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Juvenile violence peaks in the after school hours on school days and in the evening on non school days. Violent crimes by juveniles peak in the afternoon between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. the hour at the end of the school day. Serious juvenile crimes cluster in the hours immediately after the close of school.
The FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) collects information on each crime reported to law enforcement agencies, including the date and time that the crime was committed. Analyses of these data document that the most likely time for committing a violent crime is different for juveniles and adults. Irvington Woods Community Center
We hope to decrease the amount of youth who end up within the risks of delinquency during after school hours, academic failure, and influence of delinquent peers, alienation, and low neighborhood attachment. By offering them optimistic alternatives to help them obtain a valuable and respectful place in their community.
Professional artists, hired as instructors, will collaborate to create the arts program and will invest considerable time and energy into the development of collaborative arrangements with schools, juvenile justice departments, social service agencies and community-based groups that serve at-risk-youth populations. As a result, we will be able to develop programs that are integrated with existing services. The emphasis we placed on collaboration and integration reflects our awareness that involvement in the arts is one small part of a youth's life and that makes a real impact on the youth, arts programs need to be aware of other factors that influence the youth’s behavior and affect his or her experiences.
The number of school days in a year is essentially equal to the number of non school days in a year. Based on NIBRS data, 57% of all violent crimes by juveniles (i.e., murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) occur on school days. In fact, 19% of all juvenile violent crimes occur in the 4 hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school days. A similar proportion of juvenile violent crime (21%) occurs during the standard juvenile curfew hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. However, the annual number of hours in the curfew period (i.e., 8 hours every day) is four times greater than the number of hours in the 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. period on school days (i.e., 4 hours on one-half of the days in the year). Therefore, the rate of juvenile violence in the after school period is four times the rate in the juvenile curfew period. The most likely hour of a school day for a juvenile to commit a sexual assault is between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. In fact, more than 1 in 7 sexual assaults by juveniles occur in the 4 hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school days. Unlike other violent crimes, sexual assaults by juveniles on non school days are most likely to occur between noon and 1 p.m. This analysis suggests that the potential for reducing a community's juvenile violent crime rate is greater for efforts to reduce juvenile crime after school than for juvenile curfews.
Juveniles are at the highest risk of being victims of violence at the end of the school day
In recent years, analyses of the FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data have highlighted the fact that juveniles are at highest risk of being the victim of a violent crime in the 4 hours following the end of the school day (roughly 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.). This pattern is based on reports of crimes to law enforcement. It is possible that the actual pattern of crime against juveniles differs from the police data, because much of juvenile crime is never reported to law enforcement. Many risk and protective factors affect youth development including community, family, school, and consistent standards of behavior, mentors, and more. Risk factors can be grouped into four domains:
• community: availability of drugs and firearms; absence of community norms against drug use, firearms, and crime; media portrayals of violence; high rates of mobility; low neighborhood attachment; extreme economic deprivation
• family: family history of problem behavior; family management problems (such as excessively harsh or inconsistent punishment); family conflict (such as physical abuse); favorable parental attitudes toward problem behavior
• school: early and persistent anti-social behavior; early academic failure; absence of commitment to school
• peer group and individual constitution: rebelliousness; influence of peers who engage in problem behavior; favorable attitude towards problem behavior; early initiation of the problem behavior; constitutional factors (for example, an impulsive nature)
TARGET GROUP: |
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The target group that Artspart will be reaching are youth ages 9-16 who are within Baltimore City and County. We will place our programs in schools or community centers in low income areas, and where the highest percent of juvenile crime and truancy occurs. Research has shown that youth are likely to develop unhealthy behaviors when they are exposed to risk factors such as the availability of drugs or associations with peers involved in problem behaviors. Moreover, children exposed to more than one risk factor are even more likely to develop unhealthy behaviors. We feel an arts program will help in diverting trouble youth away from gangs, and drugs and contact with the juvenile justice system.
The goals of this prevention program are many:
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To divert youth from risks of delinquency during after school hours
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To improve their social behavior and social skills
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To improve their academic performance and commitment to school
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To develop their art skills
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To provide them with opportunities to perform and exhibit their art
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To provide an after school safe haven
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To foster a sense of community
The criteria to participate in this program is
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To be a youth age 9-16
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Students, living at or below poverty level or areas with a high incidence of juvenile crime.
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Youth experiencing academic failure, showing irregular school attendance, and demonstrating persistent anti-social behavior.
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Youth from communities with a high percentage of problems that place families at risk.
Project Description:
ARTSPART will run from September to June and will be located in area middle schools, elementary schools or community center. During the summer months, Artspart will offer summer camps. It is important the location be a safe haven both physically and emotionally for the youth who will attend as well as appealing and creative. We will offer a snack as well because youth are more apt to be willing to participate on a full stomach virus an empty one.
ARTSPART will also provide transportation to and from the programs, which is critical especially when it may be the only way to get youth to attend the program. We will maintain a lower ratio of children to our staff, which will allow the students to better bond with adult’s role model, which is also a critical part of prevention and intervention. The normal ratio we will operate be 15 students to one artist and aide, at times will have one probation officer or councilor for those students who have entered the juvenile justice system. To make sure we continue to have success with our programs and the youth perception we will impose incentives for youth who show up on time and attend all program sessions like field trips, involvement in public exhibitions performances, as well as recognition for their participation.
ARTSPART Our instructors along with local Professional artist will work with the youth and will plan and develop an arts curriculum that will reflect the community and address current problems within their community . The families of the youth will also be involved with the program, will be encouraged to attend exhibits, and will be welcome to participate in art sessions as well. The youth are involved in all aspects of producing art exhibitions or performances. This includes planning the type of artwork to display, mounting the exhibition, designing the invitations, creating the press kit, making the press contacts, and hosting the opening reception. We will incorporate Field trips that build on the curriculum into each Artspart program.
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PROJECT EVALUATION:
While the content varies from class to class, we will measure our success in achieving the programs' goals in the following ways:
- By keeping attendance sheets for all classes: Attendance sheets will be compiled into weekly program reports.
- By keeping class journals for all classes: Journals will be written by the instructor for each class and are sent to all staff. In addition, journals will be posted on the Internet, where they can be reviewed by staff, board members and funders.
- By keeping a portfolio for each class: We will maintain a Art portfolio for each class, which includes finished products as well as other work created during each class.
- By conducting quizzes. Students will be tested on basic class competencies
BUDGET:
How do the costs for running a youth arts program compare with the costs for detention? "Young at Art," an Idaho Commission on the Arts program, calculates that its operation cost was $6.40 per day per youth, compared with the $125 a day that it costs per day for a youth in juvenile detention(Youth ARTs). "Americans for the Arts" reports that $7 billion is spent annually to incarcerate young offenders; the cost for incarcerating a delinquent youth for one year is at least $20,000(Youth ARTs).
Programs for youth vary widely—in the number of youth served, the frequency at which they meet, and so forth, making it very difficult to conduct cost-benefit analyses. However, based on a decade-long study of arts programs conducted at Stanford University, researchers Shirley Brice Heath and Adelma Aurora Roach estimate the cost per student per year for after school arts programs is $1,000. They also estimate projected savings to society, based on youth services, court costs, probation officers, imprisonment costs, and so forth, to be $36,000 to $ 100,000 annually. Although Heath and Roach conducted this analysis because they understand that people want to know the cost benefits, they prefer to think of youth in arts programs as working “to enhance their own communities through education, entertainment, counseling and public service,” rather than looking at young people as problems to be solved within their community. Thus, the money spent on arts-based youth programs should be seen as sound investments in our nation’s future(Youth ARTs).
Where does the money come from? Ninety-five percent of the programs surveyed by "Americans for the Arts" have more than one source of funding. State and federal governments are a significant source of financial support for these programs. Federal funding opportunities include one-time-only funds and ongoing program funds. How much does it cost to run an arts program for youth at risk? "Americans for the Arts", working with the President’s committee on the Arts and the Humanities, conducted in-depth interviews with staff from 218 after school arts programs for youth at risk. The annual budgets for these programs varied dramatically, from $4,355 to $3 million; the average annual program budget was $158,537, and the median budget was $84,000 (one-half of the programs were above this amount and one-half below this amount). The expenses include administrative staff, artists, art supplies, team training, food, nutrition, and evaluation. (Youth ARTS)
ENTERPRISE:
ARTSPART began because there is a need to improve the future of all children who face the risks of academic failure orthe possiblity of being immersed in the juvenile justice system.
ARTSPART will depend on its collaboration with the community, arts organizations, social service providers, educators in order to develop a partnership that is effective in solving the problems that at risk youth face. Baltimore City and Counties are known for its constant problems with crime. It is currently rank at number four as the most violent or unsafe place to live in the country.
Artspart believes if we can reach those youth who are in danger of becoming victims of the risks factors I have discussed earlier, we can lower the number juveniles who become career delinquents and future dropouts. Also today’s at risk youth are faced with the lack of educational opportunities and available programs within the urban setting. There also been statistics that state that most of juvenile offensives happen during after school hours, and by youth ages 13-16. Artspart wants to give those youth a place to spend their time in enriching activities. Participants are involved in all aspects of the production of art exhibits and performances. This includes planning of artwork to display, setting up the exhibition, designing invitations, creating the press kit, making press contacts, and hosting the opening reception. Field trips will be incorporated into the curriculum when appropriate.
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ARTSPARTwill offer an enrichment program in the summer, which will run from June to August. We will also offer training in many different art fields, such as graphic design, photography, animation and illustration, curating an art gallery and arts administration, theater and stage design, backstage management, dance, and music. We will keep in touch with students who have moved on to high school and aide students who would like to pursue a career in art by helping them in gaining scholarships and enrollment in art institutions and school for the visual/performing arts.
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Working with young men from DJS |
While many types of after-school programs provide important access, extension and support to children’s learning and social development, those that include the arts add a special dimension. Furthermore, after-school arts programs add important elements to in-school arts curricula through extended engagement with the artistic process beyond the usual 45-minute school periods. Extra time for instruction and structured exploration give students more satisfactory opportunities for self-expression or development of their abilities in one or more art forms. This, in turn, enables these young people to develop the motivation, skills and discipline necessary to make meaningful contributions to solo or group projects. They learn about the importance of high standards of achievement for themselves and others. They experience what it means to maintain focus and how sustained practice can lead to higher levels of proficiency.
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PROMOTION PLANS:
ARTSPART will collaborate with Baltimore city and county juvenile justice system community centers as well as area schools to help promote our program since the youth that will be attending our program will be chosen based on their potential of being at risk, we will send out invitations to the students and their families. We will also use a direct mail campaign and web site, newspaper ads to advertise our program to the public. During the program year will have different fundraising campaigns targeted at corporate, individual sponsorship. art shows with local artist's art and sale of student’s art. |
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ARTSPART will develop its own website to help inform the community about the program what we offer and how to enroll in the program. We will also use the website to announce program activities, location of our programs, funding information and photos of Artspart in action. Also on site art gallery of highlighting students work. |
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BUSINESS RISKS:
Running arts programs for at- risk- youth is costly and labor-intensive work, especially compared to the costs of other arts programs an agency may offer. The important cost comparison, however, is between arts programs and the costs of counseling, incarceration, and other societal and human costs of juvenile delinquency. Some of the risks I think we may face will be low enrollment in our programs. After school, programs already operating in schools may start after school arts program of their own.
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