PARENTAL GANG EDUCATION CLASS NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED

WHEATON – DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett announced today that his office’s Parental Gang Education Class was recently honored by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Gang Crime Research Center (NGCRC) for its innovative and creative approach in addressing the County’s street gang problem.

            On Sunday August 6, State’s Attorney Birkett accepted the 2006 NACo Achievement Award at NACo’s 10^th Annual Award Reception held in Chicago.  In their selection of the Parental Gang Education Class, NACo cited the County’s “creative and innovative program development and implementation.”  On Wednesday August 9, the Program was again honored with the Frederic Milton Thrasher Award presented by the National Gang Crime Research Center at the 9^th Annual International Gang Specialist Training Conference, also held in Chicago. 

            After a decade marked by increasing gang activity throughout the nation, Birkett and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Task Force on Gangs – a collection of police officers, prosecutors, school officials and  social workers in the DuPage County area – decided to try an alternative approach to the County’s gang problem.  Time and time again, Task Force members saw the same scenario.  A violent crime had been committed by a young gang member.  The crime was clearly gang-motivated.  The parents of the defendant and the victim however, claimed to know little or nothing about their child’s gang membership.  After consulting with gang experts and surveying police departments across the County, the decision was made to create a gang education program geared towards educating parents of gang-involved juveniles.  In October 2002 DuPage County launched the Parental Education Gang Class, the first program of its kind in the country, as a preemptive measure in the fight against gangs. 

            “Through the use of guns, drugs and violence, street gangs prey upon our children,” commented Birkett.  “Parents are our first line of defense against street gangs.  With early parental intervention together we can wipe out gang membership by preventing today’s children from becoming tomorrow’s gang members.  This class arms parents with the tools and resources necessary to prevent their children from getting caught in the web of gangs, violence and drugs and the heartache and devastation that they can cause.”

            The class, which has become an integral part of the County’s anti-street gang strategy, focuses on the underlying causes and consequences of street gang membership and how to best address those causes and consequences.  The class then attempts to connect parents with resources available to address the underlying causes.  Since the inception of the class, the parents of approximately 154 juveniles have been referred to the class and more than 1,300 referrals have been given from the class.

            In addition to the NACo and NGCRC awards, the County’s Parental Gang Education Class was named one of 2005’s Best Programs by the Illinois Drug Education Alliance.

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