A framework for community mobilization to promote healthy youth development

In community mobilization to prevent youth violence, local people take action to create conditions under which youth are healthy and safe. This manuscript outlines a framework for supporting and evaluating community mobilization to promote healthy youth development as an approach to preventing youth violence. The framework highlights 12 key community processes to facilitate change and improvement. A descriptive case study of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council Youth Project (INCYP) is used to illustrate the application of this framework in an inner-city, predominantly African-American neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri. Data are presented on community change (i.e., new or modified programs, policies, and practices) facilitated by the INCYP between 2001 and 2003, as an intermediate measure used to assess the mobilization effort. The INCYP facilitated 26 community changes during the project period, and was an effective catalyst for mobilizing the community to support change in outcomes and conditions that support healthy youth development. This case study suggests the importance of early and ongoing engagement of youth as change agents in the community mobilization effort.