YOUTH VIOLENCE: Measuring Results

At the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, we are focused on results. There are many programs that talk about how many people they serve or process. But what are the results? We believe in applying market principles to the social economy. In the market economy, the only thing that counts is the results. In our social economy, in this country we tend to focus on credentials. But who is qualified to serve? The people who get results, or those who have professional training and have passed credential requirements? Furthermore, it’s not how many people were served, but what were the outcomes? Were they changed for the better? Was violence reduced? Were suspensions and absences from school reduced? Today we are going to talk to the people who look at results. To find out what is really working. Our guests are Dr. Byron Johnson and William Wubbenhorst, of Baylor University. Dr. Johnson is Director of Baylor’s ProSocial Programs Department, and William Wubbenhorst is a researcher who carried out much of the field work in Baylor’s study of the Violence-Free Zone in Milwaukee. We’ll also hear from Kwame Johnson, National Director of the Violence-Free Zone program.

Episode Segments:

Researching the Violence Free Zone Dr. Byron Johnson and William Wubbenhorst discuss why they decided to study the violence free zone project, how they approached the research, and how they selected which schools to study.
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Measuring the Results of the Violence Free Zone Kwame Johnson, National Director of the Violence-Free Zone program of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise joins the conversation. Kwame explains the importance of measuring outcomes in the Violence-Free Zone program, and how they get their measurements.
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What the Results Mean Dr. Byron Johnson and William Wubbenhorst explain the significance of their findings in the way we address the problem of youth violence.
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