Mission

By identifying best practices, implementing direct service programs, evaluating results, and advocating for change in the way public systems do business, Safe Passages/Youth Ventures JPA increases public investment in ideas that translate into programs that work.

Early Childhood Initiative - Promotes collaboration between multiple public systems and non-profit providers to create a citywide safety net for children, from birth through age five, who are exposed to violence. Public childcare teachers in Oakland-and some in Castro Valley and Pleasanton-are trained to implement a violence prevention curriculum. Police are also trained. As a result through June 2006:

• Nearly 6,000 children were being taught the curriculum at 77 public childcare sites across Oakland
• Nearly 2,000 children and families had received mental health services
• Over 600 officers had been trained

Middle School Strategy - Aims to create safe and supportive school environments and reduce the number of suspensions (particularly due to violence) at school sites. It includes a violence prevention curriculum, school-based mental health counseling, suspension alternatives, case management, parental involvement, and after-school programs. The results:

• Participating schools experienced a 72% decrease in suspensions due to violence
• Over 5,200 students and families at 11 middle schools were served during the 2005-2006 school year
• Students in Oakland receive on site mental health services valued at over $10 Million from the County in Medical funds
• San Lorenzo USD, now in its first year of implementation, boasts a myriad of new services and resources for middle school students for the 2006-2007 school year

Juvenile Justice Initiative - Brings juvenile courts, probation officers, and service providers together to reduce recidivism among juvenile offenders and provide alternatives to incarceration. Since the program's inception:

• Nearly 300 repeat youth offenders have been served at a cost of approximately $4,000 per person per year (compared to more than $50,000 annually to incarcerate one youth)
• From 16 to 18 months following participation, youth are nearly half as likely to recidivate (return to juvenile justice system)
• Participating youth experience a 26% drop in school absence rates and a 71% drop in suspensions

After School Strategy - Safe Passages has convened a collaborative to improve quality and quantity of after school programming in Oakland. Under this strategy, Safe Passages has:

• Convened city and school district representatives and providers to promote data sharing and the sustainability of quality after-school programs.
• Improved coordination between the City of Oakland and the school district to transform the after-school arena and bring an additional $23 million of funding to after-school programs
• Developed a web-based database to collect and coordinate information from after-school providers
• Produced best-practice research on quality after-school programs, sustainability plans and evaluation methods