to withdraw from 

community life, can increase a 

community’s health care costs, 

decrease property values, and 

disrupt social services.2

Youth violence is preventable. 

A problem as complicated as 

youth violence, however, requires comprehensive solutions. 

A growing body of research 

indicates that evidence-based 

practices can reduce youth 

and gang violence and improve 

outcomes for our kids.3

The National Forum on Youth Violence 

Prevention is a network of communities and 

federal agencies that work together, share 

information and build local capacity to prevent 

and reduce youth violence. Established at the 

direction of President Obama in 2010, the 

Forum brings together people from diverse 

professions and perspectives to learn from 

each other about the crisis of youth and gang 

violence in the U.S. and to build comprehensive solutions on the local and national levels.

Participating Federal agencies include the 

Departments of Justice, Education, Health and 

Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and the Office on National Drug 

Control Policy. The 

Forum’s first set of 

participating communities includes Boston, 

Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas, and San 

Jose, with more to be 

added soon.

Other participants 

include faith- and 

community-based 

organizations, youth 

and family groups, and 

business and philanthropic leaders.

The Forum operates on three 

key principles: 

1) Multidisciplinary partnerships are key 

to tackling this complex issue – police, 

educators, public health and other service 

providers, faith and community leaders, 

parents, and kids, must all be at the table. 

2) Communities must balance and 

coordinate their prevention, intervention, 

enforcement and reentry strategies. 

3) Data and evidence-driven strategies

must inform efforts to reduce youth violence in 

our country. These three principles are critical 

to directing and leveraging limited resources in 

order to make a long-standing impact.

The Forum is a vibrant national network of federal and local stakeholders who, 

through the use of multidisciplinary partnerships, balanced approaches that 

combine prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry, and data-driven 

strategies, strengthen communities to better prevent violence and promote 

the safety, health, and development of our nation’s youth.

From left to right, seated, Mayor Dennis Donohue, Salinas, The Honorable Vice Admiral Regina 

M. Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General, Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director, Boston Public Health 

Commission, and other Forum attendees discuss their youth violence prevention efforts.

“Our children are counting on us. Our 

communities are counting on us. 

And we cannot—and will not—let 

them down.”

— Attorney General 

Eric Holder

FindYouthInfo.gov/YouthViolence April 2012

FORUM GOALS 

Elevate youth and gang violence as an issue of national significance. 

Enhance the capacity of participating localities, as well as others across the country, 

to more effectively prevent youth and gang violence. 

Sustain progress and systems change through engagement, alignment, and assessment.
References:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS) [Data file]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/leading_causes_death.html

2. Mercy J, Butchart A, Farrington D, Cerdá M. Youth violence. In: Krug E, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, Zwi AB, Lozano R, 

editors. The World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; 2002. p. 25–56.

3. Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence. Blueprints for Violence Prevention. Available from: http://www.colorado.

edu/cspv/blueprints/.

Forum Spotlight: 

Memphis

With support from the Forum, 

cities around the U.S. are 

changing the way they do 

business and bringing people 

together to prevent youth 

violence. The City of Memphis 

and Shelby County, Tennessee 

are prime examples of this spirit 

of collaboration. Together, they 

have interwoven three different 

violence prevention plans—

Operation: Safe Community, 

which focuses on reducing 

crime; the Memphis Youth 

Violence Prevention Plan, 

which strives to prevent youth 

violence; and the Defending 

Childhood Initiative, which seeks 

to minimize children and youth’s 

exposure to violence.

By aligning the efforts and 

leadership of these three 

initiatives, Memphis and Shelby 

County have limited redundancy, 

maximized results, involved the 

highest levels of government 

and law enforcement, and 

shared data to make smart 

decisions. Thanks to the strong 

foundation of Operation: Safe 

Community, Memphis has 

moved itself off the top of the list 

of cities with the highest crime 

rate and improved its climate for 

economic growth. Additionally, 

from January 1 to July 31, 

2011, major violent crime was 

down 26.8 percent. Memphis’ 

continuing commitment to 

collaboration, data sharing 

and the safety of its youth is a 

promising indicator that Forum 

cities, working together with 

federal partners, will play strong 

roles in building a better future 

for youth in our country.

Target launches partnership with the National 

Forum on Youth Violence Prevention:

In 2010, one of the nation’s largest corporations joined forces with the National Forum 

on Youth Violence Prevention. Committed to giving back to communities and improving 

opportunities for young people, Target has proven itself a model for corporate involvement 

in the Forum. In 2012, Target awarded grants of $10,000 to each of the six Forum sites, 

which will allow each site to hire and provide a stipend for a “Connecting Youth” Youth 

Director in their community. The Youth Directors will assemble youth governance boards 

in their cities, ensuring that youth are included as hands-on partners in their city’s violence 

prevention efforts. Additionally, in the Fall of 2012, Target will host a convening for leaders 

from all six Forum cities to meet with executives and leaders from Target and other corporations in order to engage Target, its local affiliates, and other corporate partners with 

Forum activities in their communities.

Casey Family Programs Partners to Enhance 

Forum Capacity and Expertise:

Casey Family Programs, a Seattle-based national foundation which focuses on foster care 

and child welfare, has become an integral partner in the Forum’s work. Through Casey 

Family Fellows, a program in which senior level Casey Family Program staff are deployed 

to various federal agencies, Casey has been able to provide the Forum with a full-time staff 

person who provides expertise in child welfare systems, engaging youth and families in our 

work, and partnering with private and philanthropic organizations. In addition to enhancing 

the Forum’s capacity through Fellows, Casey has also made financial donations in order 

to provide further opportunities for youth engagement with the Forum. For example, at the 

2012 Annual Summit on Preventing Youth Violence, Casey sponsored activities for youth 

representatives and participants, including an off-site youth leadership workshop and 

lunch, as well as a night-time tour of DC.

Join Us In 

Preventing 

Youth Violence

The Forum is strengthened by the diverse perspectives, skills, and expertise 

of our partners, so we are continually 

looking for ways to expand our efforts. If 

you are interested in partnering with us 

or learning more about youth violence, 

here are several ways to reach out:

To learn more about the Forum and to 

access some of its tools, visit our website at FindYouthInfo.gov/YouthViolence

Need Help? Want to build a youth 

violence prevention plan? Access the 

Forum Toolkit at FindYouthInfo.gov/YouthViolence/toolkit

If you are interested in partnering with the Forum, would like your city to get involved, 

or have questions, email us FindYouthInfo@air.org.

Jack Calhoun, Director of the California Cities Gang Prevention 

Network, moderates a panel featuring Carmen Ortiz, U.S. Attorney 

for the District of Massachusetts, former Deputy Mayor Saul Green 

of Detroit, and Mario Maciel, Superintendent, Department of Parks, 

Recreation and Neighborhood Services, San Jose.

“We know that if children aren’t safe, 

then they can’t learn. We all have a stake 

in public safety and a responsibility to 

keep our children out of harm’s way.”

— Secretary of Education 

Arne Duncan