Gang Resistance Education and Training Program 2010 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 coordinate 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 Portland, Oregon will utilize the FY 2010 G.R.E.A.T. Evaluation Site Program funds to continue teaching all four components of the G.R.E.A.T. Program: Middle School, Elementary School, Families Session, and Summer Camp. Project activities will be carried out by the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). The FY 2010 G.R.E.A.T. evaluation site will assist the G.R.E.A.T. evaluator with the data collection process, which is critical to the program's evaluation, by gaining the cooperation of schools in their respective cities. Because the evaluation site is teaching multiple components of the program, this level of funding will allow them to continue supporting the non-school based families and summer components of the program, in addition to the school-based elementary and middle school components.

Specifically, the PPB projects will teach both the middle and elementary curriculums in over 20 of the city's schools during the 2010-2011 school year. The middle school lessons will be delivered to more than 2,000 students, while the elementary lessons will be taught to over 500 students. The PPB also projects that it will facilitate four families curriculum series reaching a minimum of 22 families (averaging approximately 24-30 families for a total of 96-120 family members). It is intended that two of these sessions will consist of the Spanish Families Curriculum. In addition, the PPB proposes increasing the number of students participating in the summer component, as new collaborations become active and existing partnerships grow.

CA/NCF