CSI: Minneapolis Presented by Al Flowers

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1 CSI: Minneapolis Presented by Al Flowers 1 P a g e

2 CSI: Minneapolis Community Standards Initiative Vision It is our belief that it is the responsibility of parents and community members to SET COMMUNITY STANDARDS for our young people by establishing clear and present behavioral norms and boundaries that are defined as acceptable in our homes, neighborhoods and schools. Parents and community members must work to inspire and motivate young people to begin dreaming about and planning for their futures. If young people are to become future doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, civic leaders, dynamic mothers, dedicated fathers, and engaged/productive members of our communities, we must begin to better tap the talents of our young people. Young people as vast pools of Talent We believe young people are vast pools of talent, sometimes tapped many times not waiting to be inspired, motivated and challenged. When young people are challenged and inspired, the behavior they exhibit and the language which flows out of their mouths is positive and healthy relative to their personal growth and helpful to the classrooms, community settings, and homes in which they reside. Adversely, when young people are not challenged or inspired and left to wither on the vine the actions and language that flows out of their mouths can be vile, dangerous and destructive. This results in a garbage-in, garbage-out mentality... whether played out at home, in the parks, streets, on Facebook, or in the classroom. In order to encourage positive behavior by young people, and strengthen our schools and neighborhoods, it is our recommendation that we: Establish a process to identify clear and definable community standards that delineate and identify what behavior will be encouraged and what behavior will not be tolerated in homes, parks, schools, and neighborhoods. Establish a city-wide Positive Behavior Incentive Program. Proposal Community Mobilization for Community Standards Begin a series of community-based discussions on acceptable VALUES and STANDARDS in all 87 neighborhoods in the city of Minneapolis. Utilize neighborhood discussions as a springboard for formal adoption of community VALUES and STANDARDS by parents, community residents and stakeholders. Positive Behavior Incentive Program The proposed Positive Behavior Incentive Program is an effort designed to target young people who deserve to be held up as models of positive behavior at home, in the parks, schools, and within our community. 2 P a g e

3 During Year I, the Positive Behavior Incentive Program would work to establish the following goals and objectives: Recast young people as pools of talent, sometime tapped, other times untapped, as opposed to disadvantaged, at-risk individuals. Utilize actual incentives, as well as print, broadcast, internet social networks, and other media outlets to publicly recognize young people who are positively contributing to their family, school or community. Elicit the support and participation of parents and community members. Elicit the support and participation of the Minneapolis Public School System (MPS) Elicit the support and participation of the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board Elicit the support and participation of community agencies, organizations, and faith-based institutions Elicit the support of the business community, retail outlets, community foundations and funders. Establish a Steering Committee, comprised of: parents, students, young people (not currently in school or dropouts), MPS representatives, Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board members, community agency representatives, faith-based leaders, local philanthropists, corporate community representatives, and government officials. Identify three (3) MPS schools (senior high, middle school and elementary school), one Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board site (1), and one community-based agency (1) to serve as Pilot facilities in which to test potential incentive packages. Work to establish a written, comprehensive Positive Behavior Incentive Program curriculum, programmatic objectives and incentive package. Identify corporations, retail outlets, restaurants, amusement parks, manufacturers, and other potential incentive benefactors. Identify potential incentives that would encourage positive behavior in young people. Research and visit other cities and states to identify effective positive behavior incentive programs. Research An example of a positive behavior incentive program is PeaceBuilders, a school-wide violence prevention program that has been piloted in several locations. According to an article in Helping America s Youth, The program incorporates a strategy to change the school climate created by staff and students and is designed to promote pro-social behavior among students and adults. Children learn six simple principles: Praise people Avoid put-downs and derogatory language Seek wise people as advisors and friends Notice and correct hurts you cause Right wrongs, and Help others The article goes on to state, The underlying theory is that youth violence can be reduced by initiating prevention early in childhood, increasing children s resilience, and reinforcing positive behaviors. PeaceBuilders includes four components: Parent education Marketing to families Collateral training, and 3 P a g e

4 Mass media tie-ins The article continues, Nine broad behavior-change techniques are used; Common language for community norms Story and live models for positive behavior Role-plays to increase range of responses Environmental cues to signal positive behavior Rehearsals of positive solutions after negative events and response cost as punishment for negative behavior Group and individual rewards to strengthen positive behavior Threat reduction to reduce reactivity Self-and peer-monitoring for positive behavior, and Generalization promotion to increase maintenance of change across time, places, and people. According to PeaceBuilders, This program was evaluated using an experiential design with pretest and post-test measures. Eight elementary schools (grades k-5) in Pima County, Arizona, were selected from two large school districts to participate on the basis of their having high rates of juvenile arrests and histories of suspensions and expulsions. All participating schools remained in the study through the first 2 intervention years. The sample consisted of 4,679 students; 51 percent were Hispanic, 28 percent white, 13 percent Native American, 6 percent African American, and 1.5 percent Asian American. The evaluation found that there was an 89 percent decrease in physical aggression and an 82 percent decrease in verbal aggression. The State of New York, under the direction of the Honorable Former Governor George E. Pataki was committed to taking a different approach to positive behavior incentive programs. According to the document, Promoting Positive Youth Development in New York State: Moving from Dialogue to Action, as prepared by Partners for Children, Youth Development (YD) takes on a new direction in improving health and wellness. Instead of focusing on youth-related problems and deficits specifically, YD addresses the common and interconnected causes of many high-risk behaviors the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD), emotional problems, intentional injury, school failure and dropout, crime, HIV/AIDS, and pregnancy by capitalizing on opportunities at the family, school and community levels to prevent their occurrence. Effective YD actions are holistic in nature, using crosssystem, multi-disciplined, collaborative and sustained community approaches. The study goes on to cite, Youth, family and community developments are intertwined and rely on the principles of participation, partnership and collaboration. While all youth need positive community and family support networks and opportunities to develop, not all families and communities are in a position to make them available. Only through strengthening the long-term stability of natural supports will development be enhanced. According to Promoting Positive Youth Development in New York State: Moving from Dialogue to Action, as prepared by Partners for Children, Review of national and state data on youth reveals a mixed picture. On the one hand, there is much good to be found: 86 percent of youth report wanting to make meaningful contributions to their communities (OJJDP) Youth who feel connected to their families and schools engage in fewer risk behaviors and do better academically (Resnick) 4 P a g e

5 59 percent of high school youth report never having sex 67 percent of high school youth had not used tobacco in the past 30 days and 52 percent had not used alcohol in the same period Individual children and adolescents perform acts of courage and creativity every day, often without recognition or reward (various media reports, e.g., Children s First). On the other hand: Only 20 percent of youth feel valued by their community (Benson) 1 out of 5 high school youth have considered suicide at some point in their lives When asked what first comes to their minds when they think about today s teenagers, 76 percent of adults describe youth as rude, irresponsible, and wild. (Farkas) 37 percent of 12 th graders report having 5 or more drinks in a row on one or more of the past 30 days; 21 percent of 9 th graders reported the same behavior As stated in the Promoting Positive Youth Development in New York State: Moving from Dialogue to Action, as prepared by Partners for Children, the following have been adopted as YD principles: 1) The goal is more than prevention. 2) The process is enduring, comprehensive, and engages youth. 3) Strategies (treatments, interventions, services or programs) go beyond the basics. 4) Youth development happens everywhere. 5) Vision is required, not just coordination. 6) All youth are developing: all youth have strengths; all youth have needs; all youth can contribute to their communities; all youth are valued. The Study states: The adults are: Companions, providing time and a genuine presence Supporters, offering emotional support and unconditional positive regard Teachers who know something youth want to learn and are willing and able to share it Positive role models for children and adolescents Challengers who stretch youth, encouraging them to do more than they thought they could Goal directed and purposeful, not merely busy work Ongoing, rather than momentary or occasional Important, meaningful to both the adult and the child or adolescent involved Promoting Positive Youth Development in New York State: Moving from Dialogue to Action, as prepared by Partners for Children states that as a Rationale for Youth Development, there are at least six reasons for New York State to continue supporting and finding ways to enhance YD: 1) Youth development approaches support the long-term, sustained efforts that are vital for the development of behavior change toward healthy lifestyle choices; 2) Youth development approaches and strategies embrace all youth, including those who have chosen healthy behaviors; 3) Youth development approaches engage youth, families, community-based organizations, government, and others in the community as full partners, working together to make a difference; 4) Youth development approaches offer an opportunity for young people to help themselves by helping others; 5 P a g e

6 5) Youth development approaches recognize that all youth need opportunities to enable them to acquire and sustain healthy behaviors and attitudes, and 6) The introduction of common, YD approaches across our service systems will enhance development of needed coordination, collaboration and multi-disciplinary prevention and intervention strategies. 6 P a g e