Meaningful violence prevention requires communities to intervene directly with youth at high risk for future violence. Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) and Family Team Meetings (FTMs) are promising practices for early intervention but may not be commonly leveraged as criminal justice innovations across the nation. As jurisdictions seek to prevent and intervene in violence, they should consider engaging family members of at-risk youth to ensure they receive proper psychological, social, and educational support. This presentation is led by criminal justice practitioners at the York County District Attorney’s Office in Pennsylvania. Presenters discuss how criminal justice professionals can collaborate with community and government professionals, as well as the families of at-risk adolescents, to support the community’s youth and mitigate the risk of future violent behavior. They also explore strategies to leverage grant funding, research partnerships, and technical assistance to move violence prevention and intervention efforts forward.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be better able to:

• • • Incorporate Family Group Decision Making and Family Team Meetings as part of a broader violence prevention strategy.
    • Identify risk factors for violent behavior and leverage protective factors to mitigate the risk of future violence.
    • Evaluate and close gaps in the community’s response to violence prevention.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2020-YX-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.