THE CALIFORNIA VIOLENCE PREVENTION INITIATIVE
The VPI was introduced in the spring of 1993. Conceived by The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF), the VPI is a five-year, $35 million grant-making program designed to reduce violence among youth up to age 24. The VPI includes multiple components, including policy development, community action programs, leadership development, public education, and research.31
Interestingly, the VPI was conceived in a challenging environment in which the supports for those most at risk for violence were eroding, in part because of a stagnant California economy and an increasing public fear of crime, violence, and immigration. April 1992 had witnessed civil unrest in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict, the state budget was tight, and crime and violence were framed primarily as criminal justice problems that should be addressed by harsher penalties, especially for youth. The seeds of a growing social conservatism would soon sprout in the form of ballot initiatives and public policies limiting health and social services for undocumented immigrants, requiring 25-year to life terms for three-time offenders, and eliminating affirmative action. In an ironic reversal, the prison budget briefly exceeded the budget for higher education.
Despite this adverse political climate, TCWF decided to make a significant commitment to violence prevention, including the development of controversial policies to limit the availability of handguns. This commitment was, in part, a response to the rising trend of death and injury from violence in California (gunshot homicides had increased sharply since 1985 and were on their way to a 204% increase by 1993),6 widespread public concern about violence, and the increasing acceptance of a public health approach to violence prevention. The commitment also
In considering its first grant-making initiative, TCWF commissioned five white papers on topics identified by a series of community focus groups conducted around the state in the spring of 1992. Violence prevention was one of the top concerns expressed, and the violence prevention white paper became the basis for a national advisory committee meeting in August 1992.27 This meeting brought together a diverse group of 40 individuals, including former gang members, law enforcement officials, clergy, trauma physicians, community activists, policy advocates, and researchers. Together this group crafted the essential elements that became the Violence Prevention Initiative.27 The diversity at this first meeting became a hallmark of the VPI. The initiative continues to build and support broad-based coalitions that “include unexpected allies and speak with many voices from many perspectives.”
In October 1992, TCWF's board approved the VPI and committed $25 million for an initial five-year effort. Within a few months, a public education campaign and new community program sites were added, increasing TCWF commitment to $30 million. Eventually, through the added support of several other California foundations, the VPI became a $35 million project. The structure of the VPI includes several components designed to work together to reduce youth-related violence in California. Some of the major components are discussed in the following.
The Policy Program
The VPI has three ambitious policy goals designed to promote a favorable environment for all violence prevention activities:
Goal 1: Shift society's definition of youth violence from a law-enforcement-only perspective to include a public health perspective that addresses societal and environmental influences contributing to youth violence.
Goal 2: Advocate for public policies that reduce access to alcohol and other drugs that contribute to youth violence.
Goal 3: Advocate for public policies that reduce firearm injury and death among youth.
The Pacific Center for Violence Prevention (PCVP), established by a TCWF grant to the Trauma Foundation located at San Francisco General Hospital, has the primary responsibility of coordinating activity toward the policy goals, particularly on the issue of handguns. It also serves as the information and strategic policy center of the VPI. In this capacity, the PCVP provides other VPI components with a range of support activities, including policy and media advocacy training and consultation, an electronic communication network, market research, monitoring of news media presentations of violence, an information resource center, technical assistance for community collaboratives, gathering of expert opinion, legal advice and assistance on crime and violence policy, publication of position papers, education of policy makers, and organization of an annual meeting for all VPI participants. The PCVP also coordinates the Academic Fellows Program, which seeks to increase the number of public health professionals committed to working on violence prevention.
A grant to conduct the public education campaign was awarded to Martin &; Glantz, a national consulting firm located in northern California and specializing in grassroots organizing and communications strategies involving public policy issues. Martin &; Glantz has developed two major public education campaigns: “Prevent Handgun Violence Against Kids” and “Resources for Youth: An Honest Dialogue About Strategies to Prevent Youth Violence.” The firm also developed “Youth Want You to Know,” an innovative effort to facilitate the involvement of young people in the policy debate. The primary emphasis of the public education program is to develop an infrastructure of opinion leaders throughout California that will actively support policies to reduce youth violence.
Community Action Programs
The California Wellness Foundation also awarded grants for community action programs (CAPs) serving diverse populations in communities extending from Mendocino to San Diego (Figure 19.2). Compared to the rest of California, the areas served by CAPs are much more likely to include census tracts with African-American, Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander populations. Also, these communities are marked by greater population density, higher school dropout rates, more people below the poverty level, and higher levels of unemployment.32 The 16 (originally 18) CAPs provide youth-related program services, such as conflict resolution and peer mediation training, leadership and self-esteem development, cultural awareness, recreation, and education.27 More generally,
Figure 19.2. Community action programs funded by The California Wellness Foundation.
The Leadership Program
The Leadership Program is designed to recognize community leadership, provide resources for leaders and youths, and support professional training in three ways. First, the Community Leader Fellowship Program gives annual awards to 10 individuals, each with an established track record in violence prevention. These remarkably diverse and highly experienced community fellows receive opportunities to increase their advocacy skills; in addition, each fellow is required to identify and mentor two youth leaders. Second, the Academic Fellows Program seeks to increase the number of health professionals committed to violence prevention and provides opportunities for fellows to develop new research, advocacy, clinical, and policy development skills. Third, each year the California Peace Prize honors three outstanding individuals to provide public recognition of the highest level of achievement in the prevention of youth-related violence.
The Research Program
The California Wellness Foundation recognized that there were significant gaps in our knowledge of violence that needed to be filled by scientific