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Lost Boys:
Why Our Sons Turn Violent and James Garbarino, Ph. D., is Co-Director of the Family Life Development Center and Professor of Human Development at Cornell University. He is a national expert regarding the impact of family and community violence and trauma on child development and interventions to deal with these effects. He and his family live in Ithaca, New York.
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Prevention and Intervention Resources Boston Gun Project The Boston Gun Project, started in 1994, has also been called Ceasefire. The project was developed by David M. Kennedy, a researcher at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, in reaction to the increase in the number of kids killing kids in Boston during the early 1990s. The program combined tracking down and arresting illegal gun suppliers and tracing the ownership of popular handgun models. The results have been astounding: no juveniles under eighteen died from handgun fire in all of 1996 in Boston. Additionally, the homicide rate for those under twenty-five, the age category of most gang members, dropped by two-thirds from 1995 to 1996. To learn more, visit the National Rifle Association's Web site at http://www.nra.org/politics96/1197tar.html. Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence Under the direction of Delbert Elliott, this University of Colorado center has
exhaustively researched "what works" when it comes to violence prevention and
reduction programs. For information, contact University of Colorado Family life Development Center The Family Life Development Center's mission is to improve professional and public efforts to understand and deal with risk factors -- in the lives of children, youth, families, and communities -- that lead to family violence and neglect. It focuses on strategies and programs to help vulnerable children and youth by strengthening families and communities. Operating out of Cornell University, the center accomplishes its mission through research, training, outreach, and education. It carries out its mandate through program development and implementation and through evaluation projects serving New York State and the nation, in addition to the international community. The current areas of special interest are the role of emerging technologies in training professionals, childhood violence prevention, and programs to guarantee children's rights. For additional information, call (607) 255-7794 or send E-mail to jg38@cornell.edu. Good Behavior Game The Good Behavior Game is a positive behavior management program for the first grade classroom. The program was first tested in 1969 and has since been confirmed as an effective means of increasing the rate of on-task behaviors in children while reducing disruptions in the classroom. This program is an approach to the management of classroom behavior that rewards children for displaying appropriate on-task behavior during instructional times. To receive more information on the game or on putting the game into effect in your classroom, visit the following web site: http://www.scsd.kl2.ny.us/sbit/dirhtml/intfile/intpackg/pkggbg.htm. Just "For Kids!" The mission of the Just "For Kids!" program is to make a difference in the lives of children by assisting adults in the prevention, early identification, and intervention of psychological battering of children. A curriculum has been recently developed to supplement the training of child protection workers who are forced to recognize and address cases of psychological maltreatment. Just "For Kids!" also generates and disseminates empirical information pertaining to prevention, intervention, and the long-term effects of psychological abuse. For additional information about program activities, contact Just "For Kids!" Or send E-mail to just4kids@cornell.edu. Let's Talk About Living in a World with Violence This violence prevention program for school-age children was designed by the Erikson Institute to be used by teachers and other professionals who work with children. The program's purpose is to begin a discussion with children and their parents on the meaning and effects of violence on their day-to-day lives. The goal is to help children learn to cope with violence and to find alternatives to aggression. To find out more information about the training program, or to order program materials, contact The Family Life Development Center Men and Women Against Domestic Violence MADV is an Internet-based coalition of men and women working to address the issue of domestic violence. They stress that domestic violence is not just a women's issue. Therefore, they have taken the responsibility of launching an initiative to educate the public and advocate against physical, mental, emotional, and sexual violence of all kinds. They offer advocacy, information, and statistics, but not clinical consultation. They can be found at their Web site http://www.silcom.com/~paladin/madv/ or reached by E-mail at jrm@silcom.com. National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC is the nation's largest organization of early childhood professionals and others dedicated to improving the quality of early childhood education programs for children from birth through age eight. NAEYC exists for the purpose of leading and consolidating the efforts of individuals and groups working to achieve healthy development and constructive education for young children. Their primary attention is devoted to assuring high-quality early childhood programs for young children. For more information, contact National Association for the Education of Young Children National Birth to Three Center Birth to Three is a Washington, DC, program that assists children with developmental delays in reaching their full potential through developmental home activities and referral to community resources. The purpose of the program, which involves both professionals and parents, is to give these children the opportunity to reach their full potential and become integrated as fully as possible into their community. To find out more about this initiative, call Julie Scott, Director of Family Services, at (309) 786-9861. National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse: Healthy Families America Healthy Families America is a program developed by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse that assists parents by assessing a family's needs before and immediately after their baby's birth and offering the services of a home visitor. Home visitors are volunteers who are selected for their ability to develop trusting, nonjudgmental, and supportive relationships with parents. They work with families to identify their strengths and specific needs, to link them to health and social services, and to provide support and parenting education. Today, there are over three hundred programs in forty states and the District of Columbia. To learn more about the initiative or to request material on how you can establish a Healthy Families America site in your community, call 1-800-CHILDREN or send E-mail to ncpca@childabuse.org. Pathways: A Boys Town Training Program The goal of the Pathways program, designed by Thomas J. Everson of Boys Town, Nebraska, is to foster spiritual development among at-risk youth. Available in training manual form, this program aims to nurture spiritual values in hope of helping troubled youth discover meaning in the suffering they have experienced in their lives. Moral reasoning and faith development are integrated throughout the program. To learn more, contact Boys Town National Resource and Training Center Parents as Teachers Parents as Teachers (PAT) is a primary prevention program designed to maximize children's overall development in their early years by laying a foundation for school success, minimizing developmental problems, and preventing child abuse. The program covers early childhood development and suggests parenting activities that encourage a child's language and intellectual growth, curiosity, and social skills. For more information about this national program, contact Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc. The Perry Preschool Program The Perry Preschool Program, sponsored by the National Crime Prevention Council, is one of a small number of programs that have considered the connection between preschool education and delinquency. The program demonstrates the benefits of high-quality early education programs for disadvantaged children. It emphasizes the ability of a sound preschool education to (1) increase the proportion of young people who at age nineteen are literate, employed, and enrolled in postsecondary education; (2) reduce the number of children who drop out of school; and (3) reduce the probability of a child's being labeled mentally challenged or arrested or growing up to become dependent on public assistance. The program also offers significant benefits to the parents of at-risk children. For additional information and detailed results of the program, visit the National Crime Prevention Council's Web site at http://www.crime-prevention.org . Safe Havens Training Project Witnessing violence changes a child almost overnight. In the Safe Havens training package, parents, teachers, and others who care for children are introduced to the effects on a child's development of witnessing community violence and are given steps to take in order to counteract the negative effects of being exposed to violence. All children need safe havens, that is, places where they can feel safe from the chaos of modern American life. For more information on creating safe havens (home, school, church, clinic, etc.) for the children in your community visit the following Web site: http://www.misterrogers.org Educators for Social Responsibility The mission of ESR is to help young children develop the skills necessary to lead safe, successful lives. ESR is nationally recognized for its programs to foster social development and accomplishes its goals through programming in conflict resolution, violence prevention, intergroup relations, and character education. The instructional materials that ESR offers are geared toward children as well as parents. Programs include "Teaching Conflict Resolution Through Children's Literature," "Who's Calling the Shots? How to Respond Effectively to Children's Fascination with War Play and War Toys," and "Changing Channels: Preschoolers, TV, and Media Violence." To receive more information about ESR programming or to order a catalog of resources, contact Larry Dieringer, Acting Executive Director
The following additional resources were not mentioned in the text. They are designed to claim youth before they become lost. Family Focus: Parenting the Adolescent Family Focus, a training curriculum put out by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, stresses the idea that parents are a child's most influential teachers. The program teaches parents adaptive problem-solving skills to use with their adolescents and also demonstrates how to access community support when they find themselves struggling to parent a difficult teen. Parents are taught how to look for early warning signs of "risky behaviors" and how to address such behaviors as they arise. This parenting course touches on difficult-to-address topics such as values, drug use, and sexuality. For more information, contact Dr. Mary Temke Managing Your Child's Behavior: Ages Birth Through Four This program, originally geared for use in military settings, focuses on proactive parenting through skill building and prevention. This eight-hour training program is designed to increase parents' ability to anticipate and prevent child behavior problems in a nonphysical disciplinary manner. The highly structured nature of the program makes it potentially effective with either large or small groups of parents, although groups of eight to twelve parents are ideal for purposes of group discussion and active involvement. The coordinators recommend that both parents, if possible, participate in the program, because parental tasks are not gender specific. For more information, contact Behavioral Science Associates, Inc. National Network of Violence Prevention Practitioners NNVPP is an interdisciplinary organization consisting of members from the fields of education, criminal justice, and public health and from youth and community organizations. This group stresses the importance of arming frontline practitioners with research-based approaches and knowledge to better serve our communities by preventing youth violence and strengthening families. Additionally, the experience, perspective, and wisdom of network members has been collected and integrated by Education Development Corporation (EDC) staff in order to provide information to policymakers, government agencies, organizations, foundations, national advocacy organizations, and practitioners throughout the United States. To join the National Network or learn more about the information they offer, visit their Web site at http://www.edc.org/HHD/NNVPP/ or contact Gaea Honeycutt at (617) 969-7101, ext. 2380. Prevent Violence on Your Campus: Create a Positive Environment for School Safety and Student Success (PVOYC) PVOYC is a series of training packets for principals, school safety officers, counselors who work with at-risk children, and teachers. These packets deal with various school issues, from school safety to positive classroom management. The producers of this material understand that violence is a concern for all of us and that school safety begins with discipline and good classroom management. The training packets are designed as an empowerment tool for at-risk students and present these students with decisions and positive alternatives to choose from. To order the Prevent Violence on Your Campus training packets, contact Corwin Press Resolving Conflict Creatively Program RCCP is an initiative put forth by the aforementioned Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR), a nonprofit organization with a mission to maintain the schools of our nation as caring and nonviolent environments. RCCP is currently operating in over 325 schools nationwide, reaching over 150,000 young people. Through curriculum development, training, and consultation, this program teaches and advocates peer mediation, conflict resolution, prejudice reduction, appreciation of cultural diversity, and positive group relations. RCCP is a multifaceted program for teachers, students, trainers, school administrators, and parents. For more information, contact Mariana Gaston Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways is part of the Richmond Youth Against Violence Project. This program offers middle school children the information they need to reduce their involvement in violence and helps them develop the necessary attitudes and skills. The program's goals are to promote peaceful and positive alternatives to situational violence by creating an environment that encourages health-enhancing behaviors and weakens health-compromising behaviors. The program incorporates a sixth grade curriculum and a peer mediation component directed mainly at high-risk African American middle school children. Strong at the Broken Places: Turning Trauma into Recovery Strong at the Broken Places is a documentary that reinforces and portrays true heroism. The 38-minute film is both inspirational and instructional. People devastated by trauma and loss who were able to find common ground for recovery teach us the meaning of the word hero. This documentary shows how personal loss and suffering can be turned into a powerful toot for restoring hope and changing society. To obtain a copy of this documentary or to view other titles available, visit the Cambridge Documentary Films Web site at http://www.shore.net/~cdf or call (617) 484-3993. Teen Challenge The Teen Challenge program strives to educate adolescents about the harmful effects of drugs. Teen Challenge is the oldest, largest, and most successful program of its type. Other educational programs are also offered to the community free of charge. Additionally, Teen Challenge volunteers reach out to people in juvenile halls, jails, and prisons. Teen Challenge believes that education will help the community correct the drug epidemic. For information on Teen Challenge's curriculum, either visit their Web site at http://www.teenchallenge.com, E-mail them at tcusa@ncsi.net, or call them at (800) 814-5729. Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) is a "train the trainer" program developed by Cornell University's Family Life Development Center, for child and youth care workers. It is designed as a crisis prevention and intervention model to assist those who work in residential facilities help children deal with crisis. It gives staff the skills and knowledge necessary to help children and youth when they are at their most destructive, and it stresses the importance of adult responsibility for the treatment and protection of troubled youth in crisis situations. TCI successfully increases a staff's ability to manage and prevent crisis while decreasing the number of physical restrains used and the number of bodily injuries inflicted on the children and staff. To establish TCI at your organization, visit http://www.child.cornell.edu or contact Michael Nunno Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents The Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents is a program that addresses the growing epidemic of homicide and violence in general among young people. This school-based curriculum acknowledges anger as a normal and natural emotion; alerts students to the risks of being involved in an act of violence, as either victim or perpetrator; and offers alternatives to fighting through anger management and improved conflict resolution skills. This curriculum has been proven to be effective in high school health, sociology, and psychology classes. For more information, contact Millie LeBlanc Newsletter for Parents of Children with Very "Difficult" Temperaments A new electronic newsletter called Behavior-Development-Individuality is under the editorial direction of Dr. Kate Anderson. It can be reached at B-DI@temperament.com with the message "subscribe newsletter." Copyright © 1999 by James Garbarino |
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