Alameda County Probation's Blueprint Initative: Creating Alameda County’s Blueprint to Violence Reduction

The Alameda County Probation Department (ACPD) is requesting CVIPI funding in Category 1 to plan and implement Blueprint: Creating Alameda County’s Blueprint to Violence Reduction. ACPD’s Blueprint Initiative will establish a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to violence intervention and prevention in Alameda County in areas that are most significantly and disproportionately impacted by gang and gun violence. Blueprint will create a strategic partnership between community residents, local government agencies, service providers, community-based organizations (CBOs), law enforcement, hospitals, researchers, and other community stakeholders to design and mobilize violence prevention and intervention strategies that will have a significant and lasting impact on the rampant violence in Alameda County’s communities. This multidisciplinary partnership meets the priority considerations detailed in the solicitation and is detailed in the attachments. Blueprint also acknowledges that addressing community violence in Alameda County requires more urgent and immediate intervention operating simultaneously alongside the needs assessment and planning process. Therefore, ACPD will subaward to two local violence intervention organizations – Youth Alive! (YA) and Positive Communication Practices (PCP) – to immediately expand their provision of evidence-based community violence intervention programs – violence interruption and credible messengers. The target population for YA’s services will be individuals in Alameda County (any age) who are engaged in street conflict that requires mediation. Violence Interrupters (VIs) seek to intervene and mediate conflicts, so they are less likely to result in violence. PCP’s Rites of Passage program will serve youth and young adults detained at Juvenile Hall and the residential camp Sweeney to support the development of emotional maturity and accountability for youth returning to their home communities with the goal of reducing retaliatory violence, re-victimization, and re-offense. YA meets the priority consideration 1(A) and PCP meets 1(B) and will receive at least 30% of requested award funding. The detail of how ACPD meets the priority considerations is detailed in the narrative on pages 9 and 14. Letters of commitment and a list of Taskforce members is included in the attachments, per the requirements of meeting priority consideration. The expected outcomes of the Blueprint Initiative are three-fold: 1) design and implement a coordinated and responsive violence reduction strategy throughout Alameda County that leverages evidence-based practices, incorporates community feedback, and improves public safety; 2) prevent and reduce violent crime in Alameda County by supporting evidence-based programs; and 3) reduce re-victimization and re-offense upon reentry for justice-impacted youth and young adults.