Commitment from community leaders is crucial to the success of a coordinated effort. These individuals must understand and champion the principles and goals of the Comprehensive Strategy and be willing to commit resources to the assessment, planning, and implementation processes. Community Assessments A risk-focused planning approach to reducing juvenile delinquency is a cornerstone of the Comprehensive Strategy. Examples of risk factors include the exposure to drugs in the community, extreme economic and social deprivation, family conflict, favorable parental and peer attitudes toward problem behaviors, academic failure, lack of commitment to school, and alienation and rebelliousness. Protective factors either reduce the impact of risk factors or change the way the young person responds to risk.
Protective factors are important throughout a child's developmental process.
Enhancing these protective factors is a goal of both formal and informal prevention programs and services, whether they focus on individuals, schools, families, or communities. As part of the Comprehensive Strategy process, communities collect and assess data about the nature and extent of their juvenile problems and the levels of their risk and protective factors. These assessment data help determine the types of prevention strategies needed in the community. In addition to assessing risk and protective factors, communities also develop an inventory of available resources for preventing or addressing juvenile problems. The Comprehensive Strategy is not just another program.