The Ministry of National Security of Jamaica requested that the Center assist Jamaican officials, directors and counselors of the programs that work with young persons (ages 10 to 16) in an effort to reduce their future participation in violent groups. The objective was to discuss strategies that had been tried in LA that were designed to prevent a trajectory toward becoming involved in violence by intervening early and intensively with high risk youth.
Workshops with selected staff exposed participants to the concept, context, development and application of a risk assessment tool to identify youth with secondary risk factors, as well as introduce the concepts underlying a tool for working with older youth and young adults in the context of gang desistance.
The Center advised on a phased roll out of the program in the communities of St. James, Kingston and St. Andrew, and Clarendon/St. Catherine; helped to adapt language and identify the relevant risk factors to better reflect Jamaican social realities, while retaining fidelity of the approaches.