Background City of Madison

CITY OF MADISON’S NORTHSIDE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS

Madison, Wisconsin is located in the heart of the upper Midwest. Surrounded by vibrant lakes, forests, and agricultural lands, it is the second largest city in Wisconsin, by population, serves as the capital and the home to the ﬂag-ship University of the State of Wisconsin. Madison is home to competitive sports teams, world class health care facilities, cutting edge research and innovation, the largest public farmer’s market in the United States, and many other attributes that make the City an alluring place to live. The State Capital and college town is characterized by a highly educated citizenry; with four out of ﬁve Madison residents having at least some college education. These residents are employed largely by the public sector with the highest rate of employment and wage growth in the private sector. In the past ten years Madison has added 30,000 new residents and is predicted to grow by another 70,000 by the year 2040.1 Despite the many aspects that make Madison a wonderful community to live, work and play, the city does face challenges, chief among those are the disparities that exist for residents who identify as people of color. Racial Disparities, Poverty and Youth Violence

Madison, Wisconsin is growing in population, and as it grows, facing new challenges along with long- standing social inequities. Among the greatest of these is the nexus between poverty, racial inequality, and youth violence. Today, while only 21% of Madison’s 252,551 residents are people of color, 67% of Madison's public school students are children of color. Our racial diversity is already increasing and will continue to do so. Creating safe and thriving communities in Madison means taking mindful measures to decrease racial inequities. By almost every measure, Madison’s communities of color, particularly African-Americans, fare poorly compared to our white citizens. These disparities were

1 2016 Madison City Snapshot completed by Imagine Madison. www.imaginemadisonwi.com

brought to light by Race to Equity (2013),2 a report completed by the Wisconsin Center on Children and Families to establish a baseline of information on racial disparities in Dane County. That report, ﬁrst shared at the 2013 YWCA racial justice summit, revealed that:

• 63% of white adults, but fewer than 22% of blacks, have the post-secondary degrees needed for employment in Madison’s knowledge-based economy (census data). • 17% of African Americans, but less than 4% of white residents are unemployed. • Median household income for white residents is $56,000, as compared to $28,000 for African American residents. • African American children live in poverty in Dane County at an astounding 74.8%, compared to an estimate of 5.5% for White children. • Black children in Dane County were more likely to be poor than their counterparts in Milwaukee, and most other places in the United States. While the relationship between poverty, crime, and community stability is certainly complicated –the poverty statistics contained in the 2013 study of the Dane County area, tell a story that is concerning as it relates vulnerable populations in the Madison area. Viewing this information with an awareness of racial disparity is critical to work in youth violence prevention on the Northside of Madison in that it should inform all of the work that we undertake to support community stability and resiliency.

Madison’s Northside Socio-Demographics: Vulnerable and Economically Dependent Populations

Madison’s Northside neighborhood is located to the north east of Madison’s Capitol building, to the north of East Washington Avenue, West of the Dane County Airport, East of Maple Bluﬀ, and South of Cherokee Marsh. Smaller planning areas exist within the target area including the Brentwood neighborhood, Northport corridor, Vera Court and Kennedy Heights neighborhoods, Gompers, Cherokee, Sherman Park and Lakeview planning districts, among others. The stark disparities highlighted above are of particular concern for Madison’s Northside.

The Northside of Madison, roughly 4% of the City’s population, is one of the most impoverished areas of the city with higher numbers of vulnerable and economically dependent populations – those under the age of 17 over 65, and has a higher population of racial minorities than the City as a whole. The planning block areas on the Northside have higher rates of several indicators that point towards

2 http://racetoequity.net/dev/wp-content/uploads/WCCF-R2E-Report.pdf

community fragility – including the number of female headed households with children, crimes against persons and property, student mobility, and foreclosures. Many of the families on Madison’s Northside

have histories of intergenerational poverty. The area contains several low-cost and subsidized housing developments, and, as the chart below (page 5) indicates, a high percentage of children and youth attending neighborhood schools are low income and racial minorities.3

Educational Institutions The Northside of Madison includes attendance areas for ﬁve public elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. Other schools on the list below are charter schools, alternative schools, or institutions of higher education.

3 The University of Wisconsin- Madison Applied Population Lab Madison Neighborhood Indicators Project, Last updated March 2015. http://madison.apl.wisc.edu/index.php

• Gompers Elementary • Lindbergh Elementary • Mendota Elementary – MMSD Community School • Lake View Elementary • Emerson Elementary • Sherman Middle School • Black Hawk Middle School • East High School • Shabazz City High School • Countryside Montessori • Isthmus Montessori Academy • Madison College • Lakeland University - Madison

Of the public schools with attendance areas on the Northside of Madison only Lindberg elementary school is rated as exceeding the expectations of standards set by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instructions (DPI). East High school does the poorest, with a score of only 54.7, and a ranking of meeting few expectations. The remaining institutions meet expectations. There is clearly room for improvement in all of these schools in relation to the State DPI standards. In the context of the 2013 race to equity report indicating poor outcomes for persons of color; it is relevant to note that a high percentage of children and youth attending neighborhood public schools are low income and racial minorities. The chart below reﬂects these demographics. It is important to note that while Emerson Elementary is not located on the Northside, students from the Brentwood Village neighborhood are bussed to Emerson Elementary for school.

Northside Neighborhood School Demographics4

4 DPI; https://www.madison.k12.wi.us/school-profiles, 2015-2016 school year.

% % # % % % % % Low School Multi- Eng. Lang. Enrolled Af/Am Asian Latino White Income racial Learners Lindbergh Ele. 233 19 17 25 10 30 43 77 Lake View Ele. 277 26 17 18 9 30 34 77 Mendota Ele. 326 42 6 12 14 25 19 79 Gompers Ele. 277 20 7 18 9 46 30 58 Emerson Ele. 395 18 6 12 15 49 18 53 Black Hawk 365 29 11 20 10 29 29 65 M.S. Sherman M.S. 413 28 8 28 9 26 33 74 East High 1585 24 9 18 39 39 26 57 School

Community, Youth/Family Engagement and Stakeholder Engagement

The community on the Northside of Madison is engaged at a level that is on par with other areas of the City. Community engagement primarily happens through existing neighborhood centers, faith Communities, school organizations, and events sponsored by the, very active, Northside Planning Council (NPC). The council hosts a community dinner once every two months to provide a free meal and a chance for the community to connect. All of the schools listed above have PTO groups, some are more active than others, but all provide an opportunity for community engagement. Additionally, many of the neighborhoods have centers where youth programming and community gatherings take place.

The following centers are active in the area: • Packer Townhouses & CLC • Northport Townhouses & CLC • Kennedy Heights Community Center • Vera Court Neighborhood Center • Warner Park Community Recreation Center • East Madison Community Center

In gathering information for this report, members from the following groups were surveyed:

Joining Forces for Families (JFF) The Northside JFF social worker teams with police, schools, Northside residents, and other organizations to address family needs and implement programs that allow families to be stable and thriving. A team of individuals meets on a monthly basis to connect around community needs related to family wellness and stability.

Brentwood Northport Corridor The Brentwood Northport Corridor NRT enhances coordination, Neighborhood Resource Team and communication among City staff, residents, and other (NRT) stakeholders to promote equity and improve the quality of life for all residents of the identified Northside neighborhoods. Residents, stakeholders and City staff address issues identified by the community, which can range from better lighting to youth recreation and transportation matters. This group meets monthly at Warner Park recreation center. Restorative Justice and Community RJ (youth) and CRC (adults) aims to prevent participants from Restorative Court (RJ and CRC) receiving a criminal records for offenses and provides services and resources that decreases re-offending. It is one of our primary initiatives to reduce disproportionate minority confinement - a significant issue in Dane County.

Northside Planning Council The Northside Planning Council is engaged in many areas of community development on the Northside with a special focus on food security and employment in the food industry through the FEED kitchen. The council convenes and organizes many community events and acts an organizing force for the neighborhood. The Council is playing a leadership role in guiding the work of the Safe and Thriving Communities Initiative

Despite a wealth of opportunities, the organizing team recognizes that more work needs to be done to make certain that these events are accessible and shared with the entire community. Community events are primarily attended by white residents with low attendance from communities of color. This initiative recognizes that community wide data often obscures the lived experience of disenfranchised or less engaged members of the community. Climate surveys completed by the school system indicate that only 48% of East High School parents feel positively about family engagement with the school. The middle and elementary schools, with the exception of Mendota, which is operating with resources as a community school, do not fare much better with about 60% of parents feeling positively about family engagement with the school. To this end seven community navigators have been hired, all residents of the community, to increase community engagement and gather input from a more representative population of residents. Northside Juvenile Crime The overall number of offenses by juveniles in the area decreased by 23% from 2013 to 2015, and was again decreased in 2016. However, several important juvenile indicators did increase dramatically in 2015: property theft (105%), aggravated assault (83%), drug offenses (19%) and weapons violations (11%). All calls for service in these sectors (different from offenses), show an overall increase of 16% from 2013-15. Domestic disturbances were up 11%; fight calls were up 1640% (5 to 87) reflecting girls fighting at East High School; missing juvenile instances were up 96% (84 to 165), potentially indicating family turmoil; and finally, weapons violations were up 74% (53 to 82), similar to the increase in gun violence in the city. In aggregate, youth offenses decreased in 2016, but similar to the 2013-2015 data, some indicators did increase. Juvenile complaint calls continued an increasing trend in 2016, as did burglaries, and assault. These numbers are part of data sets that this initiative aims to track over the course of our work in order to establish a better understanding of trends on the Northside of Madison and Citywide.

As can be seen in these statistics, criminal acts perpetrated by youthful offenders run the gamut from retail theft to gun violence. Madison is currently experiencing an unusually steep increase in stolen auto calls. We are also plagued with a rise in sophisticated and coordinated retail thefts, which result in substantial losses to merchants. Retaliatory disturbances between youth are common. The commission of these and other crimes lends credibility and stature to the youth who commit them. Respect given to offenders by gangs and cliques replaces positive reinforcement that is often lacking at home. Gang- affiliated peers support impulsive, reactive negative behavior. Consequently, the entire community suffers, a sense of safety is lost and a perception of spiraling crime grows.

As is noted above in reference to an increasing number of fights among young women at East high School, an initial review of police data shows that Madison is experiencing an increasing number or women perpetrating acts of violence. Dane County Department of Human Services Juvenile Justice case managers report having more new case referrals in the past year or two for young women than they have had in the past. In addition to an increase in referrals for women, case managers and the gang task force report that these referrals are increasingly attached to known gang involved members, and have more sexualized behavior that likely crosses into sexual assault/trafficking.

Violent Incidents Perpetrated by Suspects Aged 0-26 years in Police Patrol Subsectors 501-511 300

250

200

150 Female 100 Male number of incdients of number 50

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 year

Another area of concern for gun violence by adults and juveniles on the Northside is the Brentwood Neighborhood. This area is under serviced as compared to some of the other apartment complexes in the area. In November 2012, Dane County Public health completed a report related to neighborhood violence prevention in the Brentwood neighborhood in response to troubling neighborhood trends. At that time, residents interviewed indicated that crime and safety was ranked as the issue most in need of attention, followed by poor housing, neighborhood beautification and youth programming. While the Brentwood neighborhood has a history of juvenile violence, recent information from the Dane County Department of Juvenile Justice, Neighborhood Intervention Program also indicates increasingly worrisome behavior by youth in the Vera Court neighborhood. The incidents of crime move around the Northside, with the most recent homicide occurring in the Ridgecrest apartment complex off of Northport drive. The heat map below show hot spots at the convergence of Northport Ave and Troy Drive, the Vera Court and Ridgecrest Apartment Complexes, and Brentwood Village.

In addition to high rates of crime perpetrated by youth and young adults in these areas, there is also an increasing number of incidents where young people (age 0-25) are victims of crimes. This was identified as another area of concern to be addressed by this initiative.

Number of Victimization Incidents in Police Patrol Subsectors 501-511 18

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2017 Child 0 0 0 4 4 4 4 Juvenile 2 5 8 10 10 10 10 Young Adult 3 5 7 10 13 16 17

Gang related Crime in Dane County and the Northside of Madison

In 2010, the Madison Police Department (MPD) expanded its gang unit from two to six officers, in order to assign an officer specializing in gangs in each of its five districts to work more effectively with patrol officers, community-policing teams and educational resource officers in city high schools to identify and address gang issues. Despite this increase in staffing and some positive strides made by the gang prevention/ intervention workers with the County's Neighborhood Intervention Program, the spread of gang violence from Chicago and other larger cities continues to be a concern, especially among young people who are susceptible to recruitment. Gang related violence has been and continues to be a factor in both youthful and adult criminality. By some counts, Madison is home to several thousand individuals with self-proclaimed or other identifiable gang affiliation. The Madison Police Department relies on established DOJ criteria for determining gang identification. Persons identified as gang affiliated will

frequently claim an affinity for one or more of the traditional, historic gangs long active in Chicago. Early self-identification of gang affiliation is very often the result of generational family connections to those gangs. In addition to family ties, a host of other social and environmental factors can persuade at-risk youth to participate in gang activity. Some of these factors include the perceived benefits of enhanced personal safety and protection, love and support, excitement, financial opportunities and a sense of belonging. These benefits are often missing in the homes of susceptible youth.

As mentioned above, Madison gangs are strongly influenced by a proximity to Chicago and the gang culture that exists there. Like Chicago, African American gangs in Madison fall under two main groups, the Peoples Nation and the Folks Nation. Peoples Nation membership includes gangs such as the Black Stones, Vice Lords, Latin Kings, Mickey Cobras, La Familia, Money Over Bitches, Four Corner Hustlers and others. Folks Nation membership in Madison and Dane County includes gangs such as the Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Maniac Latin Disciples, White T-Folk, Black T-Shirt Boys, Money Before Bitches, Smash On Sight Guys, Deuce’s, and others. Latinx gangs in Madison tend to identify with West Coast based gangs such as Surenos, Mexican Mafia, and Nortenos.

While Latinx gangs in Madison tend to operate consistently as they do in other larger urban areas, Madison does have a unique gang subset culture, especially among non-Lantinx gangs. A significant difference is that Madison gangs do not organize on a geographic grid system, which allows cultural or territorial lines to intertwine more than would be typical. This leads to a complexity of issues related to upholding traditional gang etiquette. As geographic lines are blurred in a small area, conflicts are bound to be frequent and potentially messy. This is compounded by a dynamic where everyone knows everyone else, and gang related and interpersonal conflicts often overlap. Because of these blurred geographic and cultural lines, young people from the same neighborhood, who have different parental affiliations often clique together 1 MPD Gang Unit Officer Lester Moore indicates tattoos seen in to form alliances. Examples of this in the Madison, worn by C-14 members before a 2010 series of arrests. Madison area are the Fella Gang, Thot UP gang, and M.A.D. Boys. These cliques often pull membership from young persons who identify, familially, with another gang.

Madison youth who are currently active in crime and disorder and who claim gang connections often only loosely follow traditional gang organizational structure. They are notable for developing unique splinter affiliations in a sort of hybrid structure that perhaps only reflects the tone of the larger, traditional gang. MPD gang specialists indicate that unlike older gang members, youthful gang members often engage in crime both in concert with and against rival members. It is not unusual to see two youths, both claiming the same gang affiliation, in violent conflict with each other. This is believed to result from the lack of discipline and failure to respect traditional gang loyalty. This type of infighting does not make gang members less violent. Instead, it has the effect of bringing violent acts more prominently out into the public sphere. We suspect that this plays out in the dramatic increase in shots fired calls throughout the City of Madison. In previous eras, gang activity may have flown under the radar due to perpetrators’ desire to not attract law enforcement attention. Younger perpetrators, lacking gang discipline, do not share the same desire to work unnoticed. The result is a year of record setting gun violence calls.

Trends in Shots Fired The Madison Police Department is regularly adapting and improving to meet the changing needs of the city. One recent change (2016) was a formal system for tracking shots fired throughout the city. 2017 saw 220, verified shots fired calls throughout the city. This represents a 64% increase over the previous year.

As a result of these incidents, shots fired in the North Police District outpaced similar calls in the other districts over several months in 2017. Safe and Thriving Communities is working with the police to further enhance their data collection and analysis for tracking these incidents in relation to how many

14 are involving young persons. We will also be looking to work with hospitals and clinics to further enhance this data.

Racial Disparities in Juvenile Justice System

As was mentioned above in the demographics discussion, this project is working towards youth violence prevention in the context of a heightened local awareness of the need to divert youth, especially youth of color, from the criminal justice system. The 2013 Race to Equity report found that Dane County Black youth were arrested at a rate of 430/1000, an arrest rate more than 6 times greater than the arrest rate of Black youth nationwide. Black families in Dane County are 15 times more likely to have a son or daughter spend time in juvenile detention than a White family. The community has responded to these stark disparities by increasing reliance on diversion and alternative sanctions programs. During the intervening 4 years, the number of referrals to the Juvenile Justice system has declined. However, as is shown in this chart of referrals from the East High School area, which includes the target zone, racial disparity, is still an issue.

Crime Data Work Group We recognize that this preliminary data tells an incomplete story and have organized a data advisory group that held a first meeting on June 19, 2017 to strategize on how best to capture a more complete picture with the available data and what information needs to be gathered, moving forward. This group has continued to meet, and after the first meeting has committed to an effort to create a publically available list of resources that exist for this group and others who may be working in the field and have a need for data to drive evidence-based processes.

A result of this data team has been an MOU between the City Community Development Division and the City of Madison Police Department (See attachments). A second is in process between the Community Development Division and the Public Health Department of Madison and Dane County.

There are also efforts being made to coordinate data sharing between City and County agencies along with the school district, clinics and hospitals, and service providers. The Safe and Thriving Communities Coordinator began serving on a Mayoral Task Force on Violence Prevention in October 2017. A main goal for this team is to work to increase data sharing and program evaluation for violence prevention efforts across the City.

Documents review

Document Title Author Date Type of Information Northport-Warner Park- City of Madison 2009 Assessment and Planning Sherman Neighborhood information for development on Plan the Northside neighborhood Madison City Snapshot Imagine Madison 2016 Demographics information and projections of the City of Madison Creating a Sense of Public Health Madison and 2012 Assessment and Belonging in the Dane County Recommendations for the Brentwood Neighborhood Brentwood Neighborhood Dane County Youth Dane County Youth 2015 Dane County youth in grades 7-12 Assessment Commission complete an assessment that captures their opinions, concerns, behaviors, attitudes and experiences on a range of topics. Annual Report Dane County Juvenile 2016 Annually the Juvenile Court Justice Program Program provides a report relating to juveniles who are referred to and/or placed in the various programs.

Data Sources Location Type of Information HUD Data Maps https://egis.hud.gov/cpdmaps/ Maps that indicate factors related to HUD and CDBG funding. These include poverty data, housing data, environmental data, etc. Applied Populations Lab http://www.apl.wisc.edu/ The Applied Population Lab provides information solutions through a unique set of skills that unites applied demography, health geography, spatial analysis, information systems, planning, and community development. Active Living Index https://cityofmadison.maps.arcgis.co Indicators relating to health and m/apps/webappviewer/index wellbeing. Madison Neighborhood http://madison.apl.wisc.edu/ The Neighborhood Indicators Indicators project now has 8 years of time- series data for dozens of variables. Users can explore these data for the city's 62 Plan Districts and 97 Neighborhoods using the tools available on this site. EJ Screen https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen Environmental justice (EJ) mapping and screening tool

Inventory on Community Resources

The Madison community provides a wide range of excellent services to at-risk children, youth, and families. Many of these, as described below are evidenced based programs implemented within various sectors. Despite an excellent and well-regarded service system within the schools, human service, and law enforcement system, violence and system disparities remain a concern.

Northside Community Assets – Organizations & Facilities

Neighborhood Neighborhood Centers Non-Profits Associations Majestic Oaks Packers Townhouses & CLC Community Ground Works Brentwood Village Northport Townhouses & CLC River Food Pantry Sheridan Triangle Kennedy Heights Domestic Abuse Intervention Services Trinity Park East Madison Community Support Network Woodlands Vera Court Center for Families Sherman Village Warner Park VSA Wisconsin Eastside Dream Bikes Sherman Terrace Government Offices Road Home Dane County Emerson East Dane County Human Services East Side Alano Club Eken Park Neigh. Intervention Program Housing Initiatives Carpenter Ridgeway Dane County Job Center Northside Planning Council Aging & Disability Resource FEED Kitchen Civic Organizations Mendota Mental Health Faith Communities Friends of Cherokee Marsh Central Wisconsin Center Lakeview Lutheran Church Wild Warner Workforce Development Dept. St. Paul Lutheran Church Boy Scouts Madison Fleet Services St. Peter Catholic Church Girl Scouts Lakeview Library Sherman Ave. United Methodist Circle of Friends North Transfer Point Northside Christian Assembly Friends of Warner Beach Central Wisconsin Center Youth with a Mission Friends of Lake View Hill Sherman Mandrake Road Church of Christ Northside Artists Group Cherokee Marsh - North Madison Comm. Seventh Day Advent.

Parks and Conservation Areas Northland Cherokee March - Mendota Linden Grove Cherokee Marsh – South Warner Park Beach & Lagoon Lakeview Woods Warner Park Northland Manor Whitetail Ridge Lakeview Heights Lerdahl Windom Way Berkeley Brentwood Fireman’s Westport Meadows Maple Bluff Marina Lakeview Hill Burrows

Community Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT):

This section contains a summary of the SWOT themes that emerged during our surveying and discussion with community stakeholders in community analysis phase of this work. We repeated this SWOT analysis, in August, as an activity during our strategic planning work sessions with our planning team. Their feedback is detailed in the “Leadership and Project Management” section of this report.

Strengths

Stability, Engagement and Relationships: Despite increased challenges, the Northside is a fairly stable neighborhood, due in great measure to the community assets there. The Northside’s engaged and committed elementary, middle schools, and high school; three neighborhood centers; the Northside Police District; Northside Planning Council, and adjacent and accessible job center, place this area in a ready position to enhance and grow our violence prevention efforts. The Northside of Madison has many families with several generations of people living in the neighborhood and with a commitment to stay and commit to the prosperity of the neighborhood.

The north police district is smaller than some others in the City with a well-respected community resource officer and neighborhood policing team. While there is still work to be done in increasing trust between the neighborhood and its policing team, these two officers are seen as strong assets. Community members also identified a strong JFF social worker, the River Food Pantry, and community centers as a strength of the neighborhood.

The Northside of Madison has a historically and currently engaged citizenry. A neighborhood resource team and JFF team of service providers each meet monthly to bring resources to the community and connect to improve services. The Northside Planning Council is arguably the most active and successful planning council in the City. This group brings the community together around issues that help to strengthen the area.

Opportunities

Food security: The Northside of Madison has been seen as food insecure with high turnover in the space that has been traditionally housed a grocery store. Recently, a local non-profit grocery cooperative moved into that space with a commitment to increasing food security in the neighborhood. There is an opportunity to support the work of this group and continue community education in this area. The Northside Farmer’s Market, Food Enterprise and Economic Development (FEED) Kitchen and the River

Food Pantry are other programs that are opportunities. The FEED kitchen will soon launch a program to help food entrepreneurs to be prepared to bring products to a new public market. These groups are not only engaged in issues of food security but using culinary training to improve the employability of the community.

Collective Impact Approach: Two emerging opportunities make this neighborhood an ideal location for a collaborative effort to plan and carry out a more effective approach to reducing youth violence: MMSD’s Community School located within Mendota Elementary School and Dane County Department of Human Services’ Northside Early Childhood Zone, a home visitation program to at-risk families with very young children. Both programs are also focused on stabilizing families with a community wellness approach.

Economic Development: Recently, Oscar Meyer closed its factory on the Northside of Madison leaving a large industrial facility empty and eliminating several thousand jobs from the area. The Organizing for Strategic Community Action & Representation (OSCAR) Group is a team of Madison North and East side neighborhood residents who are working together to provide an outlet for neighbors to weigh in on the future of the Kraft Heinz Oscar Mayer factory facility. Opportunity exists for what and who will fill this space. There are other open commercial spaces available on the Northside of Madison that hold opportunity for economic development. Goodwill industries has moved into one of the spaces this summer, providing employment for some residents as well as clothing and goods that are low cost.

Secondary Education: Madison College, the city’s 2-year college is located on or adjacent to the Northside neighborhood. Opportunities exist to connect with programs at Madison College in offering programming and education to the community. In addition, Madison is home to the flagship University of the UW College System. UW, Madison has many researchers and programs that may be able to support the work of the safe and thriving communities program. Unique to Wisconsin is the University Extension system that aims to extend the University System to the bounds of the State including

becoming involved within local communities. Opportunities exist to connect with resources for support in this work.

Weaknesses

Poverty and Racial Disparities: Housing: The demographics data section of this report highlights the inherent weaknesses that exist on the Northside. Many residents and service workers who were interviewed for this analysis identified housing as a significant threat and weakness for the area. School social workers report that they struggle to find stable housing for many families. As a result of mobility and housing instability, the students in these families are often struggling to meet their educational goals.

Transportation: While this is an issue Citywide, residents do not feel well served by public transportation and are not able to walk or otherwise access the services that they would like to. Residents and members of the Northport NRT reported that Northside neighborhoods are not well lit by streetlights are often do not have adequate sidewalks to ensure walkability. Much work in providing services to the city of Madison has previously focused on the South West neighborhoods of the city. These are not accessible to Northside residents using public transportation.

Health Care: While there is an UW health clinic located on the Northside of Madison, for area residents who are uninsured or underinsured, access to healthcare is extremely limited on the Northside of Madison. This is especially true in relation to specialty clinics such as female reproductive health, mental health services, and treatment for alcohol and other drug addiction.

Out-of-School Time Activities: While there are several community centers in the area that offer out of school time activities for youth, residents and community stakeholders indicated that the number, access to, and diversity of out of school time activities for youth is a weakness on the Northside of Madison.

Access to Childcare: Access to childcare is an area of concern Citywide. Stakeholders on the Northside indicated that it is especially a concern for residents in their neighborhood. With some of the highest levels of female headed and single parent households in the City, families are often struggling between working and providing childcare. Childcare during second and third shift working times is particularly needed, along with more access to respite care.

Threats

Teenage Pregnancy: Data from the Dane County Public Health Department indicates that in 2016, 14% of all children born to women aged 15-18 in Dane County were to mothers living in Northside neighborhoods (about 2% of the total population of Dane County). This is a very high number and counter indicated with improving poverty statistics. A 2015 Brookings Institute report on reducing poverty in the U.S. lists delayed, responsible child bearing among the top recommendations for strengthening families towards the goal of poverty reduction.5

Increased Access to Guns: While this threat is not unique the City of Madison, or the focus area specifically, State and Federal laws regulating access to firearms have eased. This poses a threat in the form of increased access to firearms. North District Police officers reported seeing an increase in the number of incidents involving firearms in later part of 2017.

Need for Male Role Models and Mentors: In completing our SWOT analysis, community members indicated a shortage of male mentors or role models in the community. While special efforts were made to broadly recruit for our neighborhood navigators, we did not have any male applicants for the positions. The lack of male mentors and leaders paired with the large number of female-headed households may be a threat to community stability in the long term.

City of Madison Cost of Housing: The City of Madison has a very strong rental market being driven by a quickly growing population of residents who are well educated and employed by growing businesses, most notably American Family Insurance and Epic Systems in Verona. While rental prices are currently lower on the Northside than in other areas of the city, many residents of the area are cost burdened already. More subsidized and low cost housing is needed on the Northside.

Closing of the Oscar Mayer Factory: The Oscar Meyer, Kraft Foods, factory was previously a large source of employment to residents on the Northside of Madison. For the past several years, the factory has been eliminating jobs, and just this past spring completed steps to closing the factory. While this may be an opportunity, the large unoccupied building and loss of jobs is also a threat to the community.

Systems Alignment While this effort is focused on a geographic area on the north side of the City of Madison, Safe and Thriving Communities work is being completed in coordination with violence prevention efforts at the Federal, State, regional, County, and City level. In particular, the project coordinator is serving on a

5 Brookings Institute. Opportunity, Responsibility, and Security: A consensus plan for reducing poverty and restoring the American Dream. 2015.

coalition that meets several times per month to coordinate City and County efforts at violence prevention.

In late 2015, the City of Madison Police Department was awarded a Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation, 18-month planning award to create a comprehensive public safety and revitalization plan for the Raymond Road corridor neighborhoods by obtaining input from residents, local organizations and service providers, businesses, and government agencies to develop the plan. The Raymond Road corridor is located on the South West side of Madison, WI. In the fall of 2017, this project was awarded implementation monies to actualize this plan. The City of Madison Community Development Division, the managing organization for this Safe and Thriving Communities Initiative will be managing the sub- contracts awarded to complete this implementation phase in coordination with the Madison Police Department and the managing organization, Commonwealth Development Corporation. The City of Madison CDD, plans to coordinate and align the release of requests for proposals between these two efforts so as to best encourage implementation alignment.

Despite the difference in geographic focus, these efforts have identified similar implementation priorities and as such will be working together to leverage fiduciary and other resources to be most effective in our efforts. One particular area of coordination will be in data gathering, evaluation, and information sharing. These two efforts will be working with the Madison Police Department, Public Health Madison and Dane County, and other City violence prevention efforts to collect data, design evaluation metrics, and share information in a way that supports both groups in meeting federal reporting standards and ensuring a data driven processes. Memorandums of Understanding have been signed to solidify this relationship and can be found attached to this document.

Madison’s Northside Safe and Thriving Initiative is collaborating with the YWCA, the Category 2: Wisconsin Nonparticipating State Formula Grant recipient for the Restorative Justice Expansion in Dane County, Wisconsin (2017-JF-FX-K032). YWCA Madison, in collaboration with Dane County Restorative Justice Coalition, addresses the racial disparities in Dane County by diverting young people from the pipeline to incarceration. Three organizations in partnership with the City of Madison, one other local municipality and law enforcement formed an innovative, evidence-based collaborative -- the Dane Restorative Justice Coalition (DRJC). The goal of the DRJC is to decrease contact with the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The membership is composed of YWCA Madison; Briarpatch Peer Courts; TimeBank Peer Courts; and representatives from Dane County Health and Human Services, the City of Madison, Madison Metropolitan School District, and law enforcement.

Restorative Justice is an alternative way of looking at wrongdoing that gives people a chance to make things right. In Dane County, we are committed to implementing and expanding restorative justice opportunities for young people ages 12-16 by meeting the following goals:

(1) Reduce the number of municipal tickets received by young people in the community and provide restorative pathways for those who do; and

(2) Create an environment where students are more engaged in school and receive fewer suspensions and disciplinary actions. These goals will be achieved through determining the current baseline for restorative justice in school settings, expanding existing programs to serve more youth, educating police and the value of partnerships, working with school administrators to implement whole-school’s strategies that reduce out-of-school suspensions, and providing training in schools to engage youth in peer supports.

The Dane County Restorative Justice Collaborative meets monthly to provide oversight and support for the expansion of restorative justice in Dane County. The group includes representatives from city and county government, community agencies, Madison schools, law enforcement, municipal court, juvenile justice, UW-Madison, and several grass-root organizations.

Through DCRJ, all youth who violate Madison ordinances have the option to avoid fines and a conviction record by instead turning to a new restorative justice program to address their violations. Police officers provide a brochure to youth who are given a citation and mail a letter to their parents with the restorative justice information and brochure. The YWCA also receives a list of citations issued every week and reaches out to families directly. If youth or their families contact the YWCA before their court date, then the ticket will be put on hold and will not go to court unless the youth does not complete the restorative justice process. Specific restorative services provided by each entity include:

YWCA Circles- Trained youth and adult community members facilitate peacekeeping circles for youths aged 12-16 who have received a municipal ticket in the City of Madison. In the circle, everyone has an equal voice, including the youth, the person who was harmed, and other community members. In the end, they use consensus decision-making to come to an agreement to repair the harm as a community.

Dane County TimeBank Peer Court - Trained youth peer jurors hear cases for youths aged 12-16 who have received a municipal ticket in the City of Madison. The youth peer jurors issue restorative sentences, such as helping youth develop skills and repairing the harm that they caused. Sentences can include accessing resources through the Dane County TimeBank.

Briarpatch Youth Services - Youth Peer Court offers meaningful restorative justice solutions as an alternative to traditional court for youth aged 12-16 who have received a municipal ticket in

the City of Madison. Fellow youths in grades 8 to 12 serve as volunteer jurors and help referred youth find employment and other services that promote positive youth development.

In addition, the Mayor has recently formed asked Public Health to take a leadership role in developing a Citywide Violence Prevention Plan. In 2018, Public Health Madison Dane County will reallocate two vacant positions to develop a results-oriented and public health-based comprehensive plan to preventing violence. The public health approach to violence seeks to address the root causes of violence and prevent it from occurring. This approach focuses on strengthening and expanding evidence-based strategies and programs to address violence at the individual, family, and societal levels. While still in a formative stage, this approach (more details in attachments) aims towards the follow: • Data driven: approaches based on data that describe the nature of the problem as well as contributing risk and resilience factors • Collaborative: multiple partners from public health, law enforcement, education, recreation, economic development, mental health, substance abuse, business, and others working together to produce change • Population-based: seeking community wide or environmental solutions • Primary prevention: efforts designed to prevent violence before it occurs

As described above, several initiatives on Madison’s Northside have recently agreed to implement a collective impact approach called “Stable Families, Strong Community”. Attributes that we are developing for our collective impact approach include:

• Common Agenda o Common understanding of problem o Shared vison for change • Backbone Support – Northside Planning Council o Separate organization with staff o Resources and skills to convene and coordinate participating organizations • Continuous Communication o Consistent and open communication o Focus on building trust • Mutually reinforcing activities o Differentiated approaches o Coordination through joint plan of action • Shared measurement o Collecting data and measuring result o Focus on performance management o Shared accountability

Organizations that are aligned through the collective impact approach and other collaborative efforts include:

Northside Early Childhood Zone ECI uses a home visitation approach focused on families in (NECZ) poverty with multiple barriers to success. ECI provides an intensive education and employment response to target families. It is now undergoing evaluation to become a best practice model.

Racial Equity & Social Justice The City’s RESJI focuses on eliminating racial and social inequities Initiative in municipal government. Commitment to RESJI means that equity considerations will be integral to major decisions in an effort to achieve equitable allocation of resources. Brentwood Northport Corridor The Brentwood Northport Corridor NRT enhances coordination, Neighborhood Resource Team and communication among City staff, residents, and other (NRT) stakeholders to promote equity and improve the quality of life for all residents of the identified Northside neighborhoods by addressing wide range of issues identified by the community. Restorative Justice and Community RJ (youth) and CRC (adults) prevents a criminal record and Restorative Court (RJ and CRC) provide services and resources that decreases re-offending. It is one of our primary initiatives to reduce disproportionate minority confinement, which is a significant issue in our community.

Madison Out-of-School Time The MOST initiative engages parents, youth, program providers, (MOST) City, School District, and stakeholders in system that coordinates OST programs allowing all children/youth to have access to high quality, programs that support positive youth development, educational achievement and/or career/community readiness.

Northside Planning Council The Northside Planning Council in engaged in many areas of community development on the Northside with a special focus on food security and employment in the food industry through the FEED kitchen. The council convenes and organizes many community events and acts an organizing force.

Shared Framework on Reducing Youth Violence and Promoting Well-Being’s Principles for Action

Examples of how our collective impact approach and community resources reflect elements of the Shared Framework on Reducing Youth Violence and Promoting Well-Being’s Principles for Action include: • Awareness of the environmental aspects of preventing youth violence and how investing in positive/pro-social youth development is important • Developing ways to translate what we know about the impact of trauma into practices among all those that interact with youth • Improvements in our ability to gather and analyze data related to children, youth, and families allowing us to utilize data to inform investments and track outcomes in a way that allows us to create the kind of feedback loop we need to improve those efforts; • Focus on infrastructure development with the Northside Planning Council and • Authentic engagement of residents by neighborhood navigators • Creation of a structure to link resources (health, law enforcement, agencies, etc.) in being able to be “on the ground” to identify needs/strength and strengthen neighborhoods.

Leadership and Project Management

Phase One: Planning The first phase of project management for the Madison’s Northside: A Safe and Thriving Community initiative was led by the City of Madison Community Development Division. The Community Development Division resides in the City of Madison Office of Planning and Community Economic Development. Within the Division, this project is housed within the community resources team. That team is comprised of a supervisor and six community development specialists with a wealth of experience in community development.

The City of Madison CDD engaged in this planning work with support from advising consultants, Jim Moeser of Kids Forward, Abha Thakkar, Executive Director of the Northside Planning Council, as well as the Northside Early Childhood Zone, a strong program collaborator working on closely aligned issues. This leadership group worked to hire a project coordinator and seven community navigators to lead the planning process. Beginning in June 2017 these Neighborhood Navigators began working in the community to connect neighbors to resources, and gather input featured in this analysis.

2 Members of the Northside Planning Council and the Northside Neighborhood Navigators

The Navigators attended dozens of community events, spoke to hundreds residents, collected over 80 surveys and facilitated six focus groups. This process both helped this project to gather community input as well as serving as a skill-building exercise for the navigators who engaged in writing and implementing the survey according to best practices. A summary of their findings can be found in the attachments.

In total, this planning phase included:

• More than a dozen meetings with community stakeholders • 80 formal community surveys, and hundreds of informal conversations • An increased regional focus on efforts towards youth violence and victimization, prevention, interruption, and restoration. • A planning group of over 30 community stakeholders with diverse expertise and lived- experiences, comprised of 60% Northside residents, meet for over 8 hours to complete a strategic planning process • 50+ Northside youth were engaged in the strategic planning process through summer programming involving at-risk youth, north district police, community centers, navigators, and other partners • More than two dozen community events • 6 focus groups

Strategic Planning Group Process

In addition to the surveys and focus groups, organized by the Northside Planning Council Neighborhood Navigators, this community-driven strategic plan came about as a result of a rigorous planning process led by the City of Madison Community Development Division. A project coordinator collected feedback from half a dozen groups of stakeholders, in addition to organizing a formal planning group that met 3 times during the month of August 2017.

This group included the stakeholders listed below; a diverse group of stakeholders including City and County staff, elected officials, representatives from schools and recreational organizations, members of law enforcement and juvenile justice organizations, and residents. Members were solicited with an intentionality in regards to including persons with diverse lived experiences, educational and professional backgrounds, gender, race, and ethnicity. Meetings were held at the North Sherman Ave United Methodist Church, with consideration taken to remove as many barriers for participation as was possible. Transportation and childcare support were provided for those who needed it. Stakeholders who would potentially have financial conflicts of interest were excluded from this official planning process but were included in a later public meeting to share their input.

Safe and Thriving Communities Strategic Planning Group - * indicates Northside Resident Member Name Affiliation Allison Dungan Safe and Thriving Communities Initiative Coordinator Mary O’Donnell City of Madison Community Development Division Abha Thakkar Northside Planning Council Jim Moeser Kids Forward Leslie McAllister Northside Early Childhood Zone Mallory Saurer* Northside Navigator, Northside Planning Council, Resident Terri Hatchett* Northside Navigator, Northside Planning Council, Resident Atasha Pinnell* Northside Navigator, Northside Planning Council, Resident Danielle Washington* Northside Navigator, Northside Planning Council, Resident Tracy Stewart* Northside Navigator, Northside Planning Council, Resident Tamaha Jones* Northside Navigator, Northside Planning Council, Resident Rachel Hahn* Northside Navigator, Northside Planning Council, Resident Jacob Tisue Madison Schools and Community Recreation Jane Jorgenson Neighborhood Resources Team Lead Madison Public Libraries, Lake View Library Andre Johnson Juvenile Justice Services Manager Dane County Department of Human Services Sarah Johnson Public Health Madison & Dane County Rhonda Voigt Juvenile Justice Social Work Supervisor Court Diversion Unit Tariq Saqqaf Neighborhood Resource Coordinator Office of the Mayor, City of Madison Hugh Wing City of Madison Community Development Division Lt. Dan Olivas Madison Police Department, North District Deon Carruthers City of Madison Community Development Division Rommel Tijerino City of Madison Community Development Division, Childcare Unit Gloria Reyes Deputy Mayor to Public Safety, Civil Rights and Community Services

AJ Peterson Madison Metro School District, Community Schools David Dexheimer Madison Police Department, North District, Community Policing

Kazoua Moua* Dane County 4H Nutrition Education, Resident Marcus Stanford* Dane County Sheriff, Resident Dave Meyer* Brentwood Neighborhood Association, Resident Rebecca Kemble* Alderwoman District 18, Resident Heather Crowley* Neighborhood Intervention Program Dane County Department of Human Services Michele Ritt* Dane County Board of Supervisors District 18, Resident Luke Thao* Pastor, Hmong Service, Sherman Ave United Methodist Church, Resident David Hart Reverend, Sherman Ave United Methodist Church

This group was tasked, over the course of three meetings, to complete work towards identifying and prioritizing work to be completed by the Northside Safe and Thriving Communities Initiative. This involved an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats around several areas pre identified by leaders in the Stable Families, Strong Communities partnership. Participants used their professional and lived experience to indicate their assessment on large notepads displayed around the room. Plus (+) signs were used to indicate support and minus signs to indicate disagreement.

Following this process, feedback was used to identify priorities for implement. Those priorities were further consolidated based on grouping like objectives and then voted on (anonymously). This was used to create our specific goals and outcomes. When voting on priorities, planning process participants were asked to consider the following:

• Is this priority likely to have a significant and lasting impact on youth violence and victimization beyond the 21-month implementation period? • Is this impact likely to be able to be sustained without the staff and financial support provided by this initiative? • Does this objective complement existing efforts or fill an important gap in addressing youth violence and victimization?

Northside Safe and Thriving Strategic Planning Group SWOT Exercise Results

Criminal Justice

Strength: Weakness: Madison Police care + More training on Racial Justice for MPD, school security – Increase Racial Justice options everyone who crosses paths with youth + Recent increase in funding and support of Not enough training for community policing +++ restorative justice ++++ Need clear opportunities for alternatives to incarceration Diversion programs Not enough opportunities for Patrol Officers to practice community policing + Continued lack of resources for people of color ++ Media continues to highlight and target people of color

Opportunity: Threat: Increase in true community policing. Great Racism example in officer Dex of what works+++ Implicit bias ++ A million opportunities possible for Federal and State Policies presentations and discussion +++ Issues at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lakes Effort to move 17 year olds back to jury system ++ Police willing to engage in training ++

Employment

Strength: Weakness: Many volunteer and intern opportunities that can Cost of startups ++ turn into a job + Child care availability + Several centers offer AmeriCorps jobs Job training needs ++ Madison College campus Criminal background and credit hurt future++++ Dream bikes employs kids Minimum wage is too low + Presence of F.E.E.D. ++++ Inadequate wages to sustain family ++++++++ NPC ++ Service delivery model of Job Center – can improve to be Many entry level employers on Northside trauma informed ++ County job center located on Northside Opportunity: Threat: Shopping centers with space Mismatch of opportunities & employees ++ Growing number of employers that may be willing to Oscar Meyer gone ++++++ “take chances” on employees + Employment programs need improvement Parents working in afterschool programs Small business startups + Oscar Meyer space ++++ Goodwill both as an employer and potential leader + mentorship/internship opportunities ++

Policing and Safety

Strength: Weakness: Existing Community policing model (Neighborhood Concentrated poverty officers) ++ Very expensive! Voices being heard – there is a will for improvement Uneven distribution of services People care about their kids and want to keep them Some people feel that police don’t have a strong enough safe ++ presence + Officers care about the community and want help ++ Trust issues ++++++ Perceptions/Biases are deep and well established + Opportunity: Threat: Build more community relationships Reactive policing model dominates proactive model ++ Look for more voices Misconceptions – what other people think +++++ Increase neighborhood offerings A call to MPD equals guarantee of guns on the scene + Change of negative perception of policing Partnerships with MSCR, neighborhood centers, etc.

Support Services – Childcare and Transportation

Strength: Weakness: Navigators ++++++ School age bus passes (summer pass) ++++ NECZ +++ Not enough quality childcare centers ++ Mutual Aid Network/Timebank Lack of drop-in childcare options ++ Affordability ++ No direct routes – often several transfers ++ No childcare in evening/weekends at center based facilities ++ Increased co-pays/logistical issues with enrollment and transitions to new childcare + Opportunity: Threat: An active citizenry/group might be able to advise bus Bus system capacity/funding + routes + Unregulated in-home childcare Rapid transit ++ Kids being watched by neglectful, un-skilled, or even Unlikely – but could advocate for free school bus predatory caregivers out of necessity passes ++ Protective factors highly critical in early childhood Could create a childcare co-op ++++ development. Local churches may be willing to provide space for Hard to correct the effects of early and persistent trauma childcare Bus fares increasing in FY2018 Work with Madison College for Satellite campus for chilFunding + certification +

Grassroots Leadership or Citizen Involvement in Public Affairs

Strength: Weakness: Many Northside organizations that care Ask for residents/community involvement ++ +++ Logistics of having meetings/gathering info Engaged community (large and small) + Sustainability of efforts + Northside Planning Council Sustainability outside neighborhood centers + Lack of programming in this area; who would lead this? +

Opportunity: Threat: Increase awareness of public to Need to show wins to gather momentum do we have enough? + opportunities to get involved +++ Actual results for community members The community wants to get involved + Grassroots power is threatening to existing structures of majority power + Doing civic engagement, the way we’ve always done it – ask folks their opinions and just do what we want anyway and expect folds to thank us for involving them in not meaningful ways Unwillingness of those in power to share power

Health/Mental Health (family planning, pregnancy, 0-5)

Strength: Weakness: It’s there – if you have insurance etc Not well understood what is avail. ++++ Seems to be and understanding that this would Not enough supports in schools +++++++++ reduce violence, school struggles, family stress etc. No family planning near Northside +++++++ Accessibility low eso. if on public assistance Focus on crisis not preventative ++ Not culturally relevant services ++

Opportunity: Threat: Resources to assist Not being treated as related to violence + Available space on the 2nd floor of Northeast Family ClinStigma ++ for mental health services ++ Treatment with street pharmaceuticals Increase awareness (grassroots effort) Federal and State funding being cut

Education

Strength: Weakness: Dedicated parents and staff + Behavior Education Plan = ineffective + - Many neighborhood schools + Not enough support behavior, mental health+ CBITs Program in all Middle Schools Need more alternative program options + Pathways Special Ed students not served in summer school ++ Mendota Community School + Not enough resources/too many homeless youth ++ Diverse administrators + Not enough alternative ed options ++ MSCR Afterschool Programs Staff not educated in racial equity and social justice ++ District is not prioritizing mental health or racial equity + Little to no opportunity to affect district decisions + Holding parents accountable +++ Lack of staff of color +++ Lack leadership opportunities specifically for youth of color ++ Opportunity: Threat: Hire more racially diverse staff + Many unlicensed teachers + Youth voice can be elicited State budget issues +++ Mindfulness training/learning Too much focus on kids, not enough on system + Staff training in mental health + MMSD sending areas + Parent leadership in schools ++ Teachers hindered by the system + Back to school programming collaborations Excellent teachers leaving in high numbers + between community schools and MSCR + Too much emphasis only on “test scores” +

Racial and Social Justice

Strength: Weakness: Race to Equity Report + Too much discussion, not enough action +++++++++ Many people with knowledge and talent Lack of awareness of racial disparities ++ We’re here talking about it ++ Too dependent on POC to share trauma to help people understand NRT – community engagement problems +++ GroundWork and other NGOs Many stable/comfortable people just don’t believe it is an issue or care about it

Opportunity: Threat: People want change +++ People fear retribution so no one talks about it and the topic is We’re talking now +++ intimidating ++++ Unity +++ White fragility and guilt and lack of awareness about what to do Momentum + about it +++++++ Segregation ++ State and Fed. incarceration policies

Programming or Out of School Time Activities

Strength: Weakness: MSCR is in ALL Northside schools + Not a lot of people know about it + A lot of community centers – but need more staff+ Not a lot of affordable options ++ Youth want to be involved in existing programming No safe space for teens ++ Youth not involved in creating programs ++ Kids with disabilities are not welcomed Programs do not include or connect to parents

Opportunity: Threat: New MSCR program ideas + Kids of color are treated like adults + Teen Activities Difficult to do programming in a sustained way + Tech activities Transportation challenges + Sports/Music/Events Parent support is often missing Afterschool support Youth often have adult responsibilities+

Youth Engagement in the Planning Process

In addition to this adult stakeholder group, the initiative ran a summer program targeted at 8-17 year olds in order to capture a youth voice. This program was run by the initiative coordinator with support from the neighborhood navigators, the Madison Police Department, The Fit Youth Initiative, Dane County 4H and Extension, and area community centers. The City of Madison Community Development Division supervised two Wanda Fullmore interns to play a leadership and guidance roll in forming this summer program. The internship hires 40-50 high school students each year who complete summer internships within city government and employment skills training with a local nonprofit, Commonwealth Development Corporation. These two interns were both residents of the target area, and both have had contact with the Juvenile Justice system.

This group worked together to host six evenings of youth group meetings. Each evening included students shopping, cooking, and cleaning-up a meal with the support of neighborhood navigators, youth programmers, and Madison Police Officer Alex Nieves-Reyes. After and before the meal activities were scheduled to help the youth connect with one another and the adults in the room. This group completed several discussions around their perceptions of risk and protective factors in their life along with violence that they are seeing or experiencing in their neighborhoods.

In these discussions, the youth group identified the following:

What are some things that you would like a youth group to support?

• Community o Learn that I am somebody who matters in my community o Be a positive member of my community o Work together o Being around peers o Meet new people o Improve relations with retailers o Make spaces where we feel safe – not threatened o Build trust o Increase job opportunities for kids and get a job o Stop the violence/shooting o Stop racism o Improve race relations between kids of color and white adults – “prove to the white people we are not criminals” o Make life better o Be less selfish – help others o Making days brighter

• Personal Development o Learn how to communicate with people o Make better choices o To get active – physically o Control anger o Stop fighting and interrupt violence o Stay out of trouble o Do the right thing when no one is around/watching o Learn skills to be a better student o Stop littering o Learn how to cook o Learn how to be a leader o Learn how to be honest, positive, and a change-maker What activities would you like to do?

• Eating o Sharing a meal together o Learning how to cook • Video games • Basketball (and soccer, play sport generally) • Make music • Making T-shirts (Tie-Dye • Doing Arts and Crafts • Homework time/night

Phase Two: Implementation Phase As fits the changing nature of the work that this group will undertake during the implementation phase and developments that have occurred in the City violence prevention landscape, our management will look slightly different in the implementation phase. Overall project management, reporting, and coordination will still be under the purview of the City Community Development Division with staffing from the Safe and Thriving Communities Initiative coordinator. This coordination work will be done in close collaboration with our project lead partners: City of Madison, Dane County Public Health, the Madison Police Department, and Dane County Department of Human Services. We envision that this group of coordinators will meet at least monthly to guide the effort.

Stakeholders from the strategic planning group along with key partners that will be established through the work of the initiative (i.e. Community Council, and youth employer’s consortium) will inform the effort and be convened at least quarterly.

CDD will provide project support to the planning and implementation process and manage subcontractors to carry out their responsibilities. The Safe and Thriving Coordinator will provide logistical and data collecting support, prepare programmatic and financial reports, and support this project as otherwise needed.

City of Madison Community Development Division (CDD) will continue to lead this project. CDD has supported community engagement, participatory planning and collaborative efforts for nearly four decades. CDD has led the Dept. of Justice’s Weed and Seed initiative, Dept. of Health and Human Services Girl Neighborhood Power project, Title V. Delinquency Prevention Board, Dane County (DC) Youth Resource Network, and the Madison area Out-of-School Time system. CDD staff also serve in leadership roles with the County Restorative Justice Coalition, Disproportionate Minority Contact Task Force, and the School District’s Behavior Education and Personalized Pathways initiatives. CDD holds contracts with more than fifty non-profit community- based organizations with nearly 130 programs funded through both local tax and other governmental funds. Through these purchase of service contracts, CDD provides program oversight, monitoring, and evaluation assistance. CDD manages approximately $7 million in wide variety of community service projects. The agency has its own internal accounting staff who is supervised by the City of Madison’s Finance Department that provides guidance and training on accounting procedures; an Internal Auditor to maintain fiscal controls; and, assistance in preparing for the Single Audit. The supervisor for this project, Mary O’Donnell has worked in CDD for 22 years and successfully managed OJJDP Drug-Free Communities and Juvenile Mentoring Program grants, and DHHS Girl Neighborhood Power grant.