Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2008, $500,000)
The Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI) was launched in March 2006 by the Attorney General as a comprehensive approach to address gang crime and to prevent further gang activity. Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI have been designated as CAGI sites in FY 2008. In addition to Chicago and Detroit, there are ten sites currently participating in CAGI: Tampa, FL; Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX; Cleveland, OH; Route 222 Corridor of Eastern Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Raleigh/Durham, NC; Indianapolis, IN; Oklahoma City, OK; and Rochester, NY. Each of the site's activities are coordinated and directed through the U.S. Attorney's Office for the district in which the site is located. The project addresses three components of an anti-gang strategy: suppression/law enforcement, prevention, and reentry.
The Northern District of Illinois (NDIL), along with its fiscal partner, the University of Illinois - Champaign, will use its FY 08 Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI) award to build upon the local existing Project Safe Neighborhoods and Anti-Gang Initiative partnerships to strengthen the response to gang and gun violence in the district. The CAGI grant will focus on prevention, enforcement, and reentry.
The NDIL will develop a matrix of service needs and resources based on an assessment of the availability of services in the PSN districts and the capacity of community and faith-based organizations to meet service needs. Using this assessment, the task force will issue targeted Requests for Proposals for specific services. In addition, CAGI prevention funds will be used to provide comprehensive services and support the community component of the High Point initiative in the 4th District.
The NDIL will use grant funds to support a Gang Analyst position, which would coordinate and monitor the various task force agencies' investigations. Funds also will cover salaries for a prosecutor and four law clerks. Finally, the CAGI award will fund various anti-gang initiatives, overtime costs, and innovative law enforcement equipment usage.
The grant award will fund three reentry case workers, develop mentoring programs in the 6 districts, and hire a probation forum coordinator. The UI will conduct annual site visits with each funded agency and collect quarterly fiscal and data reports documenting project performance. The task force also will hold annual Gang Summits involving task force agencies and community partners to assure ongoing communication.
NCA/NCF