Latin American Youth Center

Mai Fernandez, LAYC's Legal and Strategy Director, testified before Congress on February 15th, discussing LAYC's work to combat Latino gang-related violence and to provide young people with a broad range of educational, recreational, leadership and arts alternatives and programs.

The hearing, focused on gang interventions that work, was held by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

Fernandez described LAYC's participation in the Gang Intervention Partnership (GIP), a comprehensive initiative to reduce Latino gang-related violence in DC's Columbia Heights/Shaw neighborhoods that was created in the summer of 2003, in response to a spree of Latino gang-related murders.

The GIP brings together police, prosecutors, probation officers, schools and community-based social service providers, marrying prevention and intervention initiatives with intelligence gathering and enforcement efforts. The GIP focuses on four core strategies: 1) Conducting intensive and targeted police work and building strong police/community partnerships; 2) Providing targeted outreach to gang-related youth and their families; 3) Educating parents and community members and; 4) Improving and expanding access to services critical to family strengthening and diversion.

In the fall of 2006, the GIP was independently evaluated by the Center for Youth Policy Research. Fernandez testified that the evaluators founds that the GIP's comprehensive approach dramatically reduced Latino gang-related violence in DC. Their findings sited that there has not been a Latino gang-related homicide in the District of Columbia since October 9, 2003.

Explaining to the Committee that different gangs have different ways of operating and that community leaders need flexibility to respond to the unique gang problem in their area, Fernandez cautioned against attempting to apply a universal legislative solution to all jurisdictions.

To read Mai Fernandez's testimony, please click here.