Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards for behaviors. While individual characteristics are difficult to change, bonding and the promotion of healthy beliefs through clear standards for behavior are complimentary factors and can be enhanced. The risk-focused prevention approach requires communities to identify the risk factors that the children, youth and families in their community are exposed to. Risk-focused delinquency prevention provides communities with a conceptual framework for prioritizing the risk factors in their community, assessing how their current resources are being used, identifying resources which are needed, and choosing specific programs and strategies that directly address those risk factors through the enhancement of protective factors. Another key component of this approach is the coordination and use of existing programs and resources.
Every community is unique with different risks and protective factors.
What might be successful in reducing juvenile delinquency and violence in one community may not fit the needs of another community within the state. It will be necessary for each community to conduct an assessment of risk factors for adolescent problem behaviors and the resources available in their own community.