ABSTRACT
Crime prevention efforts can take many forms from more effective security devises, gun control, and better street lighting to antitruancy programs and efforts to decrease school dropout rates among high-risk youth. Public discussions of violence prevention programs the days, for instance those concerning the recently passed Federal Crime Bill, emphasize programs that target high-risk youth in the age ranges where violence is most prevalent, around fifteen to twenty years of age. This chapter reviews the risk factors and theoretical arguments suggestive of interventions targeted upon high-risk mothers and their very young children; troublesome or disruptive youth and their parents; schools; and young juvenile delinquents. The chapter considers four generic types of intervention: early childhood home visits and day care; parent training and social skills development for youth; alternate educational curriculum and ways of organizing schools; and correctional interventions for young juvenile delinquents.
