On October 1, 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that five cities—Baltimore, MD; Cleveland, OH; Long Beach, CA; Louisville/Jefferson County, KY; and Seattle, WA—had been selected to join the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. The announcement was made during remarks at the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT 25th Anniversary Reception Dinner in Baltimore, MD.

Established at the direction of President Obama in 2010, the forum brings together federal, state, and local partners in a collaborative effort to address youth violence. The other cities in the forum are Boston, MA; Camden, NJ; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Memphis, TN; Minneapolis, MN; New Orleans, LA; Philadelphia, PA; Salinas, CA; and San Jose, CA.

The cities have rallied local stakeholders—police, educators, public health and other service providers, faith and community leaders, parents, and youth—to develop comprehensive strategic plans to combat local youth violence. The cities’ plans are data driven and address youth violence through a range of strategies, including prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry.

The U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor, as well as the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Domestic Policy Council are the forum’s federal partners.

The partners have organized a working session and three summits in Washington, DC, where cities reported on their progress and shared promising strategies. Cities have also been provided with access to technical assistance in developing their plans and identifying and addressing implementation challenges. Forum city site visits and White House-led meetings with the Domestic Policy Council offer support and guidance to cities participating in the initiative.

Resources:

To learn more about the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, read About the Collaboration, review the Logic Model, and visit Forum in the News.