The National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families (YEF) helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the children and families in their communities. Since 2007, the Institute has co-convened the California Cities Gang Prevention Network, a 13-city initiative to identify effective strategies for preventing gang violence and victimization. In addition, the Institute has published a number of resources to help cities improve public safety, including a toolkit for municipal leaders on Preventing Gang Violence and Building Communities Where Young People Thrive, an action kit on Protecting Children and Youth, and a report highlighting mayor-law enforcement partnerships to keep young people safe. For more information about the California Cities Gang Prevention Network, visit www.ccgpn.org. To learn more about the YEF Institute’s efforts to help cities protect the safety of children and youth, visit www.nlc.org/iyef.

For NLC’s gang prevention toolkit: Preventing Gang Violence and Building Communities Where Young People Thrive, see http://www.nlc.org/IYEF/safety/resources.aspx. For information on relevant NLC peer networks, see: http://www.nlc.org/IYEF/safety/networks.aspx (scroll down to see CA material).