Using Partnerships and Research Evidence to Develop a Community Action Plan and Launch Violence Prevention Programming

Introduction: This presentation describes how the CDC-funded Youth Violence Prevention Center in Chicago is using research evidence and partnerships to inform the implementation of the Communities that Care (CTC) prevention system. The implementation of CTC in Chicago is led by a coalition of university, faith and community leaders to support a community-initiated effort to reduce youth crime and violence within Bronzeville, a primarily African American community located on the southeast side of Chicago. The CT C partners aim to: 1) better integrate and use knowledge gained through research to inform community efforts to reduce violence; and 2) to ensure the knowledge and experience of those living and working in the community informed the program implementation and research being conducted within communities. This presentation describes the research evidence gathered through the CTC process, the community’s response, adaptations and modifications needed, and the Community Action Plan developed to launch violence prevention programming in the Bronzeville community.

Methods: Data was collected from a variety of sources around the Bronzeville community, including 1,600 youth from 19 schools, 400 adult residents, and over 30 social service agencies and organizations. This data was used in conjunction with administrative data (e.g., Census and city crime data) to develop a community profile, identifying gaps in existing programming and identifying areas to build evidence-based programming.

Results: Based in these data, university and community partners collectively wrote a Community Action Plan. This Community Action Plan outlines the community profile from research evidence, and identifies evidence-based programs to be implemented in order to fill gaps, address risk and protective factors, and ultimately decrease rates of violence.

Discussion: The strong community and academic partnership provided a platform for using research evidence to develop a collective Community Action Plan. The community is using this Community Action Plan and research evidence to inform practice and policy decisions around violence prevention. Lessons learned will be discussed.