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 Dona Ana County Sheriff's Department will use the fiscal year 2009 G.R.E.A.T. funds to deliver the elementary, middle school, summer, and families components. It is estimated that three national gangs and 47 neighborhood street gangs maintain 3,000 active gang members within the county, with each gang recruiting young men and women from county schools at all grade levels. In addition, violence occurring across the border in Juarez, Mexico is overflowing into the county. The sheriff's department and county school system recognize academic achievement can only be possible in a safe and disciplined climate that supports instruction and student learning. The G.R.E.A.T. program is integral to these efforts and will involve implementation of the middle school and elementary curricula in five public schools in the county, the delivery of the summer component in collaboration with the Boys and Girls club of Las Cruces, and the delivery of the families component to existing program participants and families participating in the county's teen court.

CA/NCF