Be actively involved in your children’s school life — attend school functions, keep in contact with teachers, find out about and use school support services (such as guidance counselors, social workers, school resource officers).
Know where your children are at all times and schedule activities to occupy their free time.
Do everything possible to involve children in supervised, positive activities, particularly while you are at work — school clubs, extracurricular activities, after-school academic or cultural enrichment programs.
Make sure you have a plan to communicate and touch base with your child when you are at work and a backup contact if you are unavailable.
Plan family activities — as simple as a meal together, a walk in the neighborhood, a trip to the community center — and insist that your child participate.
Praise your children for doing well and encourage them to do their best.
Teach children to set positive goals, to hold high standards and to prepare for a positive future.
Get to know your children’s friends and their parents.
Set limits for your children and enforce them.
Do not allow your children to dress in gang-style clothing, to practice gang hand signs or write gang graffiti on any surface, including their bodies.
Explain to your child that a very small percentage of youth join gangs.
Make sure your children understand that you are against gangs. Communicate openly with them about gangs. Read them articles and discuss the consequences of being part of a gang.
Be a positive role model.
Communities
Employ local youth in neighborhood businesses to help them develop a sense of pride and responsibility toward their community.
Work with schools to develop special training and apprenticeship programs that teach occupations skills.
Support community youth programs.
Join and support school-community coalitions.
Participate in mentoring programs or other activities where community members can serve as positive role models.
Promote community recreation and teen centers where youth can meet and socialize in a supervised environment.
Sponsor and support programs that teach parenting skills.
Schools
Identify at-risk students and students who are already gang members.
Encourage students to participate in sports, drama, music, art and other positive activities that will increase their confidence and sense of belonging.
Photograph and remove all graffiti from school grounds and property.
Work with parents, counselors and other school personnel to determine when intervention is necessary.
Ensure that gang awareness and drug prevention are part of the curricula and present these programs to parents.
Promote after-school programs that address prevention of violence.
