The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Boulder has received a $210,000 grant from the Metropolitan Life Foundation in New York City for its work on reducing juvenile violence.
The CU-Boulder center was named the co-winner of the 1997 Positive Choices Youth Anti-Violence Initiatives Program sponsored by the foundation. The other winner was the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Columbia University's Teachers College, which will receive $190,000.
The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence developed 10 hands-on guides -- "Blueprints for Violence Prevention" -- that provide all the information a community or agency needs to replicate a proven violence-reduction program. The center reviewed more than 400 violence-prevention programs before identifying 10 that met the highest scientific standards for preventing or reducing levels of violence.
The grant will enable the center to expand the program by creating an interactive Web site where visitors can input specific community requirements and population details and receive recommendations on suitable Blueprints programs to implement. The site also will feature videos of model programs.
"We've identified programs that meet the highest scientific standards for demonstrating that they can successfully prevent or reduce levels of violence, and we strongly recommend them as effective, blue-chip programs within a portfolio of anti-violence programs," said Professor Delbert Elliott, director of the center.
The Metropolitan Life Foundation was founded by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and has given more than $146 million since its founding in 1976.