Changing Lives: The Right Program Makes A Difference

Using Best Practices

When they convene a multidisciplinary collaboration, community violence prevention initiatives embrace the first, and perhaps most important, “best practice”: a multifaceted response to the problem. Extensive research has shown that isolated interventions are not likely to have much effect. Having a variety of stakeholders involved goes a long way towards assuring that the resulting program includes all essential components.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in USDHHS and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the USDOJ have published lists and descriptions of best practices in prevention. In general, they agree that effective prevention, whether focused on preventing violence or preventing substance abuse, is multifaceted and targets several domains. The lists below make it plain that no single agency or organization can do it all. Collaborative action is needed if a community really wants to make a difference.

BEST PRACTICES REQUIRE COLLABORATION

OJJDP	Community mobilization Juvenile justice strengthening Reduction of gangs, guns, and drugs Expansion of youth opportunities Family strengthening and parent education
SAMHSA	Environmental approaches Community-based processes Information dissemination Alternatives Education/skills building Problem identification and referral
CDC	Family-based practices Home visiting Social–cognitive strategy Mentoring strategy

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