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Breaking the Cycle:

Recommendation Report

From: Phillip Teng, Johns Hopkins Youth Advisory Group

To: Bernard C. Young, Acting Mayor,
and the Baltimore City Board of Commissioners
3 May 2019
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List of Tables and Figures 1

Executive Summary 2

Introduction 3

Method and Scope 3

Solutions 5

Discussion / Conclusion 8

Implementation 10

Recommendations 11

References 12
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Figure 1: Figure 2:

Figure 3: Figure 4:

Figure 5: Figure 6:

Figure 7:
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Phillip Teng

Widespread crime has been a persistent problem in

Baltimore and is detrimental to adolescent
development in Baltimore. It is common knowledge
that Baltimore is a dangerous city: Baltimore has
the highest homicide rate of any major American
city and a crime rate 5 times higher than the
national average. Youth are hurt by this, both when
victimized and when negatively influenced by this
culture of crime. Without intervention, Baltimore
will inevitably decay into a city run by crime. Our
After thoroughly researching each of the solutions,
consulting team sought to research a solution to
our group reviewed each using the criteria we
promote adolescent development in spite of an
established. We concluded that implementation of
environment of crime.
an after-school program, paired with use of the
LifeSkills Training curriculum, would be effective
in protecting adolescents from Baltimore’s
Our consulting group first conducted an extensive
prevalence of crime.
literature analysis of crime in Baltimore to gain a
deeper understanding of the issue. Our team aimed
to combine different perspectives within Baltimore
in fields of public policy, child development, and
crime prevention to create a comprehensive Once we arrived at our conclusion, we conducted
solution. We sought out correspondence with non- one last literature review of research studies on
profit organizations, the City School Board, the City which specific components of after-school
Board of Commissioners, and Johns Hopkins programs contribute to student success. By doing
professors to understand our possibilities as well as this, we ensured that our recommendation could be
limitations for this project. tailored to our specific team goals and benefit the
Baltimore community as much as possible. From
our review, we identified multiple components that
are crucial to an after-school program’s success in
Our team first created a set of criteria with which
our specific situation.
to evaluate potential solutions we brainstormed.
Then, through our research, we identified three If the Board of Commissioners will work with our
possible solutions: mentoring programs, LifeSkills advisory group to implement a solution involving
Training, and after-school programs. We then every aspect of our recommendation, we are
conducted a literature review to evaluate the confident that we will make significant progress
efficacy and feasibility of each of the three together towards bettering the future for Baltimore’s
solutions. youth.
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We are the Johns Hopkins Youth Advisory Group,

founded by Hopkins students from areas of
expertise including public health, computer science,
and biomedical engineering. While we come from
diverse backgrounds, we have a shared goal of
creating a healthy environment for Baltimore’s
youth to protect the future of the city. Our focus
drew us to investigate the problem of adolescent
crime.
Widespread crime has been a persistent problem in
Baltimore and is detrimental to adolescent
Data from city-data.com [2]
development in our city. Our team set out to gather
information from a variety of perspectives to gain a The overwhelming prevalence of crime carries over
better understanding of the problem, as well as to Baltimore’s youth population, whose crime rates
create a comprehensive solution to this issue. This are also on the rise. In 2017, Police arrested 2,379
solution will serve not only to deter adolescent juveniles, an 11% increase from 2016, and the
crime, but also to protect children from becoming number of juveniles charged for murder and
victims of crime themselves. attempted murder also doubled in the same time
span. [3] Additionally, yearly complaints made
After three months of research into child
against adolescents for violent crimes increased
development and crime prevention, as well as
from 550 to 683 in a span of 5 years. [4] This culture
consultation with multiple sources within
of crime disproportionately affects Baltimore’s low-
Baltimore, we have created a recommended plan
income neighborhoods, as numerous studies show
that we are confident will ensure the safety of
that high poverty rates correspond to high crime
Baltimore adolescents and improve the future of
rates in the same area. [10]
Baltimore.
Youth growth is also directly stunted by crime:
studies show that students who commute through
high crime-rate areas are 6% more likely to miss
class. [16] This is because students may feel unsafe
Our team started our investigation by reviewing the on their way to or from school and feel compelled
prevalence of crime in Baltimore. We found that in to not go altogether. This is a major factor
all cases, crime rates are extremely high, both contributing to Baltimore’s chronic absenteeism
endangering and negatively influencing adolescents. rate being the highest in the state of Maryland. In
According to an FBI report, Baltimore’s homicide fact, 37% of Baltimore students are chronically
rate is the highest among any major American absent each year. In the worst cases, as seen in nine
city.[1] The city also has a crime rate of more than schools, over 80% of students were chronically
double the national average, [2] and a violent crime absent in 2017. [20]
rate of over 5 times the national median.
Figure 2 [20]

37% of Baltimore students are

chronically absent each year

Sociologist Julia Burdick-Will, lead author of the
study, says students who are forced to choose
between safety and attendance “have a clear
disadvantage.” High student absence rates have
naturally been linked to both increased dropout risk,
crime, and delinquency. [17] This environment
within impoverished areas leads to a perpetual cycle
of criminal activity that harms all residents of
Baltimore, most of all developing adolescents.
In the months of February, March, and April, we
conducted research by seeking ideas and advice
from various resources in Baltimore relating to
crime prevention and youth development. From this
research, we constructed a list of possible options to
implement. After narrowing down our ideas, we
underwent an extensive literature review of each
possible solution to evaluate their efficacy and
feasibility.
Our first issue was how we wanted to combat
adolescent crime: implementing a policing program
that could better protect students and apprehend
adolescent criminals or focusing on a school
program to instill positive values in students to
prevent them from turning to crime. To make our
decision, we talked with a variety of sources in
Baltimore to gain perspective into our options.
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We first consulted with Maritza Dominguez, a site
coordinator for Living Classrooms, which is a non-
profit organization with multiple service initiatives.
She briefed our team on the many intervention
methods Living Classrooms has in place for youth
development, including after-school and summer
programs, life skills training, physical fitness
programs, and violence prevention curriculums.
Additionally, we maintained correspondence with
the City School Board, which provided us with
insight into our possibilities and limitations of
implementing policy. We reached out to Olympia
Scatliffe, a member of the Public School Board of
Commissioners. She suggested that school
programs would better suit our situation, because, in
her experience, the process of acquiring funding is
much simpler for school programs than police
programs. [19] After talking with these sources, we
decided that a school-related program was the more
feasible option, and would also allow us freedom in
determining our specific solution.
After this decision, we evaluated our options for
programs that could enhance youth development.
We conducted independent research on adolescent
development programs and narrowed down our
options to three strategies: mentoring programs,
LifeSkills Training (LST), and after-school
programs. After deciding on these programs for
evaluation, our team conducted an extensive
literature review for each method to determine the
efficacy and feasibility of each solution.
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Our team decided that for our recommended solution to be comprehensive, it should:
1. Reduce participation in delinquent activities such as drug use, violence, school absence, misbehavior in
class, etc.…
2. Protect adolescents from becoming victims of crime in the surrounding area
3. Be financially feasible for schools in low-income areas

Our team felt that a mentorship program, involving

15-20 adults trained for adolescent development per
school, could incentivize students to focus on
positive values as well as provide guidance during
crucial developmental periods of adolescents’ lives.
Our research indicated that mentorship could
produce highly positive results towards our goals in
adolescent development.
A 2008 study found that adult mentorship in an 18-
month period “(a) decreased first-time drug use by
46% (at a time when drug use among teenagers was
increasing), (b) reduced school absenteeism by
52%, and (c) reduced violent behavior by 33%.” [8]
Another program was implemented at Maat Youth
Academy, a school with a Black-majority
demographic. It employed Black men to mentor
Black boys with behavioral issues in the classroom,
and after a year, “the boys received significantly
fewer office referrals, were less likely to be directed
to leave class for behavioral problems and had
sharply increased classroom participation.” [6] Since
most of Baltimore’s low-income schools have a
black-majority population, we felt that this model
had promising applications to our target
demographic.

Figure 3 [8]
Data from Woodland study: “Whatcha’
Doin After School?”
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The Botvin LifeSkills Training Program is a

substance abuse and violence prevention curriculum
for middle schoolers already in effect in many
schools across the country. 30-45 minute sessions
are taught 2-3 times each week as part of the regular
school curriculum. In addition to drug abuse
prevention, students are also taught to examine self-
image, set goals and track personal progress, and
reduce stress/anxiety.
The curriculum has undergone extensive pilot
program testing and is backed by over 30 research
studies. For example, researchers conducted a
controlled trial of 57 schools and recorded results
after a 6-year period. Compared to the control
group, participants were 21% less likely to have Figure 4 [9]
smoked cigarettes, 23% less likely to have used Data from the Journal of Consulting and
cannabis, and 11% less likely to have ever been Clinical Psychology

drunk after exposure to the LST curriculum. [9]

Implementation of LST in more low-income
schools in Baltimore could produce marked
improvements in substance abuse prevention and
delinquency, as well as install positive life values in
developing adolescents.

Our team felt that, to protect students from crime,
there should be safe spaces for youth after class is
over. A 2006 study showed that “youth are 90 %
more likely to be violently victimized between the
hours of 3 and 7 p.m. on school days than after 8
p.m.” [7] After learning about our goals and
evaluation criteria, Mrs. Dominguez from Living
Classrooms suggested that after-school programs
could be the most effective solution for preventing
adolescent crime while serving the dual purpose of
protecting youth from street violence during high-
risk hours.
There is also a wealth of literature supporting after-
school programs as conducive to adolescent
success. Multiple studies showed that participation
in after-school activities corresponds to positive
youth development and decreased risk of
delinquency and substance abuse. [11] Initiatives by
the Boys and Girls Club in New York City saw
marked decreases in adolescent crime and drug use
after establishing after-school programs, as well as
improvements in academic performance.[8]
In 2005, high schools in Ohio saw a three-fold
decrease in delinquency after establishing after-
school programs, and concluded that the programs
were “constructive alternatives to gangs and drugs
during peak hours of juvenile crime.” [10]
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Perhaps the most convincing research we reviewed
was a 2017 study by the Council for a Strong
America analyzing the Becoming A Man (BAM)
after-school program. These initiatives were
established at 68 high-poverty, low-performing
schools across the country. They found that the
programs decreased total arrests by 28-35%, violent
crime arrests by 40-50%, and readmissions into the
criminal justice system by 21%.
Figure 5 [19]
Academically, the program was also highly
effective: regular school attendance increased by
10-19%, attentiveness in class by 58%, and school
engagement by 45-50%, as well as significant
increases in graduation rates. [19]
Figure 6 [19]
Beyond crime prevention and academic
performance, participation in activities after school
also “can help promote a sense of belonging,
engagement, leadership, and involvement among
youths.” [12] Overall, after-school programs are
proven to be a strong preventer of adolescent crime,
while also keeping students safe from external
crime after class.

Our research showed that all three solutions could
be effective deterrents to adolescent delinquency
and crime. To evaluate each, our team mainly
analyzed the other two criteria: student protection
and financial cost.
While there is no denying the positive impacts a
mentoring program could have on at-risk youth, the
major barrier we face is feasibility.
Financially, employing numerous mentors with the
qualifications necessary to guide adolescents could
require a budget of over $200,000 a year per school.
Also, when we discussed the possibility of a
mentorship program with the City School Board,
Mrs. Olympia Scatliffe cautioned that these types of
programs tend to be heavily scrutinized under
public policy, due to the need for heavy screening
of mentors. Additionally, they are less likely to
efficiently run due to the large scale coordination
needed even at single-site level.
These financial, political, and technical barriers to
entry could likely make implementation difficult or
impossible for schools in impoverished areas facing
a lack of resources. While implementing an
individual mentorship program has pronounced
benefits for adolescent development, we felt these
barriers make implementation infeasible for
Baltimore’s situation.
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LifeSkills Training also showed significant promise
in our review. Financially, LST is extremely
feasible, as instructor training fees and curriculum
materials are the only costs of implementation,
amounting to a one-time cost of ~$300 per school.
However, our team realized that schools may be
reluctant to create an additional course for their
curriculum. Also, our team decided that while LST
places special emphasis on substance abuse, and
while substance abuse is indirectly linked to
delinquency and crime, the curriculum does not
include any aspect that directly seeks to prevent
adolescent crime. Lastly, we felt that implementing
an LST curriculum would fail to protect students
from becoming victims of crime or prevent criminal
influences during after-school hours.
After evaluating the disadvantages of LST
implementation, our team decided that it did not
meet our evaluation criteria as an individual
program. However, because of its proven
effectiveness in numerous studies and extremely
low implementation cost, we concluded that it is
possible to consider LST as an add-on, to be used in
conjunction with a main program.
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In terms of feasibility and style, an after-school

program strikes a middle ground between a Evaluation of Solutions:
mentorship program and LST. Establishing the
Program: Crime Victimization Financial
program would only require a few qualified
Prevention Prevention Cost
supervisors. These supervisors should also seek to
Mentoring A B C
find time to meet and converse with students
Programs
individually, in order to serve as mentors to at-risk
adolescents. Since LifeSkills Training has huge LifeSkills B C A
upsides with very little cost, after-school instructors Training
could also be trained for LST to promote further After-School A A B
youth development. Programs
Figure 7

As with the mentorship program, our team’s

primary feasibility concern with an after-school
program was the cost of implementation – our team
estimates that establishing the program would cost
~$100,000 per year for each school. While hiring
capable after-school instructors may still be a
burden to low-income schools, it is more realistic
than employing many more individuals for a
mentorship program. Implementing the LST
curriculum into an after-school program is also very
feasible, as afterschool educators could train to
teach the LST curriculum. This could display to the
City School Board the efficacy of a multi-faceted
after-school program and incentivize greater
funding for program expansion.
After evaluating factors of feasibility, efficacy, and
cost-efficiency, our team concluded that an after-
school program would produce the best results to
fulfill our criteria. Combined with an LST
curriculum for at-risk students, an after-school
program is the best option for enhancing youth
development, protecting students from the harsh
environment, and preventing adolescents from
turning to crime.
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After deciding on the program we wanted to

implement, our team felt that there was a need for
further research on how to best tailor our program
to reach our project goals. So, we conducted a
further literature review of after-school programs
and what policies are needed for an effective
program, in order to create a list of specifications
we would like to implement into our solution.
In addition, to address the problem of chronic
absenteeism in areas with high crime rates, the
program should provide secure transportation via
school bus from the after-school program to
designated bus stops near students’ homes. This will
increase the attendance rates of the after-school
program as well as regular classes.

Our team decided that our program should place an Lastly, the Ross study [15] found that self-esteem
emphasis on students at risk of dropping out or building exercises for under-performing students
engaging in delinquent behaviors. One of the resulted in significant academic improvement and
common at-risk demographics in low-income reduction in drug use. The study concluded that
schools are “latchkey” students, youth who lack self-esteem building exercises were “an important
parental supervision during after-school hours. program component and should be retained for all
Studies show that latchkey youth are exposed to schools.”
numerous risk factors that cause delinquency and If all of these specifications are included in
substance abuse. [11] implementation, our team is confident that our after-
A 1992 research study on the effectiveness of after- school program can successfully accomplish all of
school programs for primary grade “latchkey” our goals for improvement and create a better
students offered many suggestions for environment for adolescent growth in Baltimore.
implementation. [15] The study concluded that many
after-school programs fail to make efforts to recruit
latchkey children, “who are truly in need of what
the program offers.” Our program will seek to avoid
this by sending surveys to all parents regarding
after-school supervision, along with information
about the after-school program. Supervisors will
identify latchkey students and advise them to join
the program. In addition, teachers will recommend
the lowest academic quartile of students to attend
after-school program sessions, and mandate after-
school homework support if academic performance
is below a certain threshold.
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Our recommendation is to work with the City School Board to establish a pilot after-school program at a school
in a low-income Baltimore area with the following specifications:
• Qualified, approachable instructors who can act as mentors to multiple students

• Training of program instructors in the Botvin LifeSkills Training curriculum

• Priority towards latchkey and at-risk students as identified through parental surveys

• Incorporation of self-esteem building exercises towards underperforming and at-risk students

• Identification and prioritization of students in the lowest academic quartile

• Safe transportation to bus stops from after-school program

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References
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big cities. baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-fbi-data-20180924-story.html

2. “How Safe Is Baltimore, Maryland?” U.S. News & World Report, realestate.usnews.com/places/maryland/baltimore/crime.

3. Mcgrew, Paul. “A Trend of Young, Violent Criminals.” WBFF, 31 May 2018, foxbaltimore.com/features/operation-crime-justice/a-trend-of-
young-violent-criminals.

4. Prudente, Tim, and Jessica Anderson. “Juvenile Services Secretary Says Baltimore County Officer's Killing Shows Youth Justice System Failed.”
Baltimoresun.com, 24 May 2018, baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-co-harris-juvenile-record-20180523-story.html

5. Knoll, Crystal, and Melissa Sickmund. “Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, 2007.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2010, doi:10.1037/e572922010-001.

6. Mitchell, K., Bush, E.C., & Bush, L. (2002). Standing in the gap: A model for establishing African American male intervention programs within
public schools. Educational Horizons, 80, 140-146.7. Fashola, O.S. (2002). Building effective after-school programs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Press.

8. Woodland, Malcolm H. “Whatcha Doin' After School?” Urban Education, vol. 43, no. 5, 2008, pp. 537–560., doi:10.1177/0042085907311808.

9. Botvin, Gilbert J., Eli Baker, Linda Dusenbury, Stephanie Tortu, and Elizabeth M. Botvin. “Preventing Adolescent Drug Abuse Through a
Multimodal Cognitive-Behavioral Approach: Results of a 3-Year Study.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 58, no. 4, 1990, pp.
437-446.

10. MacCord, Joan. “The Development of Delinquency.” Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice: Panel on Juvenile Crime: Prevention, Treatment, and
Control, National Academy Press, 2001, pp. 80–87.

11. Frazier, Stacy L., et al. “Not Just a Walk in the Park: Efficacy to Effectiveness for After School Programs in Communities of Concentrated Urban
Poverty.” Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, vol. 40, no. 5, 2012, pp. 406–418., doi:10.1007/s10488-
012-0432-x.

12. Smith, Emilie Phillips, et al. “Measuring Collective Efficacy Among Children in Community-Based Afterschool Programs: Exploring Pathways
toward Prevention and Positive Youth Development.” American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 52, no. 1-2, 2013, pp. 27–40.,
doi:10.1007/s10464-013-9574-6.

13. “Crime Rate in Baltimore, Maryland (MD): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto Thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement
Employees, Police Officers, Crime Map.” city-data.com/crime/crime-Baltimore-Maryland

14. Dominguez, Maritza. Personal interview. 3 April 2019.

15. Ross, J. G., Saavedra, P. J., Shur, G. H., Winters, F., et al. (1992). The effectiveness of an after-school program for primary grade latchkey
students on precursors of substance abuse. Journal of Community Psychology, 22-36

16. “Study: Baltimore Crime Rates Correlate to City Student Absenteeism.” WTOP, 14 Feb. 2019, wtop.com/baltimore/2019/02/study-baltimore-
crime-rates-correlate-to-city-student-absenteeism/.

17. Jackson, David, and Gary Marx. “Prison Data, Court Files Show Link between School Truancy and Crime.” Chicagotribune.com, 14 May 2013,
www.chicagotribune.com/ct-met-prison-truancy-20130219-story.html.

18. Scatliffe, Olympia. Personal interview. 21 April 2019.

19. “The Prime Time for Juvenile Crime Needs Afterschool.” Strong Nation, Council for a Strong America, 30 Apr. 2018,
www.strongnation.org/articles/637-the-prime-time-for-juvenile-crime-needs-afterschool.

20. Bowie, Liz, and Talia Richman. “Nearly 1 in 5 Maryland Students Is Chronically Absent. At Some Schools, the Rate Is More than 75 Percent.”
Baltimoresun.com, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2018, www.baltimoresun.com/g00/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-chronic-absenteeism-20180604-
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