The University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab at the Harris School of Public Policy released the preliminary results of a multi-year evaluation of the Choose to Change (C2C) program. Choose to Change: Your Mind, Your Game (C2C) — co-developed and implemented by Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. and Children’s Home & Aid — combines intensive wraparound and mentoring services that focus on addressing each young person’s specific needs, with trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy that helps youth process their trauma and develop a new set of decision-making tools.
Through a randomized controlled trial, researchers have found that C2C reduces violent-crime arrests by almost 50% and increases academic engagement for participating youth.
Gun violence in Chicago continues to disproportionately affect youth and young adults living in our city and our country’s most historically under-resourced neighborhoods. For the children and families living in the communities most affected, consistent exposure to violence and trauma can be especially detrimental to their mental health, emotional development, and academic engagement.
