 | |
| Formation | 1934 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Clifford Shaw |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Website | www |
Chicago Area Project (CAP) is an American juvenile delinquency prevention association based in Chicago, Illinois. The project was founded by University of Chicago criminologist Clifford Shaw in 1934 and was a pioneering community-based delinquency prevention program.
The project started to fight delinquency at "Russell Square" neighborhood of South Chicago during the 1930s and early 1940s. [1]
 |
In 1934, Clifford Shaw, a University of Chicago sociologist, established the Chicago Area Project (CAP). [2] CAP attempts to resolve local problems, such as gang violence, substance abuse, unemployment, and delinquency. [2] CAP's goal is to stop delinquency by calling locals to actively engage in community self-development. [2]
CAP has 40 grassroots organizations and special projects that seek to develop young adults and end juvenile delinquency using community building. [2] CAP associates, alliance partners, and special projects are in less-fortunate neighborhoods in urban areas of Chicago and across Illinois. [2] They offer different services in which they act as mentors, trainers, and facilitators. [2] Every affiliate is independent and focuses on the specific needs of a neighborhood and its people, which are determined by its leaders. [2] CAP has partnered with nationwide professional and local organizations. [2] They offer programs to help youth service workers become skilled, trained, and to advance their work with young adults. [2]
CAP uses a 3-way approach in order to deal with delinquency and the core causes of it by having direct services, advocacy, and community organizing. [2] CAP enables a diverse group of community stakeholders to improve neighborhood environments, decrease anti-social behavior in young adults, protect children from inappropriate institutionalization, and offer children and young people with role models for their own development. [2]
By implementing continuous advocacy projects and special projects, CAP has contributed to changing workforce development, juvenile justice, welfare and various more. [2] CAP serves local organization and young adults by playing as facilitator, and grant manager. [2] The CAP community works towards solving issues that are neighborhood-specific by using external resources and resolving them. [2] By training and technical assistance, CAP partners with other grassroots organizations assists families and adolescents. In so doing, CAP improves, strengthens, and enhances community life. [2]
Clifford Shaw was a strong believer that juvenile delinquency in Chicago was due to deteriorating conditions in neighborhoods. [3] Notable sociologists from the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute for Juvenile Research supported Clifford Shaw. [3] He was doubtful of psychological reasons for delinquency and of associations that strived to improve specific delinquents. As a result, he established CAP as an improved version of a grassroots community organization. [3] CAP sponsored community organizers made up of locals in high-delinquency neighborhoods. [3] Shaw also worked with other existing organizations for example the Catholic church which was in a mainly Polish neighborhood of Russell Square. [3]
Initially, CAP's programs had 3 predominant forms. [3] Firstly, it arranged recreation, the Russell Square Community Committee (RSCC) sponsored athletic clubs. [3] Secondly, it improved neighborhood environments; the RSCC along with community locals created a summer camp and cleaned up community parks. [3] Lastly, it helped delinquents; workers arranged informal guidance sessions for many young gang members. [3] Workers collaborated with police and teachers when young people were having problems in school or were arrested. [3] Furthermore, when neighborhood youth were on parole, CAP leaders supervised them. [3]
In the 1930s there were only 3 community groups, which then grew to 80 in the late 1960s. [3] In a lot of the neighborhoods, helping African Americans and Hispanics succeeded the European ethnic groups who CAP first assisted. [3] CAP has consistently been a powerful instrument in community organizing. [3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
