Equipping Youth to Make Good Choices
Today’s youth face many difficult choices and peer pressure of all sorts. One issue they often encounter is whether or not to become involved in gangs. Recognizing that gangs can be an issue in any community, the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) has partnered with the Gang Resistance Education and Training Program (G.R.E.A.T.) to bring the curriculum to local elementary and middle school youth in communities across the state.
What is G.R.E.A.T.?
G.R.E.A.T. is a gang and violence prevention program built around a school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom program of study, and is intended to help prevent youth involvement in delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership. Although there are other probation officers teaching G.R.E.A.T. throughout the country, DJJ is unique in providing G.R.E.A.T. classes on a statewide basis.
The G.R.E.A.T. program was developed in 1991 through the collaborative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Phoenix Police Department, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center was instrumental in making G.R.E.A.T. a nationwide program. In 2004 the Bureau of Justice Assistance assumed responsibility for oversight of the federal grant funds, and in 2011 partnered with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in funding various components of the G.R.E.A.T. Program.
G.R.E.A.T. lessons focus on providing life skills to students to help them avoid using delinquent behavior and violence to solve problems during one hour sessions that last 13 weeks, along with a summer program and a family training component. Program topics include avoiding gangs, violence, drugs, and crime, community responsibility, setting goals, good decision making, effective communication, empathy for others, influences of peer pressure, anger management, the consequences of fighting, and conflict resolution.
Evidence Based Outcomes
A five-year, national longitudinal research study conducted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis indicated that the program shows great promise. Preliminary outcome results from the one-year post-program follow-up showed that G.R.E.A.T. students, as compared with non-G.R.E.A.T. students, demonstrated the following:
- More positive attitudes toward police
- Less positive attitudes about gangs
- More use of refusal skills
- More resistance to peer pressure
- A 39% reduction in overall rates of gang membership
Where DJJ Provides G.R.E.A.T.
DJJ currently partners with G.R.E.A.T to provide the G.R.E.A.T program in 19 counties across the state (Allendale, Beaufort, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Greenville, Hampton, Lancaster, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Spartanburg, Sumter, Oconee, Union, Williamsburg, and York counties). DJJ plans to expand the program to serve additional youth in more counties in the future. Providing youth with the tools they need to make good choices in life is paramount to their success, and the G.R.E.A.T. program will continue to be in integral part of DJJ’s prevention and intervention efforts into the future.