Project report
Conducting Evaluations in the Context of Tertiary Prevention of Youth Crime: Reflections from the Youth Endowment Fund.
Acquah DK, Kung CSJ, Sherlock RM ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a UK initiative with £200 million funding to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in violence. This article describes YEF's approach to evaluating tertiary prevention interventions—programmes targeting young people already at risk of or involved in violence. The report reflects on successes, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing evaluations of these interventions, with particular attention to recruitment, retention, and equity.
Key points
- YEF was established in 2019 with a ten-year mandate to prevent violence involving children and young people
- The fund tests interventions already being implemented in the UK and adapts evidence-based interventions from other jurisdictions
- Key evaluation challenges include the scale required for rigorous designs and obtaining meaningful consent from young people
- Recruitment and retention of young people in tertiary prevention evaluations presents significant practical difficulties
- YEF has embedded a focus on racial equity in tertiary prevention work
Limitations
This article reflects on YEF's experience and lessons learned rather than presenting empirical evaluation results or outcome data. It does not provide detailed findings about whether specific interventions prevented violence or improved child well-being.
Abstract
Serious youth violence is a public health issue nationally in the UK and internationally. The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) was established in March 2019, with a £200 million endowment and a ten-year mandate, with a mission to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in violence. This article gives an overview of YEF's successes and challenges to date, focusing specifically on the experience of evaluating tertiary interventions. After providing an overview of YEF's approach to funding and evaluation, the article summarises YEF's work focused on tertiary prevention, including: work to test interventions already being implemented in the UK; adapting and evaluating evidence-based interventions from other jurisdictions in the UK; innovations in a group approach to carrying out evaluations; and embedding a focus on racial equity in tertiary prevention. Next, the article discusses the design issues involved in high-quality evaluation of tertiary prevention, including the scale required and the processes for obtaining consent from young people to participate in evaluations. The article then documents the many challenges and lessons learned from implementing tertiary prevention evaluations, especially focusing on the recruitment and retention of young people. Finally, the article discusses the lessons and places them in a wider context.