Case Management, Not Group Activities Alone, Reduced Youth Violence Risk, RAND Finds

The most effective tool in a three-year youth violence prevention program wasn’t a curriculum or a group activity. It was a single adult sitting across from a young person, session after session, showing up and being there.

That is a central finding of an independent evaluation by the RAND Corporation, released in December, which found that youth who received intensive one-on-one case management through a Boys & Girls Club program showed statistically significant reductions in risk factors for violence. The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena was one of nine LA County Clubs that participated in the state-funded effort, which served nearly 1,400 young people over three years, according to a BGCP press release issued Tuesday.

The program, called Peaceful Connections, paired the Clubs’ traditional group programming — social-emotional development, leadership, and career skills — with a new component: individual case management for youth identified as having the highest number of risk factors. The RAND evaluation found that this layered approach mattered.

Youth who received only group-based services showed no statistically significant change in their risk profiles. Those who received intensive case management did.

Improvements among case management participants were documented in four areas: social-emotional connection, impulsive risk-taking, truancy and justice involvement, and mental health indicators, according to the RAND report. Youth who attended more case management sessions experienced greater reductions in risk.

The program served young people ages 10 through 18, evenly split by gender and predominantly Hispanic, Latino, or Black, from communities across LA County that experience disproportionate rates of violence, the RAND report found. The evaluation noted that targeted communities also face systemic barriers related to poverty, academic underachievement, and justice system involvement.

The RAND evaluation also found that the most common risk factor among assessed youth was not criminal behavior — it was social disconnection, according to the BGCP press release. Youth consistently reported that the most valuable part of the program was having a stable adult who listened, followed through, and showed up, the press release stated.

“We were privileged to participate in this grant and bring this violence prevention strategy to Pasadena-area youth,” said Melina Montoya, board chair of the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena. “We are hopeful that this grant is renewed and we can continue making a positive impact.”

The three-year grant was funded through the California Board of State and Community Corrections. It has since expired, and BGCP has secured interim funding from private sources to continue the program’s case management work, according to the press release.

The Peaceful Connections program was led by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica, with BGCP and seven other partner Clubs across the county participating. RAND Corporation served as the program’s independent evaluator. The evaluation, published in December 2025, was conducted by RAND’s Education, Employment, and Infrastructure division and underwent the organization’s peer review process.

The RAND report did note challenges, including staff turnover, data-collection limitations, inconsistent access to private space for case management sessions, and recruitment shortfalls at some sites. The evaluators recommended reducing caseloads and extending the service period from six months to at least the length of a school year.

The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena, founded in 1937, operates five locations in the Pasadena area: Slavik Branch on East Del Mar Boulevard, Mackenzie-Scott Branch on North Fair Oaks Avenue, the Dena Teen Center at the Mackenzie-Scott Branch, Odyssey Charter School, and a site in the Kings Villages housing community on North Fair Oaks Avenue. The organization can be reached at 626-449-9100.

The finding that mattered most, the RAND evaluation suggested, was the simplest: that for young people navigating the highest risks, a consistent relationship with a trusted adult made a measurable difference.