Anti-gang efforts

Final approval for the selection will be given by Los Angeles City Council.
They will vote on the recommendation of Community Build in Baldwin Village, Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches, and People Coordinated Services as well as three other organizations during an upcoming council session.
These organizations were designed for children who are at high risk of joining gangs. Each organization is required to have one-on-one meetings with each child a minimum of three times a week, speak with the parents at least once a month, expand their first-offender program and also engage participating youth and their families in the resolution of probation issues.
Villaraigosa, who recently took over the anti-gang program, announced that the recommendations for the one year, $500,000 contracts for each organization were forwarded to the City Council for approval. The contractors were selected by panels made up of law enforcement officials, gang experts and community members.
A spokesman for the Mayor said the selection of these providers is a departure from the city’s previous process, which did not always award contracts to the most qualified organizations. The previous prevention programs were also not focused on the needs of children who were at risk of joining gangs. The new system is completely merit based and is designed to decrease gang recruitment.