To increase the efficacy of delinquency prevention efforts and reduce duplication of services, collaboration has emerged as one of the most important components of community violence prevention. The federal government reflects this commitment to collaboration through inter-departmental cooperation, joint program funding, and data sharing. These grants funded joint efforts involving the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Justice . A number of shared principles and approaches have emerged from a field that was once crowded with conflicting agendas. In general, recent grant funding emphasizes strengthening communities by building capacity among individuals and institutions to prevent and respond to violence.
Violence is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive, multifaceted response.
Partnerships and collaboration are more effective than isolated individual efforts. Because the problem of youth violence is far too complex for one agency or one sector of the community to solve by itself, new coalitions have emerged. Not only is such a diverse group better able to develop an effective strategy for the community, but such cooperation among agencies and organizations brings more resources to the issue, while eliminating the duplication of services. Public-private partnerships are another form of collaboration encouraged by the U.S. government to integrate and maximize the resources of government, communities and private enterprise to reduce and prevent violence. The Community Prevention Grant Program requires every program it funds to establish a Prevention Policy Board.