UCN’s Community Capacity Building is designed to enable organizations to serve more system involved youth,  at-risk youth and their families in their respective communities.  The initiative is designed to use the strengths of local grassroots,  faith based and neighborhood organizations to divert youth who are at risk or have been arrested from formal court involvement by connecting them to a network of positive adults and activities in their neighborhoods. 

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UCN’s intervention approach is built on the principles that, 

1. Intervention programs should be driven by grassroots community organizations and not system led.

2. Intervention should focus on the entire family’s strength and needs.

3. It is important to connect youth to organizations led by youth.

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 The initiative is realized through a combination of three levels of social agency: individuals, organizations, and networks. The UCN-Community Capacity Building Initiative focuses on:

 

• Leadership development

• Organization development

• Community organizing

• Fostering inter-organizational collaboration

 

Urban Community Network member organizations engage system involved or at-risk youth in mentoring programs and other positive youth development activities within their communities. UCN facilitates partnerships between local neighborhood organizations and juvenile justice system stakeholders to strengthen existing programs and create new programs and processes to help improve outcomes for youth.