Youth Violence Prevention/ Intervention Programs Campaign

To: Community Groups concerned about youth violence prevention/intervention programs, to Shannon Grant fundees, to DPH Youth Violence prevention program fundees and/or recent applicants

From: Lew Finfer, Safe Teens/Safe Communities Coalition (617) 822-1499

Re. We have about two weeks more time to influence Governor Patrick's Budget Decisions on youth violence prevention/intervention funding--below is some suggestions for how you can help further

We have together been making a good push at trying to get Governor Patrick to increase funding for prevention and intervention programs in the state budget that he will announce on January 23. Because the Governor's budget recommendations take less time to print than some years ago, we have about two more weeks to try to influence his decisions...let's make one more push together on this...see below

The media have been willing to keep attention on this issue and the Governor is mentioning it himself.

Based on the meeting our coalition had with Governor Patrick on November 29, the meetings we've had with 3 of his cabinet secretaries and staff at the budget division of Administration and Finance, there is movement on their part to do something on this in the budget. However, we need to keep this up because the tendency is to do less than what's needed unless we keep the focus on this issue.

The state's revenue picture is not great so the Patrick Administration is trying to damp down expectations of budget increases.

The budget increases we need would be helpful if they came in any or all of the following budget line items:
--the EOPS Shannon Anti-Gang Violence grant program
--the EOHHS DPH Youth Violence Prevention/Positive Youth Development grant program
--the DLWD YouthWorks summer jobs for teens program

Here's what you can do to help in the next two weeks:

1. If you haven't already, send a letter to Governor Patrick with copies to key staff people, on the need to increase youth violence prevention/intervention funding (see sample letter to adapt below).

2. Think of members of your organization, your staff, your coalitions, your local allies amongst elected officials and law enforcement officials and ask them to write a letter too.

3. Try to get your local newspaper to write an editorial on this by meeting with them and also submit a Letter to the Editor on this problem and the need for Governor Patrick to act on this in the budget proposal that he will announce next week.

4. Begin planning a meeting with your own state legislators for during February, if possible. Each legislator gets to meet with the heads of the Legislature's budget committees, which are called the House and Senate Ways and Means chairman, to tell them what their budget priorities are during February and March.
If you can meet with your legislators, you can directly ask whether they would commit to make funding for youth violence prevention/intervention programs as one of the budget priorities they mention to the House and Senate Ways and Means Chair when they meet with them.

Thank you for your work on this and please call with any questions, suggestions.

Lew Finfer, for the Safe Teens/Safe Communities Coalition

Below please find:
1. Sample letter to Governor Patrick and key aides to send copies to
2. Our general fact sheet on this campaign

Campaign for Increased Violence Prevention/Youth Development Funding in the State Budget--Letters to Governor Patrick

We need your organization to send letters to Governor Patrick with copies to the listed key administration officials. This is part of a two part campaign between now and mid-December to influence the Governor to include funding for a major initiative on violence prevention/youth development in his budget followed by a campaign from December-June to influence the State Legislature to pass this in the state budget.

A sample letter is below, but please adapt it using your own language and your own local examples of the need for violence prevention/youth development programs in your community.
**Certainly think of members within your organization and allies who you could ask to send their own letter on this.
Please email Lew Finfer at LewFinfer@aol.com if possible with a copy of your letter and/or that you've sent it. or mail a copy to MCAN 1773 Dorchester Ave., Boston 02124

Sample Letter to revise in your words and include specific local examples of the needs of your area:

Honorable Deval Patrick
Governor
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State House
Boston, MA 02133

Dear Governor Patrick,

We are requesting that you fund a signficant budget increase for a major youth violence prevention/ intervention/positive youth development program in your House 2 budget that you will file January 23.

Teens are in crisis due to increasing violence and substance abuse in our communities and lack of enough programs for after school programs, jobs, drop-out prevention, substance abuse prevention, peer leadership, peacemaking and conflict resolution, street outreach workers.
State budget cuts made to prevention programs in 2002-2003 during the recession have largely still not been restored.
When you ran for Governor last year, you firmly commited that "prevention is the best and cheapest form of public protection. Massachusetts will lead on prevention".
We need your leadership on making prevention/intervention funding a major priority in the state budget you propose.
In our community, these are the problems our youth face__________________
We hope you will make a major committment to prevention/intervention funding in your next budget and we will work hard with you to get the Legislature to pass this.

Sincerely,

cc Mr, Kevin Burke, Secretary of EOPS 1 Ashburton Place, Boston 02108
Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, Secretary of EOHHS 1 Ashburton Place, Boston 02108
Ms. Leslie Kirwan, Secretary of Administration and Finance State House 02133
Mr. Doug Rubin, Chief of Staff to Governor Patrick State House, Boston, 02133
Ms. Suzanne Bump, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development 1 Ashburton Place 02108

Proposal to Governor Patrick and the Massachusetts House and Senate for Diverting Youth Away From Violence and Substance Abuse--through Positive Youth Development
--from the Safe Teens/Safe Communities Coalition

We see violence as public health problem. Through funding the prevention and intervention programs detailed below, we can create opportunities for youth and prevent more violence and self destruction. We are seeking to impact three different groups of youth:

1. Youth in gangs of whom Street Outreach Workers can move some to leave the gang and play a role in lessening violence and retaliation between different gangs.
2. Youth not in gangs but who live in neighborhoods where there are gangs. They are subject to both being recruited by and being victimized by gangs. They are also subject to the problems of substance abuse, dropping out of school, teen pregnancy, bullying, suicide.
3. Youth who live in communities and neighborhoods with no gangs present but are still very much subject to the problems of substance abuse, dropping out of school, teen pregnancy, bullying, suicide.

I. What's needed

A. --Prevention programs that reach teens not court or gang involved, but live in "hot spot" areas of gang activity and crime and could be recruited to gangs.
--Prevention programs for areas without gangs but with teens still facing serious problems like substance abuse, etc.

--Teen Centers or Teen "Safe Haven" for place-based programs to bring teens to for safety and for youth development,
includes Conflict Resolution Education(CRE) within all programs offered, includes youth development staff doing outreach to teens to develop relationships and bring them to the place-based programs, includes resources for jobs and recreation/media, substance abuse prevention

B. Intervention programs to engage youth in gangs and youth with offenses that brought them into the Juvenile Justice system
1. Street outreach workers
2. Case Managers to link youth to needed programs (and resources for these programs like transitional employment programs, summer jobs, Conflict Resolution Education, GED and alternative high school programs, recreational programs)

C. Building Capacity:: Youth Leadership, Training, Technical Assistance, Multi-Year Grants
a. Fund training programs for Street Outreach Workers, Youth Development workers in teens centers and Case Mangers
b. Provide TA to organizations in preparing grant applications and building their capacity
c. Provide multi-year grants if the grantees fulfill evaluation standards
d. Youth involvement and leadership structured into all programs

Please note that we believe these interventon and prevention programs should be coordinated with law enforcement efforts and many of these partnerships already exist in many communities. Many law enforcement officials support such funding for intervention and prevention and have maintained that “we cannot arrest ourselves out of this problem”.

II. Proposal to increase funding for youth violence prevention and intervention programs//positive youth development

1. A funding increase could be made in one new program initiative on this OR
it could also be done by increasing current related line items in several departments.
The latter would mean increasing such programs as the DPH Youth Violence Prevention Program 4590-1506, the EOPS Shannon Anti-Gang Violence program which was passed last May in a Supplementary Budget, the LWD YouthWorks jobs for teens program 7002-0012, and the DOE After-school and out of school quality grant program 7000-9611 and other drop-out prevention programs DOE may fund.

2. Demonstration of the need includes the 62 applications ffrom different community coalitions for the DPH Youth Violence Prevention program with 21 funded, 20 rejected, and 20 ruled “approved for funding but not funded because of insufficient funds”. EOPS received 173 applications from municipalities and community based organizations for just $3 million in federal Byrne funds it administers for inititatives on law enforcement, preventiion, and intervention.

III. Funding Requested

We believe at least $50 million is needed for this kind of prevention and interventions programs.
And we understand the revenue constraints the state is under too.
Based on all this and how much this is a priority for you, what amount of budget increase can you do?

This coalition organized for passage of and refunding of the Shannon Anti-Gang Violence Grant Program (at $11 million), the $2 million pilot program on youth violence prevention administered by the Department of Public Health, the laws to strengthen penalties for witness intimidation by gangs, and the funded State Witness Protection program at $1.5 million.

Our present members include:
Boston Ten Point Coalition (BTPC), Black Ministerial Alliance (BMA), Dorchester Youth Collaborative (DYC), Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MCAN), United Interfaith Action of SE Massachusetts (UIA--New Bedford and Fall River), Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC), Essex County Community Organization (ECCO), Metropolitan Interfaith Congregations Acting for Hope (MICAH-MetroWest), Worcester Interfaith (WI), Pioneer Valley Project (PVP-Springfield), ROCA (Chelsea, East Boston, Charlestown, Revere), United Teen Equality Center (UTEC-Lowell), and Project Right (Boston/Grove Hall), Boston Catholic Charities, DotWell, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, Codman Square Health Center, Youth Empowerment Services (Amesbury), Hyde Square Task Force (Boston/Jamaica Plain), Holyoke Youth Task Force, North Central Massachusetts Youth Development Coalition (Fitchburg), Boston Asian: Youth Essential Service, MissionSAFE (Mission Hill/Boston)