Lead Investigator: Kevin W. Allison, Ph.D.

Background: Research and experience indicate notable limitations in the effective dissemination and widespread implementation of evidence-based prevention strategies. Within individual communities, decisions made by administrators in varied public (e.g., city government, public schools, police and health departments) and private (youth serving nonprofits, local and national philanthropic organizations) institutions determine the local availability of youth violence prevention activities and resources. In addition, there are often limited structures, organizational practices, or inter-agency linkages that support the coordination of prevention efforts that are lead by different institutions. In the current project, we will conduct a qualitative analysis of public and nongovernmental organization administrators’ perceptions of the barriers and supports to effective community violence prevention efforts for youth. Importance: The identification of specific challenges and supports to the provision of effective prevention services to youth provides an opportunity to articulate potential responses to these barriers and to support conversations that may assist in removing these barriers. This work will inform our local community mobilization plan.

Goals: The goals of this project are to: 1.) Identify and understand barriers that deter local public and private agencies and institutions from implementing effective violence prevention strategies for youth, and 2.) Engage community stakeholders in conversations about these barriers to support problem solving and means of increasing supports for prevention.

Setting and context: The study focuses on the public and nonprofit service sector in Richmond, Virginia; Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida.

Method and measures: Qualitative interviews will be conducted with administrators (policy makers) to assess their perceptions of barriers to youth violence prevention programming and what support is needed to make youth violence prevention programming successful in their community.

Study participants and recruitment strategies: Interviews will be conducted with approximately 24 – 76 participants (minimum of 8 from each city) representing a range of public and private organizations (e.g., parks and recreation, mental health, police, local philanthropy, nonprofit youth service providers, public health department, public schools, sports leagues, and city government).