About The Institute
A Unique Approach
What distinguishes the Institute’s work from others is its scientifically-based,
cross-survey epidemiology, cross-site evaluation approach and its employment
of rigorous techniques to account for biases introduced in individual studies.
A wide range of interventions have been offered by those in the field, everything
from the architectural design of schools, to conflict resolution programs, to
the use of metal detectors. While the recommendations usually have been based
upon the judgment of scholars and practitioners, the efficacy of most approaches
has not been well substantiated. Many proposed violence reduction interventions
are impromptu developments or based on theory that is not well established.
Few interventions have been based on rigorous evaluation. Equally important,
most of the approaches, or combinations of the approaches, have not been subjected
to the iterations of development, evaluation, refinement and re-evaluation that
have proven essential to most successful innovations throughout history.
What’s more, financial constraints prevent individual schools and communities
from being able to implement more than a small number of interventions. School
and community officials have little basis for determining what works, for whom,
and under what circumstances because evidence of rigorously evaluated violence
prevention programs and strategies is insufficient and largely inaccessible
to the public.
HFI systematically examines whether the interventions and strategies
it tests are improving youth outcomes for anti-social behaviors (i.e.,
interpersonal aggression and violence) and ultimately reducing
violence. We work in schools and with community organizations in an
effort to implement change. We think, then do.
Focus
The Institute focuses its efforts in the following areas:
- Analyzing and developing the most effective ways to prevent and reduce violence in and around schools. Instead of "reinventing the wheel," the Institute synthesizes and analyzes existing models and research on school violence prevention to examine their effectiveness.
- Testing promising prevention strategies in rural, suburban and urban schools grappling with violence. Our research partners have established local community-school-university partnerships committed to a long-term reduction in violence. Each partnership diagnoses specific violence problems that occur in and around the schools. As problems are identified and analyzed, the university teams develop, evaluate and refine violence reduction strategies to maximize effectiveness, efficiency and practicality. The teams then launch controlled studies to measure long-term impacts.
- Disseminating its findings throughout the country to assist other policy makers, states, schools, police departments, teachers, parents and youths to adopt the successful strategies. HFI research partners and staff members regularly publish their findings in peer-reviewed publications and make presentations in national conferences on school violence and its associated topics. In addition, the Institute publishes a quarterly newsletter and provides assistance to individuals and agencies who request its services.
Services
- Assisting schools to conduct needs assessments for violence prevention and in the evaluation of school violence interventions
- Training teachers, administrators, social service professionals, & police officers
- Providing the most current information and analysis about the levels and trends on school violence in the nation;
- Providing comprehensive literature reviews, research papers, and a searchable database for resources on violence prevention topics;
- Consulting on effective strategies and promising model programs for violence prevention;
- Providing assistance to policymakers at the local, state and national level.
Funding
The Institute is funded under Grant # CCNS20400A from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinion in this site are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Partners
The Institute develops and tests violence prevention strategies in collaboration with the following:
- Eastern Kentucky University
- Florida State University
- Morehouse School of Medicine
- Shenandoah University
- Syracuse University
- The Trauma Center-Boston
- University of Oregon
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Location
2121 K Street NW, Suite 200,
Washington, DC 20037-1830
Phone: (202) 496-2200
Fax: (202) 496-6244
Email: hfi@hamfish.org