Multi-component interventions for urban youth firearms violence: A Rapid Evidence Assessment

• In Event: Necessity is the Mother of Invention: Applying Innovative Thinking to Research Conducted in Real-world Settings

Abstract

The Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) is a statewide violence reduction program targeting youth, ages 14-24, considered to be at “proven risk” for firearms violence. Currently, 11 cities are receiving funding from the state to focus on an identified “list” of young men eligible for the program. In the context of a formative and outcomes evaluation of the SSYI, the authors were also asked to quickly summarize prior research on similar types of urban youth firearms violence programs that would help inform the Commonwealth’s decision-making. This article summarizes a Rapid Evidence Assessment of 11 prior evaluations of similar programs designed to reduce urban youth firearms violence. Ten of these studies indicated sizable reductions in violence as measured by fatalities, gang-involved homicides, or shootings.

Authors

• Anthony Petrosino, WestEd

• Patricia Campie, American Institutes for Research

• James Pace, Consultant

• Trevor A. Fronius, WestEd

• Sarah Guckenburg, WestEd

• Michael Wiatrowski, WestEd

• Lizette Rivera, WestEd