On January 17, 2001, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher released a report on the state of youth violence in America. This detailed report was commissioned after the Columbine High School incident where two students killed thirteen individuals 12 classmates and one teacher.

Although the good news is that youth violence is less lethal today than it was 10 years ago, the percentage of adolescents involved with violence remains shockingly high. The epidemic of violence that swept the United States in the late 1980s was largely fueled by increasing access to firearms. Unfortunately, too many youth continue to have easy access to firearms. Incidents like Columbine as well as youths' self-reports of violent behavior indicate that the potential for a resurgence of violence definitely exists. Among the Surgeon General's findings:

• Ten to fifteen percent of high school seniors report having committed an act of serious violence in recent years.
• The proportion of schools in which gangs are present had been increasing since 1994 and only recent declined in 1999.
• Schools have fewer homicides and nonfatal injuries than do homes and neighborhoods.

In addition to the obvious cost in terms of the lives of America's young people, youth violence also takes its toll on the health care system. According to the Children's Safety Network Economics and Insurance Resource Center, the medical costs associated with violence perpetrated by youth in the United States are almost $6 billion. The victims of youth violence fill up emergency rooms and often require costly surgeries and rehabilitative care. This unnecessary strain on the health care system is an overlooked cost of violence that increases the suffering of victims, families, and communities.

Fortunately, the Surgeon General's report found that "as a Nation, we possess knowledge and have translated that knowledge into programs that are unequivocally effective in preventing much serious youth violence." I am pleased to report that Community Voices has been part of these important prevention efforts.

At the Baltimore site, Women Against Violence (WAV) offers support to mothers who have lost children to street violence. The group meets monthly to develop strategies to curb the escalating violence in Baltimore's Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood. The Denver site has begun research efforts into violent crimes committed by young males. In El Paso, the Aliviane's Youth Treatment Programs provide day treatment and supportive outpatient treatment to adolescents ages 13 to 17 years with substance abuse problems.

The Community Voices site in Ingham County successfully completed its fifth consecutive year conducting youth violence prevention programs through community/school partnerships. The Miami site is actively engaged with the Miami-Dade Criminal Justice Council and the Miami-Dade Youth Crime Task Force. North Carolina works through the Community Oriented Policing Services Program to police high-crime areas of the community to keep gang members and drug dealers out of these areas. The West Virginia site is working with the Civil Rights Division of the West Virginia Attorney General's Office in collaboration with individual high schools and middle schools throughout the state to increase the safety of students by reducing bias-motivated harassment and violence.

These are just some examples of communities working to decrease youth violence in ways that are appropriate for the children in their communities. Visit our website regularly to see how our efforts continue to grow to meet the challenge of youth violence in America.