long beach calgrip grant i narrative

LONG BEACH GANG REDUCTION, INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION:

A YOUTH-CENTERED COMMUNITY-WIDE PROJECT (LONG BEACH PROJECT)

Project Narrative

1. PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Long Beach Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Project (Long Beach Project) will

address critical unmet community needs necessary to effectively address growing youth and

gang violence through a youth-centered, community-wide approach enlisting the expertise and

resources of numerous City departments, community, educational, and regional partners. The

Project can effectively contribute toward gang prevention, intervention, education, job training

and skills development, as well as family and community services in the target area. The

Project is designed to provide youth who are identified as already involved in criminal or gang

activity or are at-risk, with positive alternatives to gang participation in a safe environment,

including job training and skills development. The Project is also intended to promote

community awareness and education via anti-gang messages. Further, the Project will enhance

the coordination of existing efforts and resources related to youth and gang violence prevention

and intervention as well as family and community services to maximize the return on the

investment of limited resources. These Project efforts will reduce the number of violent crimes,

reduce the number of gang-related offenses, and increase the number of activities to positively

impact community crime and increase self-esteem and self-worth.

1

Target Area

While gang violence is a citywide problem, this Project specifically targets Police Beats 4 and 5

(target area) located entirely within a designated Enterprise Zone. This area was selected due

to high occurrences of crime and persistent and growing problems with gangs, in comparison to

other Police Beats in Long Beach.

The 2000 Census data derived from Clarita’s Market Place report was used to provide statistical

information located within a one-mile radius of the target area. The Long Beach Police

Department provided criminal statistics for the target area.

To determine the most appropriate and reasonable target area, the City’s Youth and Gang

Violence Prevention Task Force conducted research using Long Beach Police Department data.

This data included the volume and incidence of violent crime, including murders and gang-

related shootings. Based upon an analysis of this data, Police Beats 4 and 5 are impacted by

the highest population of criminal street gangs, which are generally based on neighborhood and

ethnic affiliations. Some gangs in this area are multi-generational, where grandparent, parent,

and siblings are affiliated with some level of gang membership. In 2004 there were 683 juvenile

arrests in Police Beats 4 and 5 and the area immediately surrounding these Beats, for a rate of

9.5 arrests per 1,000 population; this is more than twice as high as the rate for Long Beach as a

whole (4.1 arrests per 1,000). (See Juvenile Arrests Graph in Nature of the Gang Problem

section, page 16).

2

Geographic Location and Characteristics

The following map illustrates the proposed site that covers Police Beats 4 and 5. It contains

eleven census tracts from the last decennial census. Its perimeter is delineated by the thick

gray line on the map below and its boundaries exist as follows:

North Boundary: Hill Street

South Boundary: Anaheim Street

East Boundary: Cherry Avenue

West Boundary: Los Angeles River

3

Police Beats 4 and 5 are located just north of downtown Long Beach and slightly southwest of

the city of Signal Hill. Aside from high levels of crime, residents in these neighborhoods face

other challenges such as poverty and low levels of educational attainment.

Population

The target area contains more than 50,900 residents in a two square mile area. 89 percent of

residents are people of color (55 percent Hispanic/Latino, 17 percent Asian, and 17 percent

African American/Black). 46 percent are Spanish speakers and 34 percent do not have

citizenship in the United States. Close to half of the population is younger than 18 years old and

11 percent are between the ages of 18 and 24.

A recent community assessment survey conducted by the City of Long Beach Department of

Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the City’s Youth and Gang Violence Prevention

Task Force, involving 950 respondents in the Project target area revealed that 33 percent of the

respondents identify themselves as a stakeholder in the community, 83 percent are renters, and

11 percent are owners.

Education and Schools

More than one third (36 percent) of residents in the target area have less than a ninth grade

education. Less than half (41 percent) have a high school diploma and only eight percent have

an associate’s degree or higher (bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, or professional degree).

There are two high schools, two middle schools and five elementary schools in the

target/immediately surrounding area. These schools include: Alvarado Elementary, Burnett

Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, Whittier Elementary, Butler Middle

4

School, Washington Middle School, Educational Partnership High School, Long Beach

Polytechnic High School, and Polytechnic Academy for Accelerated Learning (PAAL).

Dropout Rates

Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) is the third largest school district in the state of

California. According to the Youth Education and Labor Market Outcomes in California in 2000

report, 21 percent of 16-24 year old youth were noted as high school dropouts in Long Beach as

compared to 16.9 percent statewide (Dr. Paul Harrington, Center for Labor Market Studies,

Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts). Newer data from the California Department

of Education concludes that during the 2005-2006 school year, the Four Year Derived Dropout

Rate for Long Beach Unified School District is 21.4 percent, as compared to 14.1 percent

statewide (see graph below).

21.4%LBUS D

17.3%

14.1%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

Long Beach Unified S chool District (LBUSD) Los Angeles County California

Dropout Rate (4 Year Derived Rate) Dis trict, County and State Com parison, 2005-2006

California Department of Education, http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/

5

Dropout rates climb as students near their senior year of high school. The percentage of 12th

grade students who dropped out of Long Beach Unified School District in 2005-2006 is almost

double that for the state (14.3 percent verse 7.8 percent) (see graph below).

14.3%

9.6%

7.8%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

Long Beach Unif ied School

District

Los Angeles County California

P ercentage of 12th Grade DropoutsDistrict, County and State Comparison, 2005-2006


The number of grade 9-12 dropouts from Polytechnic High School, the high school located in

the target area, is at the second highest point (173 dropouts) that it has risen to in the last ten

years (see graph below).


6

Truancy

Over the last several school years, truancy has decreased citywide, but continues to be high in

comparison to other cities. This may be a factor in the high dropout rate in Long Beach.

According to the Long Beach Unified School District Truancy Center, the following numbers of

students, district-wide have been cited and received tickets between 2003 and 2006:

Long Beach Unified School District Students, 2003-2006School Year Detentions Tickets2003-2004 1,350 1,2582004-2005 1,216 1,0962005-2006 1,047 949

Data courtesy of the Long Beach Police Department

Over half of Long Beach Unified School District’s students live in the Polytechnic High School

area (55 percent). A recent review of this highly impacted area evidenced that approximately 95

percent of students suspended by the Truancy Counseling Center, suspended to home, ticketed

for daytime loitering, or those given referrals for immediate action and requested expulsions or

transfers to another school, were people of color. During Academic Year 2003-2004, 678

students were suspended and six students were expelled from the High School and Middle

Schools located in the target area. In the 2006-2007 school year, 77 percent of Polytechnic

High School students were considered truant, whereas Long Beach Unified School District’s

truancy rate was at 58 percent, and California’s rate was much lower at 28 percent (see below

graph).

7

28.31%California

31.03%Los Angeles

County

58.11%LBUSD

52,361 Students

77.42%Polytechnic High

3,642 S tudents

0.00%

50.00%

100.00%

Truancy Rate

Truancy Rate: Target Area High S chool,District, County and S tate Comparison, 2006-2007


Income

The median household income for the target area is $21,728. In comparison, the median

household income citywide was $37,270 in 1999. According to Census 2000, more than half

(52 percent) of target area residents earn less than $15,000 a year. Only 19 percent of the

population is employed and there are 3,236 welfare recipients. This makes up seven percent of

the total population on welfare or public assistance. Approximately 43 percent of area residents

live at or below the national poverty level compared to 22 percent for all of Long Beach. Of

those living in poverty, nearly half are under age 17 (over one-third are under the age of 11).

Further, the unemployment rate in the target area is six percent compared to four percent

countywide. In households where the gender of the head of household is identified, 44 percent

are female-headed households in Beats 4 and 5. This is slightly higher than the citywide

percentage of 41.

8

Teen Pregnancy

The teen birth rate in Long Beach has risen from 49.3 in 2003 to 51.9 in 2004. These are rates

per 1,000 females age 15-19. While the state rate has declined to 38.1 births for every 1,000

females ages 15-19, Long Beach’s rate has continued to rise. This rise exacerbates already

difficult quality of life concerns in the target area.

Housing Code Violations

According to the Long Beach Department of Community Development, Code Enforcement

Bureau, there were 2,480 code violations in 2006 in the target area; 1,899 cases had been

resolved at the time of reporting with 278 still active. Of the 12,883 households in the target

area, over 80 percent (10,373) are renter-occupied. This reality manifests into quality of life

concerns as well as neighborhood neglect, gang activity and high dropout rates in this area—all

symptoms of poverty and crime.

Adult/Juvenile Crime

In 2005, adults (18 years of age and over) accounted for 88.8 percent of all persons arrested

and 84.2 percent of violent crime arrests in California. In addition, adults were arrested most

often for drug abuse violations than any other offense in California.

In 2005, persons under 25 years of age comprised 44.3 percent of all those arrested in

California. Juveniles were most often arrested for larceny-theft offenses in California. In Long

Beach, the number of arrests for juveniles (under 18 years of age) continues to grow each year.

In 2004, 2,266 juveniles were arrested. In 2005, that number increased to 2,437.

Arrest statistics have been used as the main barometer of juvenile delinquent activity over the

past decades. Unfortunately many juvenile offenses go unreported and thus do not become a

9

part of the national statistical picture. Many minor offenses committed by juveniles are

considered part of growing up and are handled informally rather than by arrest and adjudication.

The most severe sanction that a juvenile court can impose entails the restrictions of a juvenile’s

freedom through placement in a residential facility. Youth who are released from institutional

confinement are more likely to succeed if they have access to services that can help them thrive

in a non-institutional environment. According to the 2003 City of Long Beach Human Relations

Commission Report on Youth and Gang Violence, 85 percent of juvenile offenders citywide are

illiterate.

Part I Crimes

Part I crimes consist of murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, residential

and commercial burglary, auto burglary, grand theft, petty theft, bicycle and auto theft, and

arson. In the year 2004, there were 1,992 such crimes. In 2005, there were 1,911. From

January to June 2006, there were 950 Part I Crimes in the target area. Evidence of serious

violent crimes makes up the greater number of Part I crimes in Police Beats 4 and 5 (see below

chart).

10

Part I Crimes, 2004-2006

Police Beats 4 and 5Year 2004 2005 January-June 2006

Homicide 7 13 2Rape 16 21 12Robberies 313 229 124Aggravated Assault 399 387 153BURGLARIES: Residential 129 120 68 Garage 33 43 29 Commercial 72 75 37 Auto 188 228 123THEFT: Grand 73 62 30 Petty <50 79 75 46 Petty >50 129 133 54 Bicycle 51 35 17 Auto 476 479 251 Arson 27 11 4TOTAL 1,992 1,911 950


Part II Crimes

Available data for 2006 provides a snapshot for one month of 332 arrests in the target area.

Between 2004 and 2005, adult arrests citywide increased from 17,292 to 19,452. A January

2006 snapshot of arrests for a period of one month totaled 3,040. From January to June 2006,

there were 1,098 Part II Crimes in the target area (see below chart).

Part II Crimes, 2004-2006

Police Beats 4 and 5Year 2004 2005 January-June 2006

Other Assault 533 497 256Forgery 96 145 39Fraud/Embezzlement 51 55 32Receive Stolen Property 8 11 5Sex Offenses 54 66 36Offense vs. Family 8 10 15Narcotics 302 259 153

11

All Other 743 802 562TOTAL 1,795 1,845 1,098


Crimes by Repeat Offenders

According to the Los Angeles County Probation Department, there are 1,221 juveniles and

1,133 adult probationers returning to Long Beach annually. It is estimated that 11,770

probationers and parolees will return to Long Beach within the next five years. Nationally, the

recidivism rate for this population is 67 percent to commit new crimes according to FBI arrests

statistics. This means that Long Beach can expect nearly 1,600 new crimes by repeat offenders

alone per year.

State parole expects to return over 120,000 parolees annually to the streets of California for the

next 5 years. For the six-month period from January to June 2006, there were 31,728 male felon

parole violations returned to custody or pending parole revocation, 3,376 more than the Spring

2006 projections for the state. There were 2,812 female felon parole violators in the state for the

same period of January to June 2006, 183 more than projected in the Spring 2006 projections.

The average time served for parole violations was about 3.4 months.

Impact of the Gang Problem

Current estimates indicate that 100 active gangs exist throughout Long Beach, 55 gangs have

twelve or more members, and there are about 35 significant gangs in the area. There are

approximately 7,000 members citywide. Police Beats 4 and 5 are home to about 65 gangs.

The largest gang in Long Beach is the Insane Crips Gang (ICG). There has been an increase in

both the 18th Street Gang and new cliques of the East Side Longos (ESL). The divide between

Hispanic, Black, Asian and White gangs has fueled racial tensions among the broader

12

community. Gangs also contribute to drug use and the drug trade, graffiti, and other criminal

activity in Long Beach. (See Appendix for articles relating to gang injunctions in Long Beach).

The aforementioned community survey in the Project target area reveals that many residents

live in fear. Almost half (47 percent) of respondents feel that their neighborhood is unsafe. In

addition, 14 percent feel that neighborhood crime has increased while one fifth believe that gang

activity has gone up. Almost one third identified gang violence and graffiti as two of the most

pressing issues in their community.

Participants in a recent Focus Group meeting of adult residents, held by the City’s Youth and

Gang Violence Prevention Task Force, expressed that the problem of gang violence and crime

in their neighborhoods results in shared feelings of hopelessness and despair—especially for

their children, destroyed community pride, a disconnection from and distrust of police officers,

the breakup of families, residential flight from Long Beach, and a negative impact on local

businesses.

While the rate of violent crimes citywide has dropped in the past several years, murders are on

the rise. There has also been a citywide increase in commercial burglary, residential burglary

and robbery in 2007. Over half of citywide homicides (57 percent) are gang related. Though

total crimes in Beat 5 are down for 2007, crimes in Police Beat 4 have increased 2.5 percent.

Beat 5 also has one of the highest murder rates in Long Beach in 2007, year-to-date (see below

graph).

13

5

8

20

22

13

25

5

4

1 1 1

9 9

14

16

0

5

10

15

20

25

Number of Shootings

Police Beats

2007 Gang-Related Shootings (Long Beach, CA) YTD 11/26/07

Shoot ings 5 8 20 22 13 25 5 4 1 1 1 9 9 14 16

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Long Beach Police Department-Gang Enforcement Section Data YTD 11/26/07

The perception of gang violence in these areas is based on real problems, as statistics show: in

2005 and 2006, 28 percent of violent crimes and 14 percent of all property crimes in the city

occurred in Beats 4 and 5. Together, these Beats have the highest numbers in Long Beach for

firearm assaults, including murders and attempted murders. Year-to-date in 2007, there have

been over 40 shootings in Beats 4 and 5 (see below graph).

14

28.31%California

31.03%Los Angeles

County

58.11%LBUSD

52,361 Students

55(31% of citywide

shootings)55

(31%)42

(27%)

150164 162

176 175

157

31 27 1914

23 22

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

Gang-Related Shootings and MurdersPolice Beats 4 and 5 and Cityw ide, 2002-2007

2002 unavailable 150 31



2005 55 176 14

2006 55 175 23

2007 42 157 22

Shootings (Beats 4 and 5) Total Shootings (Citywide) Total Gang Murders (Citywide)

Long Beach Police Department-Gang Enforcement Section Data YTD 11/26/07

Nature of the Gang Problem

According to Census 2000, Long Beach is a “young” city with 29 percent (134,019) of residents

under the age of 18. In Police Beats 4 and 5, 41 percent of the residents are under the age of

18. In this target area, juvenile arrests increased to 427 in 2007 (year-to-date) from 239 in 2006.

Citations of juveniles also increased to 396 from 234 between those two years (see graph

below).

15

2,2662,437

2,0481,863

683

365

239

427234

396

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

Juvenile ArrestsLong Beach, 2004-2007

2004 2005 2006 2007

2004 2,266 683 unknow n

2005 2,437 365 unknow n

2006 2,048 239 234

2007 1,863 427 396

Cityw ide Arrests Arrests in Police Beats 4 and 5

Cites


Increasingly, the most common crime that youth commit in Long Beach is assault against

another youth—most of which occurs on school campuses and surrounding neighborhoods. In

Long Beach between 2006-2007, one youth under the age of 18 was murdered, on average,

every-other-month (12 youth since the beginning of 2006). In total, 26 people under the age of

23 have been victims of homicide since the beginning of 2006.

Long Beach has been categorized as “the most diverse city in the nation,” a title supported by

2000 Census data. While this is a characteristic that the community values highly, diversity has

also led to increased tensions between different racial groups. Many violent crimes are racially

16

motivated with members of an ethnic gang attacking people of other backgrounds. Tensions

continue to grow particularly between the African American and Hispanic populations—not only

in our city, but also in cities that share our border. This is evidenced in the 2006 Hate Crime

Report by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations that states, “racial conflict

between African Americans and Latinos remained the most serious and troubling feature of

intergroup relations in Los Angeles County.” According to this report, 69 percent of anti-Black

hate crimes had Latino suspects and 81 percent of anti-Latino hate crimes had Black suspects.

While the City of Long Beach seeks to honor cultural and racial diversity, feelings of prejudice,

bias, fear and mistrust create endless challenges in our schools and neighborhoods.

Further, common themes expressed by Focus Group participants regarding contributing factors

that lead to gang violence were: the glamorization of violence in the media and among youth,

the common existence of racial stereotypes, a perceived lack of education and resources for

low income parents and guardians regarding drug use/abuse, violence and gang activities, the

trend that youth are conditioned to have distrust in police (based off of a negative first-hand

experience, or an attitude passed-down between generations in a family), lack of vocational

education opportunities, overcrowded classrooms, city budget cuts that limit the offering of

youth programs, and limited summer jobs or accessible City-sponsored summer programs for

youth.

Unmet Community Needs

The unmet needs impacting the community’s ability to effectively address the gang problem are

exemplified in the Focus Group observations noted above. Included among these are: the lack

of a formalized, coordinated gang reduction program; resources necessary to de-glamorize

gangs and the violence associated with them; education and resources for parents/guardians in

17

addition to youth drug and alcohol education and treatment; and vocational/work experience

and job opportunities that create positive alternatives to gang participation in a safe

environment.

A major, focused initiative began in 2006 to better serve the community in Police Beats 4 and 5.

The City formed a grant proposal committee in order to understand the community’s concerns

for their most relevant and pressing issues, as well as to have the community assist with

implementation strategies fitting to their community. As a result, hundreds of surveys were

dispersed to ensure responses reflective of the diversity in the population of Beats 4 and 5. A

great sample size of the larger population strongly returned over 950 surveys consisting of

responses from: schools, childcare facilities, youth service agencies such as parks and

recreation, churches, elderly care agencies and private residents. Further, the established

committee reflected the diversity of the community, consisting of: residents, faith-based

community, and government representatives at the local, state and federal level, along with

private and non-profit representatives. The purpose of the committee was to convene a group

of people involved and concerned with the issues in the community. These committee

members met for four months to assess the needs of their community and to create a blueprint

for the successful implementation of programming befitting their specific community. Many of

the findings are reflected in this proposal.

Social Services

Although some resources do exist in the target area, they do not adequately address the

community’s problems. The population levels, culture differences, geographical facts regarding

housing stock and age, single family homes and apartments, public housing and

homeownership, transient rate and unfunded projects are main factors related to the crime,

18

social factors and needs of the area. The following service gaps were expressed as the top six

resource needs by residents of the target area via a community assessment survey:

• After-school programs (28 percent)

• Adult Employment (24 percent)

• Affordable Health Care (23 percent)

• Youth Employment/ Sports and Recreation Programs/Teen Center (20 percent)

• Reading Programs for Youth (13 percent)

• Parent Resource Center (13 percent)

The recent 2007 award of the federal Weed and Seed Grant Initiative to the City of Long Beach

provides funding over five years for initial prevention and intervention efforts in Police Beats 4

and 5. However, this program is unable to address the breadth and depth of the problem on its

own. Further, budget cuts and other resource limitations have impacted the City’s ability to

support the coordination and enhancement of existing youth and gang violence prevention and

intervention efforts.

With so many young people living in Long Beach, there is an urgent and critical need to employ

more resources in the target area to further develop a strong support structure, including a staff

dedicated to focusing solely on networking, promoting and delivering prevention initiatives in

Long Beach that will positively impact the community. In addition, resources are needed to

expand comprehensive and multifaceted intervention and suppression efforts on a regional

basis, resulting in decreasing youth violence, crime, and gang-related deaths.

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2. PLAN AND IMPLEMENTATION

Project Plan and Focus

The Long Beach Project will focus on the key areas of gang prevention, intervention, education,

job training and skills development. It will also include elements of family and community

services. Specifically, the Long Beach Project will focus on providing positive alternatives to

gang participation, community awareness and education, and coordination of existing efforts

and resources.

Addressing the Problem

Many roots of the gang problem expressed earlier in this document will be addressed in the

target area by the Long Beach Project. These consist of: a large youth population with un-

addressed needs (including alarming rates of youth violence), a need for vocational

opportunities, citywide budget cuts in youth programming, media glamorization of violence,

strained police/community relations, perceived lack of resources for low-income families, and

intergroup community tensions.

A) Positive Alternatives to Gang Participation

Given that close to one-third of Long Beach’s population is under the age of 18 and that almost

half of the residents in Police Beats 4 and 5 are also under age 18, the educational, conflict

resolution, leisure-time, employment, and other needs of youth are of serious concern to

community members and leaders. The Long Beach Project will:

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1. Enhance capabilities at City youth Safe Haven sites located at the California

Recreation Center and the Central Facilities Center at Martin Luther King Park, both in

Police Beats 4 and 5, in order to provide expanded services for the youth accessing

the existing Weed and Seed programs. This will include:

o Hiring a part-time Department of Health and Human Services Community Health

Worker to support the department’s Weed and Seed Grant Coordinator.

o Coaching community agencies and City departments to actively refer youth and their

families to City youth Safe Havens. (For example, the Community Development

Department will refer their family contacts from Community Police Centers to Safe

Havens. Long Beach Public Library staff will do the same with families they come

into contact with from the target area).

o Purchasing additional computers, software, and internet connectivity for Safe

Havens.

o Funding staffing for computer classes and staffing for tutorial and after school

activities conducted in Safe Havens.

o Purchasing school supplies, books and activities to strengthen learning (reading,

math, memory, etc.), enhance drug prevention, and deliver youth and gang violence

prevention activities.

o Collaborating with the Long Beach Public Library to pursue the establishment of an

additional Safe Haven at the Mark Twain Library.

[Focus: Prevention]

2. Enroll target area youth in the City’s Workforce Investment Network (Network) and

Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) programs that provide access to a menu

of programs and services designed to aid in the acquisition of educational and

21

training support in preparation for success in the workforce of the 21st Century.

These programs and services will include workforce preparation, work experience, job

training, and exposure to postsecondary education.

o Workforce Preparation - With support from the Network’s Youth Opportunity

Center, Career Transition Center, one-stop partner agencies and Workforce

Investment Act (WIA) subcontracted organizations, youth may engage in varied

activities designed to support completion of secondary education, obtain a GED,

prepare for advance training/postsecondary education, and entry into the labor force.

Services provided to younger (ages 14-18) and older (ages 19+) youth will be based

upon their individual circumstances and needs and may include access to any of the

following:

• Resource Centers, which provide access to internet connected computers,

telephone and fax machines, photocopiers, and resource postings;

• Academic counseling, tutoring, homework assistance, and training in test

taking and note taking skills;

• Work-Readiness/Soft Skills Training, including interviewing techniques,

resume development, application completion, work-place ethics and

behavior, financial literacy, communication skills, and team building;

• Labor market information, including industry and occupational demand,

working conditions, and wage expectations;

• Occupational skills training, including training opportunities in high-wage,

high-growth industries (i.e., Health Care, Construction, Energy and Utilities,

and Transportation/Logistics);

• Hire-A-Youth Program, which includes unpaid internships, paid work

experience, placement in unsubsidized employment and job coaching; and

22

opportunities to focus on career opportunities of interest to participating

youth, including city-wide work experience programs;

• Volunteer opportunities to earn Service Learning credit and gain further

exposure to potential career opportunities;

• Leadership Development, including opportunities to development leadership

skills and engage in the community by participating in youth-led projects

• Mentoring relationships with positive, successful role models;

• Supportive services and incentives as needed to ensure successful

completion of planned activities

• Assistance completing college applications and researching scholarship and

financial aid opportunities.

In addition, older youth (18+) enrolled in the project will receive priority enrollment

into WIA subcontractor’s programs for even more intensive services.

Further, enrollment into a program tailored for juvenile offenders, camp returnees,

consistent truants, and/or credit-deficient disciplinary transfer students will provide 12

youth each year with GED preparation, coupled with workforce development and job

or internship placement. Network staff will work with the Long Beach Unified School

District Truancy Office, the District School for Adults, and Probation Officers to recruit

and monitor participants. The program will span 40 hours per week over the course

of the three-year Long Beach Project.

o Work Experience - Under the direction of the Workforce Investment Network, 18-24

year old youth who reside in the target area will participate in paid work experience

23

and structured workforce development through a Community Beautification/

Neighborhood Enhancement Project component a total of 450 hours. Each 15-week

cycle will consist of 300 hours of paid work experience and 150 hours of workforce

development activities (30 hours per week combined). The Neighborhood

Enhancement Project will be available three times per year to 13 youth per cycle.

o Under the supervision of the Employment Specialist, youth will be engaged in

clean-up efforts and varied beautification projects in key corridors within

Police Beats 4 and 5 a total of 20 hours per week. Activities will include

removal of weeds, sweeping, removal of small debris, and limited tree

trimming. Through coordination with the City’s Community Development

Block Grant-funded Neighborhood Resource center, youth will also be

engaged in various neighborhood beautification projects in connection with

neighborhood associations throughout the target area. Associations will

propose projects for their neighborhoods, which can complement with the

overall project objectives. Each youth will be paid $8.00 per hour for each

hour worked.

o During each 15-week cycle, youth will participate in structured workforce

development and preparation activities 10 hours per week. Activities will

include life skills, work-readiness/soft skills training, leadership development,

and educational support activities.

o Job Training - Long Beach Unified School District’s Regional Occupation Program

(ROP) will provide priority enrollment for students to participate in job training classes

offered to both 11th and 12th grade and adult students who reside in or attend school

in the target area. Training opportunities will focus on high-wage, high-growth

24

industry sectors involved with Business and Marketing, Health and Medical,

Consumer and Human Services, and Industry and Technology.

o Training will be provided free to high school students, and target area adult

fees will be waived. Course completion will result in increased eligibility for

employment or preparation for advanced training.

o Classes include: Business Career Internship, Clerical Office Occupations,

Computer Business Applications, Small Business Management, Hospital Health

Services, Medical occupations, Medical Billing, Medical Clerical, Medical Core,

Medical Terminology, Careers with Children, Culinary Arts, Law Enforcement,

Animal Care, Auto Collision, Construction, Graphic Design, and Landscape

Railroad Technology.

o The school district will also offer training necessary to properly prepare

students for internships and employment, sponsor career fairs and job fairs

for target area youth to attend, and will provide informational workshops and

recruitment services to students and community members in the target area.

o Exposure to Postsecondary Education - The School District will coordinate a

program in conjunction with California State University Long Beach (CSULB) to

recruit traditionally underrepresented students to visit CSULB two Saturdays per

month, with a different cohort of students each month. The goal is to have students

become familiar with the college atmosphere, and understand the various support

programs available to students. Students will be recruited primarily from Polytechnic

High School, located in the target area, and other High Schools serving students

from the target area.

[Focus: Job Training and Skills Development]

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3. Encourage young adults to participate in programs like the City’s Midnight Basketball

Program. This free program is a winter and spring basketball league and mentoring

program for men and women ages 17-25. Programs run twice a week from 9:00 pm - 12:00

midnight, and participant workshops are offered in job training, volunteering, and counseling

areas. To many, this program serves as an intervention approach for ex-offenders, truants

and other at-risk young adults.

[Focus: Intervention]

4. Support the Long Beach City College Women and Men’s Resource Center’s efforts to

develop a publicity campaign to actively recruit high school youth to participate in its

annual “It’s My Future” Youth Anti-Violence Conference.” Students who attend high

school in the target area (Polytechnic High) and those who live in Police Beats 4 and 5 will

be targeted to participate in this educational, youth-led conference. Long Beach Project

funds will also be used to support programmatic elements of the anti-violence conference.

[Focus: Education]

5. Assist with coordinating truant youth participation in education, job development and

intervention as well as violence prevention programs. The Long Beach Police

Department Intervention/Prevention Officer will specifically focus on this effort.

[Focus: Intervention]

6. Provide conflict resolution workshops in the target area and surrounding community.

Workshops will be catered toward youth and/or adult audience needs and may be offered in

partnership with a community based organization.

[Focus: Education]

26

B) Community Awareness and Education

The Long Beach Project will express anti-gang messages and support anti-gang efforts in order

to promote community awareness and education. The Project will:

1. Develop and launch a dynamic, multimedia, citywide Public Educational

Awareness Campaign to de-glorify and de-glamorize youth and gang violence. A

team of community agencies, educational entities, City departments, and local television

stations, led by the Long Beach Project Coordinator, will share resources (including

middle, high school and college student participation) to create this campaign intended

for child, youth and adult audiences.

[Focus: Prevention and Education]

2. Expand the delivery of the Department of Health and Human Services’

Parents/Grandparents of Youth support groups/educational meetings. This project

will provide adults who are raising youth an opportunity to have their specific concerns

and needs addressed by professional resources. The part-time Community Health

Worker will be responsible for this element.

[Focus: Family and Community Services]

3. Enhance the Long Beach Police Department Intervention/Prevention Program.

o An Intervention/Prevention Officer will be hired to work on a time-and-a-half schedule

to assist with the coordination of the Police Department’s Intervention/Prevention

Program.

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o Partnerships between the targeted community and Police Department will be

enhanced via police/youth dialogues.

o Target area residents will be referred to existing Police Department/Community

Relations monthly education forums, and encouraged to participate in the Police

Department Citizens’ Academy.

o The Police Department will monitor crime statistics for Police Beats 4 and 5 in order

to provide regular reports to the Long Beach Project Coordinator, Coordinating and

Advisory Council, and the City’s Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force.

[Focus: Prevention and Intervention]

C) Coordination of Efforts and Resources

The Long Beach Project will enhance the coordination of existing efforts and resources related

to youth and gang violence prevention and intervention, as well as family and community

services. The Project will:

1. Hire a Violence Prevention Coordinator to oversee the Long Beach Project. The

Coordinator position will be housed in the Office of the City Manager’s Human Dignity

Program and will be categorized as a contract employee. This keystone position will:

• Provide staff services and coordinate the efforts for the Long Beach Project Coordinating

and Advisory Council and its subcommittees;

• Coordinate efforts with other City departments;

• Serve as liaison between public and private agencies as well as build regional coalitions

with County and city agencies for a more regional approach to the problem;

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• Recruit volunteers or interns to provide support for projects (College interns from the

target area will serve to support Project communications, marketing needs and assist in

Project administration); and

• Maintain grant compliance and reporting.

The Coordinator will also manage prevention, education and response efforts by fulfilling the

following responsibilities:

Prevention

o Serve as the lead staff person for the City’s Youth and Gang Violence Prevention

Task Force, which includes members, a City-staffed Resource Team, and an

Executive Committee.

o Develop, implement and sustain a Violence Prevention Plan for the City.

o Serve as a liaison to the City’s Human Relations Commission on the City’s Violence

Prevention Plan.

o Support the delivery of prevention programs focused specifically in Police Beats 4

and 5. This includes collaboration with community-based organization efforts,

school-based prevention programs, and the Weed and Seed Coordinator’s projects.

o Explore long-term sustainability of violence prevention efforts by pursuing

opportunities for additional funding.

o Develop a calendar of safe, supervised and fun activities to be distributed to families

in the target area, with a focus on after-school and weekend options for youth

(including evenings and holidays).

o Reconvene the City’s Youth Services Network (formerly coordinated by the

Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine).

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o Assist with the update of youth and community resource lists on City web pages,

including www.savinglives.longbeach.gov.

[Focus: Prevention]

Education

o Conduct a citywide public educational awareness campaign that expresses an anti-

gang violence message. This campaign will communicate anti-gang messages

which de-glorify and de-glamorize violence through the promotion of positive

character and community and social values (i.e., integrity, responsibility,

accountability and respect). The Coordinator will work with community-based

organizations that serve groups most affected by violence to develop messages that

are culturally and linguistically sensitive to the diverse population in the city (i.e.,

multi-lingual brochures, billboards, bus stop ads, multi-ethnic events, web site, TV

ads, etc.).

o Promote the citywide Season for Nonviolence campaign (January 30-April 4,

annually) with the Human Dignity Officer.

o Collaborate with existing agencies to connect ex-offenders with educational, mental

health and/or life skills programs and services.

[Focus: Education]

Response

o Provide assistance to families who seek resources to prevent gang involvement with

their children.

o Address community concerns regarding gang violence via community forums.

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o Conduct outreach to community members following youth violence and gang

violence incidents to de-escalate community tension.

o Develop, train and deploy the City’s first Youth and Gang Violence Crisis Response

Team (Crisis Response Team), discussed in further detail below.

o Seek additional funding sources to expand the Crisis Response Team to offer

services to mediate racialized, inter-cultural or intra-cultural gang violence. An

enhanced team would serve as intercessors to resolve confrontations between

groups and to prevent confrontations from escalating or becoming destructive. (This

concept is based on an initial recommendation by the City’s Human Relations

Commission in its 2003 Report on Youth and Gang Violence to City Council).


2. Provide opportunities for the Long Beach Police Department to engage youth and

families in programs that prevent crime. The Police Department will connect youth and

families to resources, including: the Police Athletic League, job skills programs, education

programs, parent education trainings, family counseling and recreational activities. The

Police Department will also take part in drug and gang prevention and education programs

at Safe Havens, churches, schools and other organizations. These efforts will be supported

by the Intervention/Prevention Officer.

[Focus: Prevention]

3. Network community resources through the implementation of varied approaches in

order to maximize outreach to diverse communities.

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o The Long Beach Public Library will determine best practices to connect community

resource information on www.lbpl.org with the City’s Youth and Gang Violence

Prevention Task Force Web Site and the Youth Services Network web site.

o A Youth Services Guide Directory will be created by a collaborative team including the

City of Long Beach Department of Parks and Recreation, the Long Beach Public Library,

the Community Development Department and the Long Beach Project Coordinator.

o The City’s Youth Services Network web site will be maintained with member

submissions by the Department of Parks and Recreation. This online Youth Services

database provides access to a list of organizations that serve youth and children. The

data was collected and organized jointly by the Department of Parks and Recreation and

the Long Beach Unified School District, Office of Alternative Education and Student

Support Services.

o Coordination of the City’s Youth Services Network will transition from the Department of

Parks and Recreation to the Long Beach Project Coordinator. Network meetings will be

held quarterly.

[Focus: Prevention]

4. Respond to incidents of youth and gang violence through the implementation of the

City’s Youth and Gang Violence Crisis Response Team (Crisis Response Team). The

Long Beach Project Coordinator will spearhead the creation of this specialized team. The

Crisis Response Team will respond specifically to youth violence and gang violence in order

to provide assistance, intervention and prevention to victims, their families, and witnesses of

such violent acts. This program will bring to life a needed citywide response to gang

violence and will be instrumental in de-escalating community tension, bringing about

mediation opportunities, and encouraging dialogue. The Crisis Response Team will be

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trained in a multi-day skill development program and will meet monthly to further develop

their victim response skills. This initiative will include the establishment of a City Youth and

Gang Violence Crisis Response Procedure in partnership with the Long Beach Police

Department. The Crisis Response Team will be part of the Human Dignity Program

Community Assistance Team, and will be modeled after the Los Angeles Crisis Response

Team.

[Focus: Intervention, Prevention, and Family and Community Services]

5. De-escalate tensions between different racial groups in Long Beach and address

issues of stereotyping and bias via efforts by the Violence Prevention Coordinator in

collaboration with the Human Dignity Officer. Specialized neighborhood dialogue

programs may be delivered by the Long Beach Project as a result of Youth and Gang

Violence Crisis Response Team activations to address related concerns in the target

community.

[Focus: Prevention]

6. Build valuable alliances in the community and region.

o The Long Beach Project Coordinator will communicate regularly with the Long Beach City

College Women and Men’s Resource Center about programs and services geared toward

ex-offender reentry.

o The Long Beach Project Coordinator will attend monthly Los Angeles County

Interagency Gang Task Force meetings with the Long Beach Police Department.

Together, they will pursue additional ways to enhance a lasting and continued

relationship with state and local law enforcement, probation, parole, and other potential

regional partners.

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o The Long Beach Project Coordinator and Police Department will also participate in

discussions with the Los Angeles Superior Court regarding improving the warrant system,

with the possibility of securing funding for a regional warrant officer. As a result, youth

resource referral efforts will be coordinated with the Superior Court.

o Long Beach Unified School District will secure office space at a school in the target area for

the Long Beach Project Coordinator to utilize on a weekly or monthly basis.

o School District staff will keep the Long Beach Project Coordinator appraised of school

programs for at-risk youth (i.e., Fostering Opportunities for Creating Unified Success–

FOCUS, Guidance Opportunity Classes, Specialized Educational and Learning

Environment for Collaborative Transitions–SELECT, Project TEAM–Teaching and

Encouraging Academic Minds, Extended Day Interventions for Middle School English

Learners, CAHSEE Interventions, Safe and Civil Schools Initiative, Second Step, Too Good

for Drugs and Violence, Truancy Counseling Center–TCC, District-wide Crisis Response

Team, Student Success Intervention Teams, the School Based Mental Health

Collaborative, and parent education classes).

o Designated School District staff will connect the Long Beach Project with the District’s

Truancy Center and the District’s School for Adults GED Program.

[Focus: Prevention]

7. Enhance the Department of Health and Human Services’ offering of substance abuse

services. The Department’s Community Health Worker will establish additional

drug/alcohol abuse prevention activities for youth. (S)he will develop a substance abuse

treatment referral guide for community distribution. In addition, (s)he will assist with the

development and distribution of treatment and aftercare services for substance addicts.


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Addressing Unmet Needs

The Long Beach Project will establish a needed, formalized and coordinated anti-gang program

in the City of Long Beach in order to better address the community’s problems. It will reign in a

network of wrap-around resources and services necessary to de-glamorize youth and gang

violence, educate families about youth drug and alcohol abuse and treatment, provide

vocational/ work experience and job opportunities, create positive youth alternatives to gang

participation in a safe environment, and to respond to additional community needs resulting

from gang violence. Service areas of concern to target area residents will be addressed

through the support and promotion of after-school academic and recreation programs, tutoring,

job training and employment opportunities, and health care resources.

The Long Beach Project will enhance the City’s established Weed and Seed Grant efforts by

further enhancing local resources through identifying and organizing a partnership between

them and regional resources. The Project will help to double the resources and allow programs

to reach a larger target than they could individually. Local resources can be better distributed,

enhanced and coordinated through collaboration of services by community agencies and their

agreement not to duplicate services in the target area. The improved distribution can be

accomplished by establishing a specific schedule to make activities and services available to

the community by: the utilization of the Weed and Seed Grant youth Safe Havens for service

locations; establishment of a resource buddy system; notification of law enforcement when a

crime is witnessed; formation of neighborhood watch groups; and contact with a City

department when a problem is identified.

Youth Safe Havens

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Youth will have expanded opportunity to take advantage of Weed and Seed Grant-established

youth Safe Havens for after school activities such as tutoring, mentoring, sports activities, and

craft classes. Two Safe Havens have recently been identified to offer services 3-5 days a week

to youth. Safe Havens have been identified as a community meeting location to plan

community events to improve the quality of life for the target area. The Long Beach Project will

direct youth and resources to the Safe Havens.

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Project Objectives and Expected Success

The Long Beach Project will positively impact the focus areas of gang prevention, intervention,

education, job training and skills development, as well as family and community services in the

target area. Following is a description of objectives that address each focus, along with

identified measurements of success. The Project will:

1. Provide youth who are identified as already involved in criminal or gang activity or

are at-risk, with positive alternatives to gang participation in a safe environment,

including job training and skills development.

a. Prevention – A focus on prevention will be evidenced by the enhancement of

capabilities at City youth Safe Haven sites located in Police Beats 4 and 5, in order

to provide expanded services for the youth accessing the existing Weed and Seed

programs. Success indicators will include:

Securing a part-time Community Health Worker in the Department of Health

and Human Services.

Referral of 156 youth and their families to City youth Safe Havens by

community agencies and City departments (one youth per week).

Three additional computers, including software, and three years of internet

connectivity at Safe Havens.

100 hours of computer classes, tutoring, and after school activities provided

on an annual basis at Safe Havens.

School supplies, books and activities for 12 youth participating in Safe Haven

programs.

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Additional Safe Haven established at the Mark Twain Library.

b. Job Training and Skills Development – A focus on job training and skills

development will be evidenced by the enrollment of target area youth in the City’s

Workforce Investment Network and Long Beach Unified School District programs

that provide access to a menu of programs and services designed to aid in the

acquisition of educational and training support in preparation for success in the

workforce of the 21st Century. These programs and services include workforce

preparation, work experience, job training, and exposure to postsecondary

education. Anticipated success indicators include:

o 79 percent of youth participants 14-18 years of age will demonstrate an

increase in their basic literacy skills and 67 percent will achieve a high school

diploma (or equivalent), as a result of participation in workforce preparation

activities.

o 69 percent of youth participants 19 years of age and older will attain

employment and 39 percent will attain both employment and a credential

(high school diploma, GED or certification).

o 36 juvenile offenders, camp returnees, consistent truants, and/or credit-

deficient disciplinary transfer students per year will receive their GED and be

placed in a job or internship.

117 youth participants per year will complete a paid work experience and

structured workforce development program through the Community

Beautification/ Neighborhood Enhancement Project.

30 percent of youth participants who successfully complete the workforce

component will attain employment and an additional 39 percent will attain a

38

credential (high school diploma, GED or certification) and/or enter advanced

training or postsecondary education.

225 youth and adults per semester will be enrolled in job training over the

course of the three-year project. Success will be measured by the number of

youth and adults completing job training and participating in employment

placement activities and/or entering advanced training.

300 students from Polytechnic High School, or students who live in the

surrounding neighborhoods (300 over three years) will participate in the

Exposure to Postsecondary Education program, cosponsored by the Long

Beach Unified School District and California State University, Long Beach.

The number of participants who enroll in college will also determine program

success. Students will be tracked through Cal-PASS (California Partnership

for Achieving Student Success). Additional measures will include increases

in GPA, attendance, standardized test scores (including the California

Standards Test) and the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), and

decreases in discipline. Project Team Counselors of Long Beach Unified

School District will perform this tracking.

c. Intervention – A focus on intervention will be evidenced by the coordination of truant

youth participation in education, job development and intervention as well as

violence prevention programs. Success indicators will include the referral of 36

young adults under the age of 25 to participate in the City’s Midnight Basketball

Program or other intervention programs. This will, in turn, lower the recidivism rate

among participants.

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d. Education – A focus on education will be evidenced by the promotion and delivery

of the Long Beach City College Women and Men’s Resource Center’s annual “It’s

My Future” Youth Anti-Violence Conference. Success indicators will include annual

conference participation of 75 students from the target area who will develop an

understanding of a wide-range of alternatives that resolve conflict without violence.

At least half of the youth participants from the target area will develop conference

planning, leadership and facilitation skills. This will increase their influence among

peers regarding violence prevention messages. Increased conference attendance

will result each year. Further, five college students will interface with youth

participants each year (15 college students over the three-year period), who will

provide mentoring relationships to the youth.

In addition, 12 conflict resolution workshops will be provided for 180 youth and adult

participants in the target area and surrounding community over the three-year period

and will express positive attitudinal and behavioral change in regards to issues of

conflict.

2. Promote community awareness and education via anti-gang messages.

a. Prevention and Intervention – A dual focus on prevention and intervention will be

evidenced by the enhancement of the Long Beach Police Department

Intervention/Prevention Program. Success indicators will include:

o Securing one Intervention/Prevention Officer who will work 10 hours per

week (520 hours annually, and 1,560 hours over the three-year period).

40

o Attitudinal shift and relationship-building between the targeted community

and Police Department as a result of participation in at least one annual

police/youth dialogue (three over the three-year period).

o The referral of 36 residents per year to existing Police

Department/Community Relations education forums and the Police

Department Citizens’ Academy.

b. Education – A focus on education will be evidenced by the launch of a Public

Educational Awareness Campaign to de-glorify and de-glamorize youth and gang

violence. Success indicators will include multimedia outreach to child, youth and

adult audiences which will result in 104 new visits to the Long Beach Project web site

(one each week for two years) and 52 calls for service (one every two weeks for two

years).

c. Family and Community Services – A focus on family and community services will

be evidenced by the expansion of the delivery of the Department of Health and

Human Services’ Parents/Grandparents of Youth support groups/educational

meetings. Success indicators will include the delivery of four support

groups/education meetings by the Community Health Worker.

3. Enhance the coordination of existing efforts and resources related to youth and gang

violence prevention and intervention as well as family and community services to

maximize the return on the investment of limited resources.

a. Prevention – A focus on prevention will be evidenced via multiple avenues.

41

First, by securing one Violence Prevention Coordinator in the Office of the City

Manager. Success indicators will include the following accomplishments:

o Supervision of at least two volunteers or interns per year (six over the three-

year period).

o Delivery of eight Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force meetings

and four Community Education Forums per year (24 and 12, respectively,

over the three-year period).

o Coordination of monthly Resource Team meetings (36 over the three-year

period).

o Coordination of quarterly Executive Committee meetings (12 over the three-

year period).

o The adoption of a citywide Violence Prevention Plan by the City Council, with

the support of the Long Beach Unified School District, and other community

entities.

o Monthly presentations to the City’s Human Relations Commission on the

City’s Violence Prevention Plan (36 over the three-year period).

o Secure additional violence prevention funding to sustain these efforts on a

long-term basis in Long Beach.

o The development and distribution of a calendar of safe youth activities to

1,000 target area youth and their families, at least on an annual basis.

o Coordinate four annual Youth Services Network meetings (12 over the three-

year period).

o Coordinate monthly updates of youth and community resource lists on City

web pages (including www.savinglives.longbeach.gov).

42

The prevention focus will also be indicated as the Long Beach Police Department

engages youth and families in programs that prevent crime. Success indicators

will include:

o Connecting 36 youth and families to departmental and/or other agency

prevention programs.

o The Police Department will take part in 36 drug and gang prevention and

education programs at Safe Havens, churches, schools and other

organizations.

A focus on prevention will further be revealed with the implementation of varied

approaches to network community resources. Success will be evidenced by:

o Merging or cross-referencing at least on a quarterly basis, community

resource information on the Long Beach Public Library web site

(www.lbpl.org) with the City’s Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task

Force Web Site (www.savinglives.longbeach.gov) and the Youth Services

Network web site (www.longbeachyouth.org).

o The creation and distribution of a Youth Services Guide Directory to 2,000

target area youth and families.

o Weekly maintenance of the City’s Youth Services Network web site.

o Quarterly meetings of the City’s Youth Services Network will be held by the

Long Beach Project Coordinator.

Further, prevention will be the focus as the Long Beach Project aims to de-

escalate racial tensions, stereotypes and bias. Success will be evidenced in the

43

delivery of an annual, specialized neighborhood dialogue program, resulting from

outreach by the Youth and Gang Violence Crisis Response Team.

In the vein of prevention, the Long Beach Project will build valuable alliances in

the community and region. Success will be evidenced by:

o The coordination of at least one ex-offender reentry program per year alongside

Long Beach City College and/or the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordinating

Committee.

o The Long Beach Project staff attendance at monthly Los Angeles County

Interagency Gang Task Force meetings.

o A final determination with the Los Angeles Superior Court about securing

funding for a regional warrant officer and improvement of the warrant system.

o Coordinating 18 youth resource referrals from the Superior Court (one every-

other-month).

o Weekly or monthly utilization of office space at a Long Beach Unified School

District school in the target area.

o Bi-annual updates on School District programs for at-risk youth, including face-

to-face meetings with key staff at the District’s Truancy Center and the School

for Adults GED Program.

b. Education – A focus on education will be evidenced by the launch of citywide

multimedia education and awareness campaigns to express anti-gang violence

messages. Success indicators will include:

o The creation and distribution of education and awareness campaign materials in

English, Spanish and Khmer languages to 2,250 target area residents.

44

o Involvement in promotion of the citywide Season for Nonviolence campaign,

including garnering annual Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force

endorsement and monthly City promotional messages during the January-April

timeframe.

c. Family and Community Services – A focus on family and community services will

be evidenced by efforts in response to youth and gang violence. Success indicators

will include:

o Responding to 72 calls for service from families who seek resources to prevent

gang involvement with their children (one every-other-week).

o Hosting community forums on an as-needed basis to address individualized

community concerns regarding gang violence (up to four per year).

o Recruit and train 60 volunteers to make up the Youth and Gang Violence Crisis

Response Team (60 per year).

o Activate the Crisis Response Team on 36 calls for service in response to youth

violence and gang violence.

o Establishment of a City response procedure/protocol in partnership with the Long

Beach Police Department.

Lastly, a focus on family and community services will be evidenced by enhancing the

Department of Health and Human Services offering of substance abuse services.

Success indicators will include:

o The establishment of additional drug/alcohol abuse prevention activities for 12

unduplicated youth.

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o The development of a substance abuse treatment referral guide for community

distribution to 1,500 people.

o The development and distribution of treatment and aftercare services for

substance addiction services affecting up to 36 target area residents.

Implementation and Lead Agency

The City of Long Beach Office of the City Manager will have lead responsibility for implementing

the Long Beach Project. The Human Dignity Officer will act as the Project Director and the

proposed Violence Prevention Coordinator will serve as the Project Coordinator. Both positions

are located in the Office of the City Manager. The Human Dignity Officer will supervise the

Violence Prevention Coordinator. Currently, the Human Dignity Officer heads youth and gang

violence prevention initiatives in the City by dedicating 50 percent of the position’s time. These

job responsibilities will shift to the Violence Prevention Coordinator to focus 100 percent of

his/her time on, once hired. This will allow maximum efforts in this arena.

The Office of the City Manager has the organizational ability to carry out the proposed Long

Beach Project plan, as the Human Dignity Program has already laid its foundation. The Human

Dignity Program was established in 2000 to support the City’s Human Dignity Policy that states:

“everyone should be treated with courtesy and respect, regardless of their racial background,

their nation of origin, the religion they practice, their sexual orientation, gender, or disability

status. It is the right of all residents to pursue their daily lives with the knowledge that they will

not be threatened with violence or physical harm.” This policy and the Human Dignity Program

evidence the City’s commitment to building safe, healthy, productive communities. The Human

Dignity Program has and continues to provide youth and gang violence prevention, diversity

education, hate crime response, and community harmony promotion programming and services

46

to the community. The City’s Community Assistance Team, a team of trained volunteers who

respond to hate crimes/bias incidents and mediate intergroup conflict, is led by the Human

Dignity Program.

A City Violence Prevention Connection

Since 2004, the Human Dignity Officer has served as the main staff support for the City’s Youth

and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force and other prevention initiatives. The Task Force

was created to focus on issues affecting Police Beats 4, 5 and 7. Its Vision is to help build: “a

community where youth are highly valued, well educated, skilled for the 21st century workplace,

healthy, law abiding, and contributing members of society who respect the rights of others and

themselves.” Unique to this endeavor is the cross-departmental support that has been offered

throughout Long Beach since the Task Force’s inception. This includes staff involvement from

the Department of Health and Human Services, Long Beach Police Department, Community

Development Department, the Department of Technology Services, Long Beach Public Library,

and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine.

The Violence Prevention Coordinator (Project Coordinator)

The Violence Prevention Coordinator will work closely with the involved City departments’ key

staff, including the proposed Long Beach Police Department Intervention/Prevention Officer, the

proposed Department of Health and Human Services Community Health Worker as well as the

established Weed and Seed Grant Coordinator, and the Community Development Department’s

Workforce Investment Network staff in order to implement elements of the Long Beach Project.

This Coordinator will have direct involvement in activities, coordinate community partnership

entities, respond to the needs and recommendations of the Long Beach Project Coordinating

and Advisory Council, as well as serve as its conduit between the various entities to recommend

resources and provide communication to accomplish tasks.

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The Violence Prevention Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating the following entities:

• Youth Services Network (quarterly meetings)

• Youth and Gang Violence Crisis Response Team (multi-day skill development training

and monthly meetings)

• Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force (monthly meetings)

• Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force City-staffed Resource Team (monthly

meetings)

• Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force Executive Committee/Long Beach

Project Coordinating and Advisory Council (quarterly meetings)

The Violence Prevention Coordinator will be a key player in daily operations, and as such, will

commit 100 percent of his/her time to oversee the implementation of the Long Beach Project

strategy on a day-to-day basis.

Previous Experience

The City of Long Beach has lengthy experience in implementing grants. The City is currently

implementing the Department of Justice Weed and Seed Grant over a five-year period, through

the Department of Health and Human Services. Further, the Long Beach Police Department

seeks out and implements grants on a regular basis. These two departments’ undertakings are

of note, as they are each collaborating with staff from the Office of the City Manager to propose

and implement the Long Beach Project.

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Coordination and Collaboration

The current partnership between the City of Long Beach and residents residing in Police Beats

4 and 5 via the Long Beach Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force to address quality

of life issues in and around the existing site led to the interest in the Governor’s Office of

Emergency Services Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program for Cities (Cal

GRIP). Once appraised of the Cal GRIP Grant opportunity, City departments began meeting to

strategize the Long Beach Project, including the Office of the City Manager, the Long Beach

Police Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the City’s Workforce

Investment Network, the Community Development Department, the Department of Parks,

Recreation and Marine, the Long Beach Public Library, and Long Beach Television Channel 8.

Early on in the development strategy, other partners, such as Long Beach Unified School

District, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach City College, and the California

Conference for Equality and Justice committed to actively support the application and eventual

Project implementation.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Long Beach Project’s mission is to create a collaboration of educational, prevention and

intervention based programs, as well as related support systems designed to provide essential

educational, career, social and life skills development training and services to at-risk youth and

adults in the Long Beach Police Beats 4 and 5. In addition, attention will be given to ex-

offenders in need of a second chance to reconstitute their lives and become viable, productive,

and contributing members of the community. This will be demonstrated by resource referrals

and program sponsorships. Moreover, this collaboration will incorporate a comprehensive

50

resource network involving subject matter experts from local schools, community college and

university systems, local officials and agencies, as well as businesses, religious organizations

and other non-profit entities.

The City of Long Beach consistently builds new relationships with jurisdictions and agencies in

the target area, as well as regionally. The Office of the City Manager Human Dignity Officer

attends monthly meetings of the Los Angeles County Inter-Agency Gang Task Force alongside

the Long Beach Police Department. Through this collaboration, relationships have been built

with the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee (CCJCC). Most noteworthy, as a

result of this relationship, the City of Long Beach Human Dignity Program assisted the CCJCC

in hosting one of its four annual Ex-Offender Reentry Job and Resource Fairs at Long Beach

City College in the fall of 2007. CCJCC’s Executive Director has agreed to sit on the Cal GRIP/

Long Beach Project Coordinating and Advisory Council. This is advantageous to the Long

Beach Project, as the County’s Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council is a standing

subcommittee of the CCJCC. If funded, the proposed Violence Prevention Coordinator will

network with appropriate jurisdictions and agencies in order to maintain relationships and

establish new partnerships.

Coordination Strategies

The collaborative partnerships included herein are important assets that will lead toward the

preparation of individuals to become functioning, thriving, contributing members of our society.

It is necessary to expose at-risk youth, young adults, as well as ex-offenders to multiple

resources which provide avenues to contemplate his/her role and place in society and make

well informed decisions to improve his/her future.

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The City of Long Beach is noted for its many community and neighborhood outreach agencies,

associations and organizations that service youth and young adults. The members of this social

service community offer a variety of programs to area residents, students, and religious groups

ranging from academic skills development, job training and job placement services, to the

provision of basic human services. In providing this assistance, several issues continue to

hinder or keep these entities from maximizing their fullest outreach potential. It is the

overarching mission of the Long Beach Project to coalesce these services to function efficiently

and effectively. Detailed below are key points of integrating the services:

• Exposure – Most of these services do not have the resources to fully advertise or

promote their programs. Many individuals, organizations, agencies, schools and other

groups that could benefit from these outreach programs are not aware or do not have

access to them or their services. The Long Beach Project will support City youth Safe

Havens to serve as an overarching resource for information and access to the myriad of

services available to the targeted population.

• Resources – Many organizations are operating on very minimal budgets and do not

have the personnel or time to generate the ongoing support necessary to expand or

enhance their programs. Competition remains high for the meager resources from a

dwindling pot of funding resources. This creates much duplication of effort in relation to

fundraising and resource acquisition. The Long Beach Project will support City efforts

to encourage community organizations to co-submit grants to fulfill the social service

needs and gaps of the target community.

• Coordination – There is conflict in the scheduling of community outreach events and

very little coordination in the provisioning of services to overlapping constituencies.

Where there have been collaborative efforts with the sharing of responsibility for the

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rendering of service, they are very successful. The Long Beach Project will refer

interested parties to City Safe Havens, which will serve as a source of information about

a range of available programs and sources for assistance, as well as a means to provide

an assessment of the potential areas for improvement.

The Long Beach Project Coordinating and Advisory Council

The proposed Long Beach Project has a strong infrastructure, which has informed the Project’s

plan in the target area. The City of Long Beach Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task

Force (Task Force) was established in 2004 as a result of the November 2003 report entitled

“Interim Report and Re-examination of the Problems of Youth and Gang Violence in the City of

Long Beach” which was submitted to the Mayor and City Council by the Human Relations

Commission. Since then, law enforcement, educational, faith-based, business, community,

neighborhood organizations and residents have been committed to the efforts of the Task

Force. Throughout the past four years, the Task Force has focused on the following issues:

youth and gang violence, delinquency prevention, workforce development, parent and family

services, media and public awareness, as well as community education and mobilization. The

Task Force is supported by a Resource Team composed of various City department staff who

assist with the volunteer Task Force members’ efforts.

The Task Force was also formed with the intention of convening an advisory Executive

Committee—high-level officials and key players in the community. The Cal GRIP Grant has

provided a valuable opportunity to convene the Executive Committee for the purposes of

oversight of the Long Beach Project, if funded. Therefore, the Long Beach Project Coordinating

and Advisory Council (Council) will be formed out of connections originally built by the Task

Force. The Council will serve as the supervision entity for the Cal GRIP Grant process and will

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also serve as the Executive Committee to oversee the City’s Youth and Gang Violence

Prevention Task Force.

Membership

Membership of the Long Beach Project Coordinating and Advisory Council (Council) will include

City officials, local law enforcement, the county sheriff’s office, probation, district attorney, local

educational agencies, school districts, the county office of education, and community-based

organizations. Council meetings will be held in the Police Department Community room next to

City Hall. The room has been reserved for the third Wednesday of each month, though Council

meetings may only be scheduled quarterly. Council membership request letters have been

distributed and we are anticipating, in early 2008, to receive a return response from 50 percent

of the invitees who will confirm their interest and acceptance of Council membership. Listed

below are those who have been invited to join the Council:

City Officials1. Dee Andrews City of Long Beach 6th District Councilman2. Bob Foster City of Long Beach Mayor3. Reginald Harrison City of Long Beach Deputy City Manager

4. Bonnie Lowenthal City of Long BeachVice Mayor, 1st District Councilwoman

5. Tonia Reyes Uranga City of Long Beach7th District Councilwoman

6. Patrick H. West City of Long Beach City ManagerSheriff’s Department

7. Ray BerciniLos Angeles Sheriff's Department Deputy, GREAT Team

8. Brian CenterLos Angeles Sheriff's Department

Prevention Intervention Specialist and Executive Director, A Better LA

Probation

9. Sam BanuelosLos Angeles County Probation Department Supervisor

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10. John Clark

Los Angeles County Probation Department - San Gabriella Valley Probationary Office Asian Gang Unit

11. Carol Mayes

Los Angeles County Probation Department - Centinella Probation Area Office Gang Unit

12. Kim PowersLos Angeles County Probation Department

Transition to Permanency Project Program Coordinator

13. Charlene Vartanian Long Beach Probation Director

14. Dave WongLos Angeles County Probation Department Probation Officer

District Attorney

15. John AllenLos Angeles County District Attorney's Office -

16. John GuilliganLos Angeles County District Attorney's Office -

17. Lynn Kim

Los Angeles County District Attorney's Victim Assistance Program Director

18. Wayne MackLos Angeles County District Attorney's Office

Field Deputy, Bureau of Crime Prevention & Youth Services

Other Law Enforcement

19. Anthony BattsLong Beach Police Department Chief

20. Carolyn Bell

Long Beach Bar Foundation Shortstop Program Director

21. William BlairLong Beach Police Department

Deputy Chief, Investigations Bureau

22. Richard ConantLong Beach Police Department

Sergeant, West Division, Directed Enforcement Team

23. Laura FarinellaLong Beach Police Department Commander

24. Ty HatfieldLong Beach Police Department Lieutenant

25. David HendricksLong Beach Police Department

Gang and Violent Crime Division, Gang Enforcement Section

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26. Patricia Lee

Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation Supervisor

27. Bob LumanLong Beach Police Department COPS Program

28. Ted Marquez US Attorney's OfficeActing Law Enforcement Manager

29. Tom Reeves City of Long Beach City Prosecutor30. Claire Vermillion LA Superior Court Court Referee

31. Lance WilliamsDrug Enforcement Administration

Demand Reduction Coordinator

School Districts

32. Birgit De La Torre

Long Beach Unified School District Parent/Teacher Association

Chair, Health and Safety Committee

33. Edward Garcia Whittier Elementary Principal34. Stefanie Holzman Roosevelt Elementary Principal35. Victor Jarels Polytechnic High School Principal

36. Fitzgerald Jones

Long Beach School for Adults and Reid Continuation School Principal

37. Martha KlevosLong Beach Unified School District GED Chief Examiner

38. Connie McKivettWashington Middle School Principal

39. Gregory MendozaEducational Partnership High School Principal

40. Frankie ParkerLong Beach Unified School District Educator

41. Terri Rennard Butler School Principal42. Lucy Salazar Burnett Elementary Principal

43. Matt SaldanaLong Beach Unified School District

Principal, Evening High School and Director, ROP

44. CeciliaSantos-Camerino Lincoln Elementary Principal

45. Parisima Shahidi Alvarado Elementary Principal

46. Chris SteinhauserLong Beach Unified School District Superintendent

47. David TaylorFranklin Classical Middle School Principal

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48. Felton WilliamsLong Beach Unified School District Board President

County Office of Education

49. Scott Bastian

Los Angeles County Office of Education, Dorothy Kirby Center School

Special Education Teacher

50. Gus FriasLos Angeles County Office of Education

Coordinator, Safe Schools Program

51. Kelly Glossev

Los Angeles County Office of Education, Dorothy Kirby Center

Supervising Deputy Probation Officer

Other Educational Agency

52. F. King AlexanderCalifornia State University, Long Beach President

53. Phyllis Arias Long Beach City College Instructor

54. Venetta Campbell

California State University, Long Beach, Dept. of Social Work Instructor

55. Anita Gibbins

Long Beach City College, Women and Men's Resource Center Manager

56. Daniel Morales Long Beach Head Start Staff57. Gail B. Schwandner Long Beach City College Workforce Development

58. Dr. Marco Turk, J.D.

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Director, Negotiation Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding Program

59. Roberto UrangaLong Beach City College Board of Trustees Trustee

60. TBD Long Beach City College President

Community-Based Organizations, Businesses and Community Members61. Rich Archbold Press Telegram Executive Editor

62. Sue BakerYMCA of Greater Long Beach Sr. Vice President

63. Kathleen Brown, MSW

County of Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services

Children's Social Worker

64. Wayne Chaney, Jr.Antioch Missionary Baptist Church Pastor

65. Veronica Davalos The Children's Clinic -

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66. Mark Delgado

Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee - CCJCC Executive Director

67. Kim Evans Forest Lawn Vice President

68. Ivy GoolsbyInternational Realty & Investments, Inc. Marketing Director

69. Elizabeth GriffinFriends Outside, LA County -

70. Garon Harden Ministers Alliance Chair / Mattie Academy

71. Karen Hilburn -

Former Director of LBUSD Student Placement Services

72. Dianne Jacobus Port of Long Beach Protocol Officer

73. Ann LeeDepartment of Mental Health Social Worker

74. James LewisLong Beach Rescue Mission President and CEO

75. Richard LewisHuman Relations Commission Chair

76. Tony Massengil

Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations

Racialized Gang Violence Coordinator

77. Jeanetta McAlpinCommission on Youth and Children Member

78. Janet McCarthyLong Beach Chamber of Commerce Board Member

79. Michelle Molina PeacePartners, Inc. President

80. Mike Murray VerizonGovernment Public Relations Director

81. Janet Netterton Knight Foundation Community Liaison82. Amelia Nieto Centro Shalom Director

83. Sony PreamCambodian Association of America -

84. DerrickPerez-Johnson

Department of Children and Family Services -

85. Elder Eddie Pierson Academic Up Rise, Inc. Director

86. Sara Pol-LimUnited Cambodian Community (UCC) Director

87. June Pouesi Office of Samoan Affairs -

88. Jessica Quintana

Centro CHA Inc. (Community Hispanic Association)

Executive Director and President

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89. Naomi RaineyNAACP - Long Beach Branch

President & California State Conference Secretary

90. Karen Reside Boys and Girls Club Director91. Ahmed Saafir Civil Service Department President

92. Nadith Schuster Long Beach JobCorpsWork Based Learning Coordinator

93. Darick J. SimpsonLB Community Action Agency Director

94. Steven WarfieldAntioch Missionary Baptist Church Assistant

95. Melanie WashingtonMentoring, A Touch from Above CEO

96. Craig Watson Charter Communications Vice PresidentCity Staff and Affiliates

1. Leonard Adams

City of Long Beach, Role of Men Academy / Midnight Basketball Director

2. LaVerne Duncan

City of Long Beach, Community Development Department Housing Comm. Officer

3. Jason Fraley City of Long Beach

Assistant Administration Analyst II, Neighborhood Resource Center

4. Phil Hester City of Long Beach

Director, Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine

5. Sandra Holden City of Long Beach

Executive Producer, Long Beach Television, Channel 8

6. Suzanne McMillan City of Long BeachManager, Youth Services

7. Chantara Nop City of Long Beach

Community Development Department

8. Bryan Rogers City of Long Beach

Executive Director, Workforce Investment Bureau

9. CorinneSchneider-Jones City of Long Beach

Manager, Bureau of Human and Social Services

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10. Dean Smits City of Long Beach

Station Manager, Long Beach Television, Channel 8

11. Michael St. Jean City of Long BeachSupervisor, Weed and Seed

12. Ted Stevens City of Long BeachRecreation Superintendent

13. Dennis Thys City of Long Beach

Director, Community Development Department

14. Darnisa Tyler City of Long BeachBureau Manager, Housing Authority

Strategic Roles and Responsibilities

The Long Beach Project Coordinating and Advisory Council (Council) will act as the governing

body, providing the overall leadership, management and final approval of all activities related to

the Long Beach Project. The Council will meet quarterly to monitor the Project’s progress and

evaluate its effectiveness. At these meetings, representatives of the community served will be

invited to participate and provide input. The Council will offer guidance, consider all concerns

brought forth, provide discussion, establish committees to research warranted issues, and

provide final approval to any recommended changes. The Council will also be responsible for

identifying potential funding sources for the project and maintaining due diligence on any

contracts that may come from these sources.

Project Evaluation

Long Beach Project staff and the Coordinating and Advisory Council will be responsible for

oversight of Project assessments. Individuals will be divided into committees to organize the

completion of these duties in a systematic way so as to prevent placing a burden on any one

individual or agency. These review committees will:

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• Conduct regular risk and resource assessment, including reviewing and interpreting

data, monitoring and evaluating programs.

• Provide leadership and support to the target community and to the agencies

implementing services.

• Review reports submitted by all components to monitor the completion of goals and

objectives, ensure compliance, and make recommendations for improvement in order to

develop a comprehensive action plan that is compatible with the resources, groups and

programs already operating in the community.

The Long Beach Project Coordinator (Violence Prevention Coordinator) will report through the

Coordinating and Advisory Council. However, from an organizational standpoint, the

Coordinator will be an employee of the City of Long Beach and will operate out of the Office of

the City Manager.

The Coordinating and Advisory Council will be responsible for policy level decision-making while

daily operational issues will come through the Office of the City Manager by way of the

Coordinator. Monitoring of Project activities and services will be led through the Coordinator and

the Human Dignity Officer. All activities relating to implementation on a day-to-day basis will be

brought to Coordinating and Advisory Council quarterly meetings for analysis, evaluation and

approval. This information will be reviewed to ensure that the overall strategy is in alignment

with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services vision as well as target area initiatives and

goals.

Duties

The Coordinating and Advisory Council’s general duties are as follows:

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• Meet a minimum of four times a year, with additional meetings as necessary;

• Serve as active participants in all aspects of the project, including education, promotion,

implementation of strategies and community mobilization and restoration.

The City of Long Beach Office of the City Manager will be the administrative agency for the

Long Beach Project, funded by the Cal GRIP Grant. A funded Violence Prevention Coordinator

position will serve as the Long Beach Project Coordinator to administer the Project and will

report to the City’s Human Dignity Officer who will serve as the Project Director, both located in

the City Manager’s Office.

Qualifications of Key Staff

Key personnel assigned to the grant include project directorship led by the Human Dignity Officer in

conjunction with the proposed Violence Prevention Coordinator (both housed in the Office of the

City Manager), the Fiscal Officer, the Intervention/Prevention Officer (Long Beach Police

Department), and a part-time Community Health Worker (Department of Health and Human

Services). Listed below are these positions’ qualifications.

Human Dignity Officer

The Human Dignity Program, located in the Office of the City Manager, houses the City’s

current youth and gang violence prevention efforts. The Human Dignity Officer, Melissa

Morgan, will serve as the Long Beach Project Director. Position qualifications include:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in a field

related to the position;

• Excellent oral and interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with a variety

of persons from all socioeconomic levels;

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• Skill to effectively listen, analyze and respond to a variety of concerns;

• Self-starter with strong organizational skills and experience in administering programs;

• Excellent writing skills with the ability to prepare clear, concise reports and

communications;

• Able to respond with flexibility to changing or competing priorities;

• Negotiating skills; and

• Knowledge of local government operations.

Violence Prevention Coordinator

The Violence Prevention Coordinator will be housed in the Office of the City Manager Human

Dignity Program as a contract employee. The position of the Violence Prevention Coordinator is

currently vacant. This Coordinator will serve as Long Beach Project Coordinator and will report

to the Human Dignity Officer. Position qualifications include:

• (Same as the Human Dignity Officer);

• Professional experience that offers specific and substantial preparation for the duties of

the position may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis;

• Experience with youth and gang violence prevention and/or intervention; and

• Grant-writing experience.

Fiscal Officer

The fiscal agent of the Long Beach Project is the City of Long Beach Office of the City Manager.

The fiscal agent agrees to manage all future Long Beach Project funds as approved by the Long

Beach Project Coordinating and Advisory Council and in accordance with the Governor’s Office

of Emergency Services Financial Guidelines. The Fiscal Officer/Financial Officer for the Project

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is the City’s Director of Financial Management/CFO, Lori Ann Farrell. Position qualifications

include:

• Experience in managing finance, administration, and personnel;

• Ability to manage multiple tasks;

• Proficient in computer use and software programs for complex business solutions

applications;

• Knowledge of accounting and reporting requirements for cities and a thorough

understanding of the laws (Federal, Sate and local), which impact fiscal planning and

accounting practices;

• Understanding and knowledge of budget techniques and applications, including capital

budgeting, its financing and long-term planning; and

• Understanding of general and local economic conditions, proposed and enacted

legislations as to the direct impact on current and future revenues, and the impact of

such legislation on the City’s debt structure.

Intervention/Prevention Officer

The Intervention/Prevention Officer position will be located in the Long Beach Police

Department Youth Services Division. The Officer will fulfill Intervention/Prevention duties on a

time-and-a-half basis (10 hours per week). The position of the Intervention/Prevention Officer is

currently vacant. Position qualifications include:

• Background in Police Department prevention programming (i.e., DARE Instruction,

GREAT Instruction, prior teaching experience, gang investigations, Police Athletic

League Officer, Juvenile Investigations Detective, Missing Persons Investigations);

• Proven background with prior assignments;

• Ability to be creative;

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• Excellent networking skills; and

• Compassion for youth and ability to connect with at-risk youth and their families.

Community Health Worker (Department of Health and Human Services)

This part-time worker will work directly for the City’s Weed and Seed Coordinator in order to

increase the number of youth and families served by the established Weed and Seed program.

This will include supporting efforts at the City’s youth Safe Haven sites. The position of the

Community Health Worker is currently vacant. Position qualifications include:

• High school diploma or equivalent;

• Two years of experience working in outreach programs;

• Education may be substituted for experience on a year-for-year basis; and

• A valid California motor vehicle operator’s license may be required.

Conclusion

The application of grant funding from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services toward the

Long Beach Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Project will have a considerable

impact on in the lives of many residents in the city of Long Beach, particularly at-risk youth.

Financial support will help key leaders to achieve their mission to create a collaboration of

educational, prevention and intervention based programs, as well as related support systems

designed to provide essential educational, career, social and life skills development training and

services to at-risk youth and adults in the areas of Long Beach that are most in need of attention

and support. Through the Cal GRIP grant, collaborations will be formed and strengthened,

support systems will be designed, skills will be developed, education will be promoted, families

will be strengthened and lives will be changed for the better. This prospect of funding comes at

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an opportune time. Crucial elements are aligned to address the plague of gang violence in the

city of Long Beach, California. The time is now.

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long beach calgrip grant i narrative

News & Politics

project target area

gang prevention

populationthe target

reasonable target area

number of gang

percent of residents

long beach policedepartment

downtown long beach