Anti-Armed Robbery Campaign
This print campaign utilized billboards and buses, especially during the holiday shopping season, and informed the public: "Use a gun to rob & you rob yourself. Mandatory 8 years in prison." Adopted around the state, this campaign was associated with a 30% reduction in armed robberies.
Police Mini-Stations & CMHA
We knew that the city's highest crime area could be made safer and proved it through many years of working with public housing administrators and residents. Using crime analysis and community organizing, we uncovered the problems and found solutions, including the simpler things - better lighting, block watches, and youth activities - and the more difficult things - teaching businesses how to reduce crime and stay in or relocate to the community, researching the law to find statutes which allowed CMHA to evict dangerous tenants, and working with Cleveland Police to open the first mini-station in the nation.
Nuisance Abatement
The Partnership established a coordinated effort to use an overlooked civil procedure known as "nuisance abatement". This procedure has been given new life in Cleveland and has been highly effective in significantly reducing illegal activities such as drug dealing and prostitution in Cleveland neighborhoods.
Public Education
Providing information directly to parents, teachers, social workers, police officers, and concerned neighborhood residents has made the prevention of youth violence a grassroots movement. Through trainings on gang awareness, parenting of foster children and working with troubled youth, Partnership staff has reached thousands of adults who touch children's lives every day.
Young Ladies & Gentlemen Clubs
A school-based program which trains adult mentors to work with small groups of boys or girls has repeatedly proven through rigorous evaluation to have a significant effect on student behavior, attendance and grades. Mentors become as attached to their Club as the students, and both the schools and the families appreciate the difference this program makes for the children.
Youth-Focused Police Training
By leading focus groups with police officers, the Partnership learned that 80% of their encounters with the public involved youth and their families. To better equip the police for this work, a course on youth development was developed for patrol officers already on the job. The course is now a part of the police academy's new officer training.
Graffiti Reduction
Graffiti is a recognized form of gang communication and advertising, and for the past three years, the Partnership has piloted a graffiti reduction project in Cleveland.
Parent University
A community resources expo with mini-workshops on health, parenting and personal advocacy. This daylong session provides an opportunity for parents, grandparents and community members to learn about resources in their community and find out more about child development, depression, gang prevention, nutrition and more. Children are welcome and are entertained by a circus club and storyteller while their parents attend the workshops. A healthy lunch is also provided.
Domestic Violence Protocol
This protocol helps protect victims of domestic violence by encouraging police to arrest offenders as the first choice of action. It also empowers prosecutors and the courts to refuse to allow victims to dismiss charges (except in rare instances), which helps protect victims from further harm. Development of this protocol was coordinated by the Partnership, resulting in policies now being implemented by Cleveland police, city prosecutors and the municipal court.
Foster Parent Training
Presentations are provided for foster parents to help them deal with issues pertinent to foster children in their care. Training has been offered in areas concerning gang and violence prevention. Many foster children in Cuyahoga County have the misfortune of having one or both of their parents in prison. The Partnership has developed a curriculum to cover the effects this has on foster children and their foster parents and identifies approaches that will assist foster children in coping and managing their development into adulthood.
Prison Nursery Program
The Partnership is on the committee that oversees the Achieving Baby Care Success (ABCS) program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) in Marysville. Child development experts have determined that infants must bond with their mother in the first few months of life or their emotional and intellectual functioning is impaired. In June 2001, ORW opened Ohio's only nursery program within an institution. The ABCS program allows incarcerated pregnant inmates to maintain custody of their infants after they are born. Each participant has an individualized treatment plan so that the problems that resulted in her incarceration are thoroughly addressed. Hands-on parenting instruction is available for every mother in the program.
Cuyahoga County Public Policy & Law Youth Forum
In cooperation with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and the Cuyahoga County Family & Children First Council, the Partnership hosts an annual forum planned by and for Cuyahoga County youth, 13-18 years of age. At the forum, nearly 200 participants break into groups to discuss issues that are important to them and then reconvene to present their ideas to each other.