• Develop open and frequent communication with your children.
• Encourage children to become involved in athletics
• Monitor/limit children’s exposure to violence contained in television, music, and video games
• Cultivate respect for others’ property and pride in community
• Know who your children are spending time with.
• Don’t let children stay out late or spend a lot of time unsupervised in the street
• Become involved in your child’s education and in your community

What Phoenix Does(1)
The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC), with funding from the NJ Department of Education, has developed a cutting-edge education curriculum, entitled Phoenix that corresponds with the NJ Core Curriculum Standards. To expand its reach, the JJC is forming partnerships with communities to train others in the Phoenix curriculum. The JJC is also coordinating with the county offices of probation, as well as the police departments, to build a “safety net” of resources for youth in the community. Experienced JJC staff is available to conduct workshops. One-day training sessions can be adapted to meet an audience’s specific needs and information level.  The most important goal of the curriculum is developing self-efficacy skills, thereby allowing juveniles to understand how to react to risky situations, and to think through their actions and responses to avoid future gang involvement .

(1) All information provided from www.njgangfree.org