4 Programs Are Award Semi-Finalists

Help for Teens, Domestic-Violence Victims Among Efforts

Maryland's effort to help prevent domestic violence-related homicides was recognized as one of the top 50 programs in the 2008 Innovations in American Government competition, sponsored by Harvard University's Kennedy School.

Three other local programs -- one each in the District, Maryland and Virginia -- made the list, as did six federal programs. Selected from 1,000 applicants nationally, the programs were evaluated by two panels of policy experts and will be further critiqued in coming months as the list of 50 is narrowed to six winners.

Maryland's domestic-violence "lethality assessment" program has been embraced by 68 police forces across the state. It trains officers to use a series of pointed questions to identify abuse victims most at risk of being killed and get them immediate aid or counseling. It was begun by the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, which worked with experts from Johns Hopkins University.

In the District, the honor went to the "Positive Youth Development" approach taken by the District's long-troubled Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Based on research, the approach emphasizes methods of "building on young people's strengths and assets as a way to turn their lives around," Director Vincent Schiraldi said. Fewer youths are incarcerated and more are involved in positive community programming, he said.

Locally, the District program has drawn a mixed reception, with critics saying it has been lax in its oversight. Schiraldi yesterday acknowledged problems, saying: "We know we have a lot of work to do. But . . . it's a sign we're headed in the right direction."

In Virginia, the program that made the national list is a "knowledge management" initiative in the state Department of Transportation. Created in 2003 amid a growing number of retirements, the program works to stem the loss of institutional memory and knowledge, partly by grouping employees with similar jobs or backgrounds to share information and concerns.

The other program recognized in Maryland is an 88-acre community economic development initiative in East Baltimore, near Johns Hopkins University's medical campus. With $1.8 billion in mostly private investment, the project includes a science and technology park and the first new public elementary-middle school in Baltimore in 30 years, officials said.

Each of the winners, who will be announced in September, will receive $100,000 toward replicating and disseminating its program.

Past winners include the D.C. police department, for its gay and lesbian liaison unit.

Staff writer Robert E. Pierre contributed to this report.