Reducing Gang Violence through Human Centered Design
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•1,141 views
Workshop presentation to California Workforce Association Youth Conference, Jan 2014. Gang violence costs communities their most significant assets – young people. Monterey County led the state in youth homicides for two years. This year, the communi- ty responded. Using Human Centered Design, a broad- based coalition (collective impact model) is creating and testing solutions.
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Reducing Gang Violence through Human Centered Design
Similar to Reducing Gang Violence through Human Centered Design (20)
More from Social Policy Research Associates
More from Social Policy Research Associates (9)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Reducing Gang Violence through Human Centered Design
- 1. MC GVP Working Together for a Safer Community Co-Designing an Action Plan to Prevent Gang Violence in Monterey County 1
- 2. MC GVP We have suffered generations of loss 2
- 3. 2009 & 2010 MC GVP Salinas Highest per capita youth homicide rate in California 3x statewide rate 3
- 5. 2012 MC GVP Gang Related Homicides Seaside Salinas Salinas: Soledad: Greenfield: Kings City: Seaside: Soledad 19 73% 5 150% 4 33% 3 200% 2 Gonzales King City 5
- 6. Cost of Violence MC GVP Seaside Salinas Estimated at $207 Million Soledad Gonzales King City 6
- 7. MC GVP Blue Ribbon Panel Community Alliance for Safety and Peace Four Cities for Peace 7
- 8. MC GVP Blue Ribbon Panel Community Alliance for Safety and Peace Four Cities for Peace 8
- 12. MC GVP Survey Results Question 1: Top Concerns of Residents 12
- 13. MC GVP Survey Results Question 2: Top Perceived Reasons for Gang Activity 13
- 14. MC GVP Survey Results Question 3: What Should Be Done for Prevention? 14
- 15. MC GVP Survey Results Question 4: What Are You Willing To Do? 15
- 16. MC GVP Take-aways from Community Meetings Residents are looking for… Equity of Access to Services Opportunities for Engagement 16
- 17. MC GVP The Plan Strategy 1 • Declare gang violence prevention a top County priority. Strategy 2 • Create and fund a dedicated Gang Violence Coordinator Position and convene an interdepartmental Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup. Strategy 3 • Engage all relevant County departments an integrated action planning process. Strategy 4 • Design and launch a county wide public health campaign to reduce youth violence and gang violence. Strategy 5 • Evaluate strategies on an ongoing basis. 17
- 18. 1. Declare Gang Violence Prevention as a Top MC Strategy 1 • Declare gang violence prevention a top County priority. GVP County Priority 18
- 19. 2. • Create and Violence Prevention Coordinator MCCreate a Dedicated Gang fund a dedicated Gang Violence Position Create and fund a dedicated and convene an interdepartmental Coordinator and Gang Violence Coordinator Violence Position Gang Strategy 2 Interdepartmental Gang Violence Prevention Position GVP an and an convene interdepartmental Workgroup. Prevention Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup. Workgroup Coordinator Monterey County Interdepartmental Work Group County Administra ve Office Libraries Health Economic/ Workforce Development Social Services District A orney Public Defender Sheriff Proba on Parks 19
- 20. 3. Development of MCEngage All Relevant County Departments in thean integrated • Engage all relevant County departments anStrategy 3 Violence Prevention GVP Integrated Gangaction planning process. Action Plan 20
- 21. MC Embed the County’s Work in aaCountywide Public Health to 4. wide public health campaign Strategy 4 • Design and launch countygang violence. reduce youth violence and GVP Campaign Monterey County Interdepartmental Work Group Community Alliance for Safety and Peace A Safe and Healthy Monterey County Education Residents Blue Ribbon Panel Four Cities for Peace Community & Faith Based Organization Business Community 21
- 22. MC Strategy GVP Evaluate strategies on an Ongoing 5 Evaluate• Strategies onan ongoing basis. Basis Charts for evaluation Image of a survey or chart 22
- 23. MC GVP THE FOCUS Strategy 1 • GVP top County priority. Strategy 2 • Gang Violence Prevention Coordinator Position & Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup. Strate Strategy 3 gy 3 • Engage all relevant County departments an egrated action integrated planning process. action planni Strategy 4 • County wide public health campaign. Strategy 5 • Evaluate strategies. 23
- 24. MC GVP THE DESIGN LAB Update tomorrow morning with printed agenda. . . Review of Design Lab Action Planning Priority Areas Mini labs Naming the Initiative 24
- 25. MC GVP THE DESIGN LAB Update tomorrow morning with printed agenda. . . Review of Design Lab Action Planning Priority Areas Mini labs Naming the Initiative 25
- 26. MC GVP OUTCOMES The two-day Design Lab . . . Provided a creative space to learn, think and plan collaboratively. Engaged key County staff with the Collective Impact model to better align County resources and leverage its assets around gang violence prevention efforts. Laid the foundation of an integrated action plan and work group structure. 26
- 33. MC GVP YOUR DESIGN CHALLENGE Connect Opportunity Youth in your community to their future careers Use: Visual designs (drawings, pipe cleaners, play dough, found objects) 33
- 34. MC GVP THANK YOU! Social Policy Research Associates Team Vinz Koller – Project Director vinz_koller@spra.com - 831-277-4726 Trace Elms Sonja Koehler Chandra Larsen Sam McCoy Maya Thornell-Sandifor 34
Editor's Notes
- This is first and foremost a human story about the premature loss of lives.It’s the story of Nineteen-year-old Devante Nicolas Arias was shot while washing his car in front of a friend’s house in November of last year. How could anything seem more normal for a teenager in America? It’s the story of Azahel Cruz who was 6 and dressed in his spiderman pajamas, had just finished eating an ice cream bar in the living room of his house when a bullet that entered the home through the backdoor found him and ended his life.The human toll on the families that are directly affected by violence is incalculable.And they are not alone.The violence affects all of us.
- Here is a reminder of the magnitude of the challenge. In 2009 and in 2010, Monterey had the highest per capita rate of youth homicides (ages 10-24) in the State. More than 3x the statewide average.In 2009, Salinas had 29 murders. Every single one of them gang related.MC Homicides:2009: 51 - In Salinas: 292010: 44 - In Salinas: 20The homicide rate among Monterey County youths led California counties in 2009 — and was nearly three times the state as a whole, a report released Monday said. And from there, the news doesn't get better: Monterey County had 50 percent more youth homicides per capita than Alameda, the California county with the next-highest rate of young murder victims.http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_17257946Monterey County's young people suffer a murder rate that leads all California counties and is nearly three times the overall state rate for the same age range, according to "Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2010 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24. This is the second year that the VPC has released the study and the second year that Monterey County has led the rankings. While for 2010 Monterey maintained its top ranking compared to other California counties, the county's homicide victimization rate for this age group dropped from 31.24 per 100,000 in 2009 to 24.36 per 100,000 in 2010. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/monterey-county-ranks-1-for-youth-homicide-victimization-in-california-for-second-year-in-a-row-new-study-reveals-137028243.html
- In Salinas, gang killings dropped from their peak in 2009 to 2010 and dropped dramatically in 2011. It wasn’t just homicides that were down, but shootings – which is a more accurate measure of violence in a community.While we cannot make any causal links, that is the first full year when Ceasefire was in effect. It is also an indication that there are things that can be done to affect gang violence.In fact, in Salinas, the year Ceasefire went into effect, the number of shootings dropped to less than half, a trend that mirrors the trend in most cities where the program is implemented. The key is Of course, gang murders were not just happening in Salinas.In 2011, there were 2 in Soledad, 3 in Greenfield and 1 murder in King City.
- In 2012 however, shootings and homicides are up everywhere. A 73% increase over the year before in Salinas, a 150% increase in Soledad, a 33% increase in Greenfield a 200% increase in King city and the first two gang murders in Seaside. Gang violence clearly is not a Salinas problem. This at a time when violent crime is trending downward nationally.
- The story is not just a story of homicides and their tragic impact on the families and the neighborhoods where they occur. It is not a story about something that occurs in pockets of our county which leave other parts unaffected.It is a story of tremendous economic impact on our communities, at a time when our economy is trying to recover. It’s the story of a tremendous economic disadvantage that Monterey County is faced with because of gang violence.While it is hard to calculate the economic impact, and estimates vary, it is worthwhile because it shows just how much every single tax payer stands to gain from a drop in gang violence.We arrived at the conservative figure of $207 million based on a study released last year by the Center for America Progress that looked at the cost of violent crime in eight cities.This estimate includes direct costs, such as medical costs and lost wages etc. but also cost of policing, prosecution and incarceration.But it also includes intangible costs, such as the pain and suffering of affected families.What this estimate does not include are arguably the largest economic cost which arise from the impact of rates of violent crime:The impact housing values, on economic development, and – in a place like Monterey County on tourism. Those are all much harder to calculate.Studies show that a single homicide lowers housing value in a ZIP code by 1.5 % in the following year.A 10% reduction in homicides in the city of Milwaukee for example resulted in an estimate $800 million increase in the housing stock in the area.Even fewer reliable studies are available about the impact on economic development – for example the lost economic opportunities when companies decide to locate elsewhere rather than in Monterey County.Nor do we have good figures about the impact on tourism. Survey data shows that tourists say they won’t visit the Aquarium because of the gang problem in the county.The combined impact of those factors is likely in the hundreds of millions on top of the 200 million .In fact you may have read that the City of Salinas is looking to rebrand itself. As any economic development expert will tell you, there is no steeper hill to climb than marketing the economic potential of a place with a serious gang problem. More coordinated and effective prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry strategies can have a direct, positive long-term financial impact, both in cost savings (by reducing the need for costly law enforcement and incarceration services) and potential revenue (through increased productivity and investments). And, as is described below, our proposed plan strives to increase strategically the impact of every dollar already invested, rather than merely investing more.Rate of violent crime per 100,000 in Seattle (2006) = 711.2Rate of violent crime per 100,000 in MC County (2006)= 508.56Relatively close.According to the Center for American Progress study, in Seattle:Direct cost of violence per person = $144Intangible cost of violence per person = $350Therefore, approx. Monterey County Cost of Violence:Direct cost of violence = (421,898 X $144) = $60,753,312Intangible cost of violence = (421,898 X $350) = $147,664,300
- So we know the situation is serious.You should also know that this is not a problem without solutions.What to do to address gang violence is well understood.While every community is different, some basic principles apply to all.Here are some good news.There are already regional efforts under way in three areas of the county. The County is involved with all of them.Several collaboratives in the County have been formed over the past few years in which County Department staff participate. These include: the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP) in Salinas; Four Cities for Peace (4C4P) in South County; Blue Ribbon Panel on the Monterey Peninsula.There is a Silver Star Resource Center serving the entire County, located in Salinas; All of these efforts are characterized by an understanding that gang violence is a community-wide problem that needs to be addressed comprehensively. In addition, the County and the city of Salinas’ participation in the California Cities Gang Prevention Network and National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention – a White House initiative with 10 participating cities – have brought statewide, national, and even international attention to gang violence issues in our area. This offers the beneficial effect of attracting technical assistance and some initial funding. It has also introduced local professionals (including County employees) to top experts in the field.
- As I mentioned, the county is involved in all of these efforts. All of the relevant agencies are represented.Our interviews also showed many other intangible assets the County already has towards gang violence prevention: High levels of trust between playerLocal expertise in the most innovative violence prevention methodologiesNational recognition of CASP through National Youth Violence Prevention ForumSupportive & respectful environmentEvidence-based practices already in placeCross-sector cooperation already existsLeadership is aware of and committed to issueSo the question before us is how can the county maximize its resources, do the best job in supporting these regional efforts and have maximum impact in the long run.We asked our respondents this question.There was real consistency in the answers and we further validated their insights with best practice research in the field. Respondents said that it is actually not about the money. IN fact, especially in a resource starved environment, we have to be strategic about what we doThe common themes that emerged are the following five things:We need to set clear prioritiesWe need to have clear lines of authority, communications, coordinationWe need an action planWe need to change a culture – which means that this won’t happen overnight. That requires a real and sustained engagement of the community. It also means that you have to tackle this problem from all angles. It is not one thing, it is many things at the same time.We need to evaluate our effort consistently and over the long haul
- Shifting gang violence patterns in our county that have been operating here for the last 40-50 years, then you are talking about rather serious change.Getting 120 programs to work in concert with one another requires real change.Wherever we looked to cities and counties who have undertaken this effort and have succeeded, they have used a truism that is at the heart of every change management handbook.Need a dedicated high level coordinator. We know from other efforts in other cities. Classic change management – evidence from Harvard Business School.
- Greenfield we had about 40 participantsIn Castroville more than 60, including about 30 young parents What should this community look like in 2020?What will you/we do to make it so?
- In Salinas we had more than 100 participants at the La Paz Middle School.Terrific help in facilitating break-out sessions by CASP leaders, such as Jose …. And Rosemary Soto.And last but not least, a week ago in Seaside at the Oldemeyer Center we had more than 65 participants from all over the Monterey Peninsula.There were many commonalities among the various communities and there were some differences:In the outlying areas, in particular in Greenfield and in Castroville, there was concern among residents that it’s harder for them to access services than in Salinas, or even on the Peninsula. There were slighter variations regarding some of the priorities that will be useful for the action planning process, but overall commonalities dominated.
- The top three concerns in all four meetings were Gang Activity, Drug Dealing, and Unemployment.
- The top three perceived reasons why gang activity is high – or why youth join gangs:Family or friends are already in gangs which draws others inThere is little to do. Gangs offer something to do.And Gangs offer a sense of belonging.I want to emphasize that these are the perceived reasons by the residents who were at the meeting and completed the survey. Those are not necessarily the top reasons why youth join gangs.
- Here is what respondents said should be priorities when it comes to preventive measures:Virtually tied are three things:More mentoring, more recreational activities, and more jobs and job training.More police comes in as a relatively distant fourth priority.First of all, as we stressed last time when I talked to you is that these are rarely if ever either or situations. If we could do everything, we would do more about all of these So There are two interesting observations about this is that this matches fairly closely the priorities that OJJDP has set for gang violence prevention.We all know that the presence of a caring adult is the single most important component in turning around a life at risk.
- When we look at what people are saying they are willing to do, there is a very nice match between the perceived need and the offer from the community.Residents said they would be willing mentors, they would offer to act as neighborhood outreach and they would be willing youth leaders.
- Residents offered a number of characteristics that make for a community that thrives:A community they can be proud of, that where people feel safe, with a well functioning social safety net and where services are adequate and accessible and where youth are viewed as assets by the community, where their positive actions are recognized and outweigh the negative (especially in media), and they can be perceived as harbingers of a bright future for Monterey County.
- Respondents interviewed for this project indicated that they understand that gang violence prevention is a high priority. Nevertheless, they believed that the Board of Supervisors’ declaring gang violence prevention a top priority would send an important message, helping them prioritize their work in significant ways and ensuring that when there are tactical and strategic choices are to be made, top priorities get attention first.Obviously, gang-related violence is a complex issue affected by a multitude of factors - many of which are out of the reach of County government. For example, while the County cannot affect control of small arms, drug trafficking across borders, or how prison gangs operate; But, as the president said in his recent remarks about violence prevention, the fact that we can’t have a guarantee that we are able to solve a problem does not mean that we don’t have a moral obligation to do everything in our power to try.
- Because of the complexity of the gang violence issue and the fact that different County departments maintain different kinds of resources and assets that can help address the problem, we recommend that the County create the position (whether through a staff hire or through a consulting contract) of a dedicated County Gang Violence Prevention Coordinator and form an Interdepartmental Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup that comprises staff from all relevant County Departments and external stakeholders and collaboratives. The Coordinator and the Workgroup will then develop and implement aGang Violence Prevention Action Plan. The Gang Violence Prevention Coordinatorwill manage all aspects of policy development, planning, coordination, administrative, and implementation functions of the Gang Violence Prevention Action Plan; serve as the primary point of contact for the initiative; and act as the coordinator of the Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup.The coordinator must have expertise and a proven track record in gang violence prevention strategies, collaboration building, and strong project management and facilitation skills. Based on Collective Impact modelThe approach we recommend is based on the Collective Impact Model for Social Change. Collective impact is particularly suited to initiatives that require coordination and collaboration among many different stakeholders who are looking to impact a shared goal though they may have different and complementary individual missions. It is also proven to be effective in addressing complex social problems.This approach is echoed in most comprehensive gang violence prevention models.John Kania and Mark Kramer, “Collective Impact”, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter (2011)
- We recommend that the County, through its newly formed Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup, develop an Integrated Gang Violence Prevention Action Plan. We envision an iterative process that serves as a blueprint for immediate and sustainable violence prevention efforts by the County of Monterey. The Action Plan will outline the goals, objectives, rationale, and action steps to support the County’s violence prevention strategy.It will also capture the timeline for completing each action step, the lead agency responsible for making sure the action step is completed, and the cooperating agencies that are critical to completing each action step. The action planning process should be launched as soon as this Strategic Plan is approved. The first step will be to engage the Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup in a highly facilitated Gang Violence Prevention Design Lab. We are proposing a lab approach instead of the typical retreat to emphasize the fact that the stakeholders (members of the Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup and other key invitees) must engage in an actual design process that leads to an integrated action plan with a shared set of outcomes. We propose the use of “design thinking” (as developed by IDEO, the leading international design thinking hub near Stanford) because of its potential to transform the way organizations craft strategy, and develop and implement services. IDEO is known around the world for applying design thinking to solve all kinds of problems in the private and non-profit sectors and, increasingly, in government. Today, communities large and small use design thinking to integrate and align people, technologies, processes, and systems to meet their most critical needs. Design thinking is also well suited because it is client-centered -- emphasizing the application of creativity that we all have but that get overlooked by traditional problem-solving practices. In the case of gang violence prevention “the clients’ are the young people at risk of becoming gang members, as well their family members around whom programs and projects are designed.
- I mentioned at the beginning that a key ingredient for success is public engagement.We are talking about a change in the culture that needs to take place.Strategy # 4 is based on that premise.It’s about using a Public Health Lens to address Youth ViolenceThis approach looks at gang violence as a long-term epidemic with similar characteristics to a communicable disease. It has shown promise in numerous communities and has already received seed funding in Monterey County through the STRYVE program.We recommend building on the efforts currently under way by designing and implementing a Countywide Public Health Campaign to reduce gang violence in a way that engages the entire community and connects all related efforts. A public health approach changes the lens through which we view gang violence. Instead of looking at it through a criminal justice lens, where law enforcement is prescribed and perpetrators are targeted, we look at it through a public health lens, where a change in the behavior of the entire community is supported through a long-term public information and engagement campaign. Such campaigns have led to dramatic cultural shifts on issues such as smoking and drunk driving. Applied to an issue like gang violence, this approach is intended to lead to a shift in community resiliency and a decreased acceptance of youth violence in our community. The approach supports the systemic change required to reduce gang violence, addressing the full continuum of violence reduction – prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry. The public health model has already been adopted by many cities around the country, including San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Chicago.
- Launching an interdepartmental initiative such as the Gang Violence Prevention Action Plan is complex and multi-faceted. One of its challenges is knowing how to define success and how to track the County’s progress towards that success. To ensure proper tracking of the initiative, we recommend that it be accompanied by an independent third-party evaluation.The recommended evaluation design will need to be developed alongside the proposed Action Plan. The evaluative lens might focus on service delivery implementation, systems change, impact, population-level outcomes, community and stakeholder perceptions, or any combination of the above.The County currently lacks the data and the data management systems necessary to evaluate effectiveness or demonstrate a return on investment for the programs it funds, and to share among departments. We therefore recommend that as part of the Gang Violence Prevention Design Lab, stakeholders will explore the data and technology needed to support meaningful gang violence prevention. From Evaluating Comprehensive Strategies to Reduce Gang-related Violence: A Municipal Action Guide Angela M. Wolf, Ph.D.
- Provided a creative space to learn, think and plan collaboratively, with 40 participants representing 13 agencies and departments. Engaged key County staff with the Collective Impact model as an internal organizing model to better align its resources and leverage its assets around gang violence prevention efforts.Laid the foundation of an integrated action plan and work group structure.
- THE THREE LENSES OF HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN Human-Centered Design (HCD) is a process and a set of techniques used to create new solutions for the world. Solutions include products, services, environments, organizations, and modes of interaction. The reason this process is called “human-centered” is because it starts with the people we are designing for. The HCD process begins by examining the needs, dreams, and behaviors of the people we want to affect with our solutions.We seek to listen to and understand what they want. We call this the Desirability lens. We view the world through this lens throughout the design process. Once we have identified a range of what is Desirable, we begin to view our solutions through the lenses of Feasibility and viability. We carefully bring in these lenses during the later phases of the process.
- THE THREE LENSES OF HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN Human-Centered Design (hCD) is a process and a set of techniques used to create new solutions for the world. Solutions include products, services, environments, organizations, and modes of interaction. The reason this process is called “human-centered” is because it starts with the people we are designing for. The HCD process begins by examining the needs, dreams, and behaviors of the people we want to affect with our solutions.We seek to listen to and understand what they want. We call this the Desirability lens. We view the world through this lens throughout the design process. Once we have identified a range of what is Desirable, we begin to view our solutions through the lenses of Feasibility and viability. We carefully bring in these lenses during the later phases of the process.
- Doug Dietz is an executive engineer with General Electric and a designer of MRI machines. He thought his machines were great -- hey, they had won awards!-- until he visited a pediatric hospital and saw how terrified children were by the prospect of entering his machine to be scanned. Eighty percent of children were so scared that they had to be sedated before the procedure, requiring the services of an anesthesiologist.Horrified, Dietz went back to the drawing board. He took a class in "person-centered" design, interviewed children and pediatricians, consulted experts. And he emerged with a series of different "adventures" for his young patients:By thinking holistically about how children experienced and interacted with the technology, Doug helped transform the MRI suite into a kid’s adventure story, with the patient in a starring role. Making no changes to the complex technology inside the scanner, Doug and his ad hoc team applied colorful decals to the outside of the machine and to every surface in the room, covering the floor, ceilings, walls, and all of the equipment. They also created a script for machine operators so they could lead their young patients through the adventure. One of the prototypes is a pirate ship worthy of an amusement park ride. The ship comes complete with a big wooden captain’s wheel that surrounds the round opening of the chamber—a sea-faring detail that also makes the small circumference seem less claustrophobic. The operator tells kids that they will be sailing inside the pirate ship and they have to stay completely still while on the boat. After their “voyage,” they get to pick a small treasure from the pirate’s chest on the other side of the room. In another story, the MRI is a cylindrical spaceship transporting the patient into a space adventure. Just before the whirring and banging of the machine gets louder, the operator encourages young patients to listen closely for the moment that the craft “shifts into hyper-drive.” This reframing transforms a normally terrifying “BOOM-BOOM-BOOM” sound into just another part of the adventure. Including the pirate experience and the rocket ship, there are now nine different “adventures.”With the new schemes in place, most kids can handle the MRI without sedation; some even ask if they can do it again.And that is what good design really means.
- Agree on priority areas for action planning – what priority areas need to happen first – e.g. clearly define the backbone agency’s roles, communicate that with county staffEngage more deeply with the County Family – this will happen as continuous, two-way communication about the process begins, and can especially deepen with defining a common agenda for the internal GVP mutually reinforcing activities.Launch Work Groups – we envision these to develop around the five collective impact conditions, with sub-groups potentially overlapping between conditions (e.g. common agenda and communication). We need to identify and invite members, and provide support to launch their work – we imagine they will each hold 2-3 meetings between now and the end of the year.Integrate and implement the action plan – CAOs role to guide and monitor this process.We envision that the mini-labs will support these next steps, and after our presentation we will discuss further.Advisory team may also want to identify parallel activities to forward the strategic plan – 4 = county wide campaign and 5 = evaluation. For example, one of the backbone agnecy’s roles is to partner with outside agencies to complement the County’s activities. This relationship building is also important for developing the county-wide campaign. For example, the shared measurements workgroup may want to identify how they will work with independent evaluator to complement and validate their internal monitoring.Let’s look more closely at each condition, where the gaps still are after the work of the design lab, and our next steps.