IRJ utilizes strategic social science research methodologies to assist government agencies, educational institutions, and members of the community in the development of policy changes that advanced the cause of social justice.
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Avenue
400 Churchill Hall
Boston, MA 02115
617.373.4678
irj@neu.edu
The Shannon CSI, administered by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), requires funded communities to adopt the Comprehensive Gang Model developed by researchers in the early 1990s. The model addresses the fundamental causes of gang problems and involves combining strategies proven to be successful in reducing youth violence and gangs. These strategies were later adopted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) as best practices to reduce gang violence. The five strategies identified are social intervention, opportunity provision, suppression, community mobilization, and organizational change.
In the first year of the program, the Shannon CSI was funded at $11 million dollars and supported 15 Shannon CSI sites serving 37 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts. During that first year, sites were encouraged to initiate or strengthen relationships with programs that serve at-risk, delinquent, and gang-involved youth. In the second year, while the funding level remained at $11 million dollars, the Shannon CSI expanded to 16 sites serving 39 communities. Sites were encouraged to strengthen their collaborations by expanding data collection and to use the information to make strategic policy and funding decisions going forward. Now in its third year, the Shannon CSI supports 17 sites encompassing 41 communities throughout Massachusetts. Communities receiving support and resources through the Shannon CSI are required to broaden the scope of their collaboration and share information and data across traditional agency silos through monthly steering committee meetings to improve their ability to address gang and youth violence.
Funding is primarily used for:
1)Suppression programming including gang investigations, crime analysis, regional gang task force meetings, joint home-visits (for example, with clergy, probation or parole officers, or school staff), and directed hot spot patrols
2)Social intervention programming including street outreach, case management, and substance abuse counseling
3)Opportunity provision programs including educational services, out-of-school activities (for example, recreation, mentoring, or tutoring), educational assistance, job training, and job placement
Consistent with the vision of the Shannon CSI, EOPSS provides funding through the Shannon CSI to Local Action Research Partners (LARPs) and through the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) to support a Statewide Youth Violence Research Partner (SYVRP). The LARPs provide strategic, analytic, and research support, as well as evaluate programs for Shannon CSI sites. The SYVRP provides national gang and youth violence research best practices and shares lessons learned from the Shannon CSI sites and LARPs to assess and document results of the Shannon CSI. In year one, EOPSS funded eight LARPs in nine Shannon CSI sites and in year two the program expanded to nine LARPs serving twelve Shannon CSI sites. Currently, EOPSS funds eight LARPs serving ten Shannon CSI sites.
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