Orange County Grand Jury • 2008-2009 • Agency Response
Response to: 2008 General Election Report 05/28/09 216K

Education of Parents in the Development of Strategies to Keep Their Children Out of Gangs*

Published: June 02, 2009 5 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1
The early gang prevention and intervention efforts provided by the Probation Department, the District Attorney's Office, and such collaborative efforts as the Pio Pico Collaboration are extremely cost effective when compared to the growth of gangs in Orange County and the subsequent cost of prosecution and incarceration of gang members. Response: Agrees with the finding. The early gang prevention and intervention efforts provided by the Probation Department, the District Attorney's Office, and such collaborative efforts as the Pio Pico Elementary School are cost effective when compared to the cost of incarceration and prosecution of gang members in Orange County.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Provide funding and assistance for the certification of the Pio Pico Collaboration's Gang Intervention and Prevention Program so that it can be exported to other cities and school districts throughout Orange County. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. The County is currently not in a financial position to provide funding for projects not already included in the budget.
F2
The most effective way to prevent children from joining gangs in most cases is to work with parents of young children to teach them to spot the danger signs for gang activity and to help them develop effective strategies to keep their children from joining gangs. Response: Agrees with the finding. It is most effective to prevent children from joining gangs in most cases when involving the parents and educating them on the signs of gang activity and empowering them with effective strategies to keep their children from joining gangs.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Provide funding to aid in the reproduction of the Pio Pico materials for export to other school districts and cities in areas of Orange County with heavy gang activity and to provide funding for coordination of this effort to export materials and technology. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. The County is currently not in a financial position to provide funding for projects not already included in the budget.
F3
The most effective way to begin gang prevention efforts is when children are in elementary school. Response: Agrees with the finding. Effective gang prevention occurs with the efforts directed towards elementary school age children.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Keep the GRIP program growing by seeing that funding is available to provide stable leadership for the program. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. One Deputy District Attorney is currently assigned full-time to the GRIP program. The County is currently not in a financial position to provide additional funding to expand projects beyond what is currently budgeted.
F4
The most effective gang prevention and intervention programs are done by a collaboration of government agencies and private organizations and it is important for governmental entities to support such collaborations. Response: Agrees with the finding. Effective gang prevention and intervention programs occur with the collaboration of government agencies, private and community based organizations.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Provide funding for an experienced professional who can coordinate fund raising efforts to enlist Orange County businesses in supporting gang prevention programs through cash donations or donation of services/products. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. The County is currently not in a financial position to provide funding for staffing not already included in the budget.
F5
Stable leadership of the GRIP program has been an important factor within the District Attorney's Office and will contribute to its rapid growth. Response: Agrees with the finding. Consistent leadership within the GRIP program has added to its success.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Recommend that school districts with high numbers of at-risk children join forces and exchange information on how to begin gang prevention and intervention programs, how to expand existing programs by working cooperatively, and how to export proven practices to other districts that would benefit from them. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. The County can encourage the school districts to work together, but cannot compel the districts to join forces and exchange information. Any coordinated efforts by the school districts are at their discretion.
F6
Gang Injunctions and the Tri-Agency Resource/Gang Enforcement Team have been effective in efforts to reduce gang activity. Response: Agrees with the finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Recognize and reward the cost effectiveness of the Probation Department's efforts to prevent children from joining gangs by not making short-sighted budget cuts that would disable such programs. Response: The recommendation has been implemented. While the Probation Department is facing serious fiscal challenges due to reduced funding, there is a continuing focus on using the remaining resources to provide quality programs and services. Examples of this are the Youth Reporting Centers. Due to a reduction in the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act funding, the department is redesigning the Youth and Family Resource Centers (YFRC) to become Youth Reporting Centers. These facilities will provide evidence-based services at a lower cost than the YFRCs. This will allow the Probation Department to target at-risk youth even in these challenging fiscal times. .
F7
The Probation Department's gang prevention efforts are as important as its handling of juveniles after they have been classified as juvenile delinquents and continued funding and support is necessary for its gang prevention and intervention efforts. Response: Agrees with the finding. Funding and support for the Probation Department's gang prevention efforts for juveniles who have been classified as juvenile delinquents is a continuing priority.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
The Pio Pico Collaboration needs to gain certification so that it may be used as a model program for other cities and school districts throughout Orange County. Response: Agrees with the finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
Businesses in Orange County benefit greatly from gang prevention and intervention through decreased graffiti and crime. Response: Agrees with the finding. Responses to Recommendations: R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.5, and R.6
No recommendations for this finding

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.