News
TUN wins state award, December 17, 2008
For Immediate Release
December 17, 2008
Contact: Laura Porter
Family Policy Council
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(360) 902-7880
Media Contact:Terry J. LaBrue
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Tacoma Urban Network wins
state’s award of excellence Local Community Network partnership reduces juvenile crime
TACOMA, WA – The Tacoma Urban Network, has won the Family Policy Council Exceptional Results Award for partnering with other Pierce County organizations to make significant reductions in juvenile crime within the Tacoma area.
Acknowledged for its youth programs applying effective strategies based upon the landmark Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study plus the work of leading neurobiologists regarding the enduring effects of maltreatment on a developing child, the Tacoma Urban Network is a compelling example of academic knowledge being applied on a local level.
While working with other organizations to obtain strong, informative data, a recent progress survey conducted by the Tacoma Urban Network showed the juvenile justice system was instrumental in reducing youth crime, according to program director Julie Grevstad.
“Together, it clearly demonstrates a better way to deal with youth violence by involving the juvenile, his or her family, the courts and their probation officers. Our expectations for progress are high and the results show the coordination is making a difference,” said Grevstad.
"With the help of the Tacoma Urban Network, Pierce County Juvenile Court has gone from a data-challenged court to a data-driven court. We have used our information to make policy decisions on where to concentrate our efforts and deploy our limited resources so that we have the greatest impact in reducing recidivism. The expertise that the Tacoma Urban Network has brought to our partnership has been invaluable," said Shelly Maluo, of the Juvenile Court Authority (JCA).
As local affiliates of the Olympia-based Family Policy Council, the Tacoma Urban Network is a special-purpose district that provides structure, flexible funding, and umbrella associations for residents and professionals to improve the lives of children and families. The focus of the work is to reduce the rates of major social problems including: child abuse and neglect, youth substance abuse, youth violence, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, and youth suicide.
These social problems interact and form multi-generational patterns of harm. Solving these seeming intractable problems requires breaking down barriers between service systems, promoting evidence-based strategies, and empowering local communities to support and respond to the unmet social and developmental needs of children and families.
Each community network represents a community as a whole and determines on its own which community problems to address. The Family Policy Council recently celebrated the success of the Tacoma Urban Network at an awards ceremony on in Grand Mound, WA.
“The amazing cooperation among the Tacoma partners was instrumental in uniting the community to achieve what could not be achieved alone,” said Family Policy Council Executive Director Laura Porter. “It is an inspiration to everyone who comes in contact with the Tacoma Juvenile Justice System.
About the Family Policy CouncilThe Family Policy Council is a family-community-state partnership that involves communities in preventing interrelated social problems. These social problems are: child abuse and neglect, youth substance abuse, youth violence, domestic violence, youth suicide, teen pregnancy/male parentage, dropping out of school, and child out-of-home placements. For more information about the Family Policy Council and the ACE study, visit http://fpc.wa.gov and call 360-902-7880.
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