FY 2009 G.R.E.A.T. Program

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a life-skills competency program designed to provide students with the skills they need to avoid gang pressure and youth violence. G.R.E.A.T.'s violence prevention curricula help students develop values and practice behaviors that will help them avoid destructive activities. G.R.E.A.T. program staff coordinates project activities with federal, regional, state, and local agencies, as well as individuals from community and civic groups. The goal of the program is to train criminal justice professionals to deliver a school-based curriculum that teaches life-skills competencies, gang awareness, and violence-avoidance techniques.

The city of Burlington will use the fiscal year 2009 G.R.E.A.T. funds to deliver the middle school, families, and summer components in an effort to proactively reduce juvenile delinquency, youth violence, and membership in gangs. The presence of gangs within the community has increased exponentially within the past nine years, with more sophisticated, well organized, and nationally recognized gangs beginning to appear. The city will combat this through the delivery of the core curriculum, with efforts focused on the highest-risk youth, specifically those in the sixth grade. Families of youth deemed at-risk will be provided with the skills and techniques to assist their children to live violent-free lives through the families component. The city will also engage students in the summer program through a combination of classroom and physical activities.

CA/NCF