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Conclusion

In 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville, the first noted international commentator on American society, noted in Democracy in America:

Americans are a peculiar people.... If, in a local community, a citizen becomes aware of a human need that is not met, he thereupon discusses the situation with his neighbors. Suddenly a committee comes into existence. The committee thereupon begins to operate on behalf of the need, and a new function is established. It is like watching a miracle.

The CMHS "committee," which has integrated knowledge from both the resilience and violence prevention fields in developing this initiative, encourages the development of similar community-based committees of children, families, schools, and community representatives. If similar local committees are created to implement evidence-based programs which operate on behalf of the need of children, it will be, in the words of de Tocqueville "like watching a miracle."

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