Child Advocacy Group Makes Case that Youth Programs Reduce Crime

Developing a public education campaign to increase support for public investments in vulnerable families

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national, non-profit child advocacy organization, conducted an educational campaign to increase policymakers' awareness of the value of publicly funded programs to strengthen youth and fragile families.

Key Results

In a report to RWJF, the project director reported the following results:

  • Project staff developed five research reports and more than 10 research briefs. All can be downloaded at no charge at www.fightcrime.org.
    • New York's After-School Choice (November 2002).
    • When the school bell rings…juvenile crime or constructive time? (September 2002).
    • Cutting Pre-Kindergarten Will Increase Crime in New York (April 2003).
    • New Hope for Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect (May 2003).
    • Pennsylvania's Pre-Kindergarten Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy (June 2003).
  • Research summaries targeted at federal policy-makers covered such topics as:
    • Head Start.
    • Cost savings of key investments in children.
    • Positive interventions for troubled preschoolers.
    • Bullying prevention.
    • Impact of proposed 40 percent cut to federal after-school programs.
    • Impact of proposed 40 percent cut to after school programs on Maine's youth.
    • Impact of federal investments on Maine's children and youth.
    • Impact of federal investments on Ohio's children and youth.

Funding

In April 2002, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported the project with a $250,000 one-year grant to the Action Against Crime and Violence Education Fund, the parent organization of Fight Crime.

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