Grande Prairie Community Youth Intervention Program

A Safe Communities Initiative

Crystal HincksResearch AssociateCentre for Criminology and Justice Research- Mount Royal University

Safe Communities Initiatives

•Collaborative effort between provincial and municipal governments, law enforcement agencies, community groups, the business sector, and social agencies in Alberta

•Focus on developing long-term solutions to reduce crime and create safer communities▫Prevention, enforcement, treatment

•$60 million dollars distributed annually to 30 programs in order to address multiple crime issues and target groups

Target Issues & Groups• 14 (47%) projects deal with at-risk youth and 6 (20%) deal with at-risk families • 7 (23%) projects respond to those with addictions and mental health problems • 4 (13%) projects utilize multi-disciplinary response teams • 6 (20%) projects focus on community engagement in high needs areas • 14 (47%) projects have an Aboriginal focus (both on and off reserve) • 12 (40%) projects are using a model (proven) program to preventing crime • 6 (20%) projects address family violence and 3 (10%) deal with sexual violence • 4 (13%) projects address the needs of offenders • 11 (37%) projects enhance access to treatment services • 9 (30%) projects respond to at-risk students • 3 (10%) projects respond to crises in the community • 9 (30%) projects focus on the needs of diverse cultures and 3 (10%) deal with

immigrant and refugee needs• 25 (83%) projects focus on crime prevention and 4 (13%) deal with enforcement • 5 (17%) projects focus on gang prevention • 2 (7%) projects focus on at-risk homeless populations • 3 (10%) projects are developing Safe Community plans

Grande Prairie Program Overview•Restorative measures modeled after the

Ottawa Community Youth Diversion Program (est. 1975)

•Goal: implement a community led program which will provide police officers with the tools to identify youth who are at risk to offend…[and] direct the youths to community resources that best address the factors that fuel their conduct/behaviour as well as addressing reparation needs when applicable

•Scope: offering non-punitive justice options for youth aged 12-17 who come into contact with the Grande Prairie RCMP

Program Continued…•Addresses the needs of youth and their families

by referring them to various resources▫Mental health▫Addictions▫Learning services▫Family services

•Referrals typically come from the RCMP, but have started to come from schools and the families themselves.

•All youth and their families are served by a single program coordinator▫Completes assessment, referral, follow-up

Evaluation of Year One•Goals for Year One:

▫50 participants▫Train RCMP officers to complete referrals▫Network with relevant agencies

•Methodology▫Qualitative interviews- program staff,

stakeholders, parents▫Quantitative data analysis- statistics on

participants▫Social return on investment- social value

created

Successes•Positive feedback from interviews with

stakeholders, program staff, and parents▫Overall impression was that Grande Prairie

was in definite need of a youth intervention/diversion program

•Creation of a unified network within the city

•Referral of 101 youth to various community resources (just over double their anticipated goal)▫Change in scope and mandate

20

62

18

12

4

2

1

1

18

4

29

12

Number of Youth Referred to Each Intevention Method

Mental Health (20)

Counselling (62)

Support Groups (18)

Drug / Alcohol Issues (12)

Cognitive Disabilities (4)

Recreation (2)

School Support - Educational (1)

Employment (1)

Restorative Justice (18)

School Support- Emotional (4)

No Intervention (29)

Intervention Not Grouped (12)

Social Return on Investment (SROI)•Achieved a return of $4.96 for every $1 invested▫Program budget of $304,204 saved

$1,509,256 in the long run▫$464,416 in police costs▫$730,000 in correctional service costs

•Not to be compared with other programs▫Individual program narrative

•Goals for future years is simply growth from each previous year

Growing Pains•Constant changes to mandate and goals

•Utilization of all programs and services

•Lack of knowledge about program

•Partnership with the RCMP▫Movement from detachment

•Preparing for sustainability▫Program is clearly needed

Future of SCIF programs…

•Avoidance of ‘death by pilot program’▫Creating sustainability

•Development of new and unique projects▫Overlapping of services

•Funding of research initiatives to determine current and future needs