Comprehensive Community Initiatives

About the Project

Background - Criteria for Including a CCI in the Inventory

Criteria for Inclusion in Inventory of CCIs and Associated Technical Assistance and in Examination of Funder Collaborations

CCIs refer to local community interventions that seek to improve the living conditions of individuals, families and communities through systems change efforts. CCIs involve participants within and across many sectors of society, from local congregations to large public agencies, and they seek to bring about positive outcomes at several levels--at the individual, family, community, organizational, and systems levels.

CCIs included in the inventory are to be those that address the risk and protective factors known to be associated with delinquent activity. Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention goals for the CCIs will not be required. Risk factors include: individual, family, school, peer, and community factors such as victimization or exposure to violence, truancy, teen parenthood, gun possession, gang involvement, peer use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. See the Community Guide to Helping America's Youth, http://guide.helpingamericasyouth.gov/programtool-factors.cfm, for more on risk and protective factors.

This project will focus on CCIs that are working toward including most of the following elements, the first three of which are required:

Broad-based, multi-sector participation: CCIs incorporate a comprehensive view of the social, physical, and economic factors affecting community change. Consequently, CCIs engage multiple sectors including community members, faith-based and community organizations, businesses/private sector, and public agencies.
Long-term strategies and perspectives: CCIs are long-term projects by nature, usually extending beyond federal funding cycles of 3 to 5 years.
Centered on systems change and improved outcomes: CCIs work to modify agency practice and institutional norms by working collaboratively across systems to address service delivery, service integration, and decisionmaking around policies and resources directed at child, youth, and family outcomes.
Family-centered, strengths-based approach: CCIs that deliver services are family-centered and strengths-based, meaning they 1) encourage, if not require, family involvement, often to the point that the family guides the intervention, and 2) emphasize client competencies and build on existing strengths.
Community assessments: CCIs create or improve systems for assessing and tracking community needs and resources, and build their work on an accurate understanding of the community.
Effective use of data: CCIs use data effectively to plan, implement and evaluate strategies and activities.