Full Title: Number of youth with decreased substance abuse, arrest, or gang involvement.
Definition of Key Terms
Youth: those reported in either Measure 2 or Measure 4A.
Gang involvement: may mean associating with gang members or participating in gang activities.
Substance abuse: may mean use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, including abuse of prescription drugs.
Arrest: means an action by a police officer that is called “arrest” by that law enforcement agency regardless of whether the arrest results in a conviction.
How to Calculate Measure/Collect Data
Measure gets at the instances of substance abuse, arrest, or gang involvement before and after the AmeriCorps program.
Either official police records or pre-program and post-program surveys; Pre-program survey should refer to at least prior year. If surveys are used, they need to be validated instruments. As this information is highly sensitive, the survey process is also very important.