Reducing Gang Violence

Uniting partners to redirect gang-involved youth

The Leadership, Intervention & Change Program, or LINC, was founded in 2011 as a community-wide, multi-disciplinary effort to reduce individual Group/Gang involvement and community violence among young people in King County, Washington. LINC uses the U.S.Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Comprehensive Gang Model as a framework. In collaboration with community partners from the areas of street outreach, juvenile justice, and education, LINC works with up to 200 young people annually who are involved wit or at risk of being impacted by violence. The Center for Children & Youth Justice convenes and facilitates LINC partners, staffs the multi-disciplinary teams that directly support young people, and hosts the annual LINC conference.

For many young people, disengagement from school and a lack of connection to family and friends creates a gap that can easily be filled by gang or unhealthy group activity, and sometimes violence. Gangs and similar, but more informal, groups are a dangerous haven for youth, taking the place of family, school, and other opportunities. King County is confronting a growing crisis—5,000 youth and young adults in King County belong to nearly 90 different gangs. For these young people, it’s not just their futures at risk, it’s their lives.

Sam was recently suspended from school for bringing weapons to school and wearing gang colors. A school counselor has talked with him about conflicts with his peers and concerns from his parents of running from home and missing school. Recognizing the risk of Sam’s current situation, the counselor referred him to the Youth Leadership, Intervention & Change (LINC) program. Now, Sam has a team of supportive professionals helping him build healthy relationships and distance himself from gang involved peers, attends school regularly, and engages in counseling to get support for the trauma he has experienced. With this support, he sees a different path he can follow to be successful and safe.

 

What We’re Doing:

  • LINC Brochure
  • LINC Team Intervention Manual
  • 2024 LINC Program One-Pager
  • 2024 Community Assessment Update: Presentation | Full Document
  • 2023 Year-End Snapshot
  • Strengthening agency coordination to reduce youth gang involvement. CCYJ brings together schools, law enforcement, policymakers, social service providers, and other organizations to form a Steering Committee that informs policy changes that impact gang/group involved youth, collects data, and develops an innovative, coordinated approach to address gang/group-involvement countywide.
  • Connecting gang/group-involved youth and young adults to needed support. Through a coordinated team of service providers, LINC is intervening with young people and reengaging them in secondary education; connecting them to counseling, treatment services, and employment opportunities; and reducing gang/group involvement by engaging them in mentorship and pro-social programs and other services they need to succeed. The multidisciplinary team model helps youth and young adults set and reach their educational, employment, and pro-social goals. CCYJ facilitates three multidisciplinary teams serving South Seattle and six South King County school districts:
    • Seattle School District
    • Renton School District
    • Tukwila School District
    • Highline School District
    • Kent School District
    • Federal Way School District
    • Auburn School District
  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s National Gang Violence Awareness Week 2019: LINC in Focus View PDF
  • LINC 2018 Community Assessment Update: Presentation | Full Document