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Table of Contents >
   Part F. Analyzing Community Problems and Designing and Ad... >
      Chapter 19. Choosing and Adapting Community Interventions >
         Section 3. Identifying Strategies and Tactics for Reducing R... >
             Tools & Checklists - A checklist that summarizes the major points contained in the section. >

Identifying Strategies and Tactics for Reducing Risks

  

Tools & Checklists

 Contributed by Chris Hampton Edited by Bill Berkowitz, Jerry Schultz, Phil Rabinowitz

Tool #1: Supporting Youth at Risk: A Policy Toolkit for Middle-Income Countries

Checklist

 

Checklist

Here, you'll find checklists that summarize the major points contained in the text.

You understand that:

____ Risk reduction involves finding out what in your community leads to the problem you're trying to prevent and then working to cut down on those factors.

____ Protective factors are those things that keep whatever it is you're trying to prevent from occurring.

____ A strategy is a broad step in a plan to accomplish a specific goal.

____ A tactic is a specific step you take to complete a strategy.

You understand the following reasons for including members of the community in the process of selecting risk reduction strategies:

____ It can help change community norms and values, which are often tied to risk and protective factors.

____ It creates a wider base of support for changing behavior.

____ It can give you a better sense of what resources are available to you in the community.

____ It can help galvanize public support for your initiative.

____ It is more likely to lead to long-term changes.

You have considered including people from the following groups in the process of selecting risk reduction strategies:

____ Local law enforcement

____ Religious leaders

____ Local government officials

____ School administrators, teachers, PTA members, school board members

____ Health and human services agencies

____ Local media representatives

____ Youth and parents

____ Local businesspeople

____ Members of the target population you serve

You understand the following reasons for including members of the target population in the process of selecting risk reduction strategies:

____ Giving the target population a say helps establish trust

____ Affected communities are often stronger and more resourceful than we give them credit for

____ It can give your group a better understanding of what the community needs

____ It can also increase community awareness of who you are and what you do

Selecting risk reduction strategies:

____ Research to find out what other groups with missions similar to your own have done

____ Attend conferences and workshops

____ Get involved in regional and national coalitions

____ Sign on to an email list for people who do the same type of work you do

____ When you examine a possible strategy that has been used in another community, think about how it would work with your own community

____ Conduct your own research and see what original strategies you can come up with on your own

You understand the following characteristics of an effective risk reduction strategy:

____ The strategy works to increase protective factors

____ The goals, methods to be used for data collection, evaluation, and feedback, and specific roles and duties of all staff, volunteers, and any other personnel are clearly defined

____ The strategy approaches risk reduction in a manner appropriate to your target population

____ The strategy employs early intervention

____ The strategy makes the best possible use of available resources

____ If addressing multiple risk factors, it's probably best to use multiple strategies

You've asked the following questions when evaluating prevention strategies you're considering:

____ Does the strategy address known risk factors?

____ How will the strategy reduce risk and/or increase protective factors?

____ Is the strategy likely to reach your target population?

____ Is the strategy set up in a way in which it can be evaluated?

You're familiar with risk reduction strategies related to changing individual behavior:

____ incentives or disincentives

____ increasing (or reducing) time and effort for target behaviors

____ providing support

____ arranging mentors

____ enhancing resources

____ changing environmental design to remove barriers or enhance accessibility

____ changing policy (creating, modifying, or terminating)

____ providing information

____ modeling

____ skills training

____ providing feedback on progress

You're familiar with risk reduction strategies related to organizational and community development include:

____ public awareness and media campaigns

____ community assessment and monitoring

____ coalition building

____ modifying access to products and services

____ integrating and coordinating local agencies and resources

____ developing resources to enhance family and peer support

____ enforcement of existing policies and laws

____ advocacy and nonviolent protest

____ changing policies and laws

You understand some of the common tactics used in risk reduction:

____ Information campaigns

____ Street outreach

____ Community outreach

____ Peer education

____ Risk reduction counseling

____ Direct action

 

Tool #1: Supporting Youth at Risk: A Policy Toolkit for Middle-Income Countries

 

From the introduction of the Policy Toolkit, published in 2008:

Today, there are 1.5 billion people between the ages of 12 and 24 worldwide, with 1.3 billion of them living in
developing countries—making the young the largest segment of developing country population in recorded
history. More important, young people constitute a disproportionately large part of the world’s poor. While
they represent 50 percent of the developing country population, they represent nearly 60 percent of the poor
in those countries.1 Young people can be a source of growth and development for their countries, but a
subset of young people—those known as youth at risk—are a source of the inequality, poverty, exclusion,
and much of the crime and violence that plagues every region in the world, thereby imposing enormous costs
on themselves, their families, and society at large.

The World Bank has produced this Policy Toolkit in response to a growing demand from our government
clients and partners for advice on how to create and implement effective policies for at-risk youth. We have
highlighted 22 policies (six core policies, nine promising policies, and seven general policies) that have been
effective in addressing the following five key risk areas for young people around the world:

i) youth unemployment, underemployment, and lack of formal sector employment

ii) early school leaving

iii) risky sexual behavior leading to early childbearing and HIV/AIDS

iv) crime and violence

v) substance abuse

The objective of this Toolkit is to serve as a practical guide for policy makers in middle-income countries—as
well as professionals working within the area of youth development—on how to develop and implement an
effective policy portfolio to foster healthy and positive youth development.

Supporting Youth at Risk: A Policy Toolkit for Middle-Income Countries may be viewed here.