Youth violence prevention program contracted by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) focuses on increasing knowledge and changing behaviors that are manageable within the limited scope and influence of the program. Program goals include recognizing and dealing appropriately with anger, conflicts, peer-to-peer relationships; increasing knowledge regarding the impact of, and risk factors, for violent behavior; decreasing arguments and fighting and providing knowledge of appropriate resources for help. Youth violence prevention program focuses on middle and high-school aged youths and are conducted primarily during out of school hours.
According to the recently released State Health Assessment (SHA 2014), homicide rate from 2006 to 2010 combined was highest for persons 20 to 24 years of age (12.8 deaths per 100,000 population), followed by those 25 to 34 years of age (8.6 deaths per 100,000 population) and 15 to 19 years of age (5.5 deaths per 100,000 population).