The Institute is providing technical assistance in the form of introducing evidence-based discipline practices to some local schools. We are also providing technical assistance to the Richmond Police Department who is interested in working with residents to strengthen the community. We are developing a team of service providers who can respond to identified needs and problems in a particular sector of the City that had serious problems with violence and crime until a unified law enforcement task force moved in. We aim to create an infrastructure that will sustain and strengthen the neighborhood.

Institute faculty presented a workshop on developing effective school-community-business partnerships at the Hamilton Fish Persistently Safe Schools conference in Washington in September, 2006. The presentation was based on the collaborative work on this issue between the VCU ACE and Richmond Public Schools.