 National Association of Counties * Washington, DC / Vol. 30, No. 15 * August 10, 1998  The National Youth Network - In almost every newspaper in America at least once a week, if not once a day, there is a story about juvenile crime. A 12-year-old shoots and kills a 5-year-old. A 16-year-old gets caught trying to rob a convenience store. A teenager is stabbed in front of his high school by a member of a rival gang. Stories such as these, as well as the recent incidences of school shootings in Oregon and Arkansas, have left citizens and policymakers alike shaking their heads and wondering what has gone so terribly wrong with youth today and what can communities do to combat the alarming rates of juvenile crime in this country. Between 1982 to 1991, juvenile arrests for violent crimes increased by 41 percent. Admissions to juvenile detention and correction facilities reached an all time high in 1990. The number of juveniles admitted to adult prisons increased by 30 percent between 1984 and 1990. Too often, though, when communities try to develop programs and services to address the problems of youth crime, there are no youth at the table. Instead, the table is filled with policymakers and service providers trying to figure out what to do for or to the kids rather than what they can do with them. When given a chance, youth can play a positive role in their communities' efforts to combat crime. The actions of the National Youth Network provide youth with one outlet to get involved. The National Youth Network, officially established in June 1997, is comprised of youth leaders ranging in age from 14 to 21 from across the country who are sponsored by national organizations representing local government, youth-serving organizations and crime prevention agencies. NACo was one of the network's original sponsoring organizations. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) founded and manages the network. The mission of the National Youth Network is to serve as a catalyst for youth across the country to prevent crime and victimization and to make a positive difference in their communities. Currently the network sponsors a web site and several how-to publications to encourage youth to get involved in developing and supporting such efforts as teen courts, vandalism prevention programs, counseling, mentoring peers or younger people, community clean-ups and drug use prevention projects. At the network's recent retreat in St. Louis, the youth leaders joined with community officials to conduct a town hall meeting on youth involvement in crime prevention. As a result of the success of this event, which was televised throughout the area's media market, the network is ready to work with teens in other communities to hold similar events. Jorgan Harrell, who serves as NACo's youth representative, summed up his view of the benefit of the National Youth Network at a press conference that was held to release the Ad Council's new youth crime prevention campaign: "Surveys show that adults are scared of young people. Its time that we judge youth by what they do - not how they look. The goal of the National Youth Network is as the ad campaign's slogan states: 'Prove them wrong by doing something right.' " To find out more about the National Youth Network, contact Sandy Markwood at NACo, 202/942-4235 or contact the network on the Internet at: (http://www.usdoj.gov/kidspage/getinvolved/8.htm). For a copy of Youth in Action fact sheets and publications, call the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800/638-8736. (County Services News was written by Sandy
Markwood, director of program development.) |