Program Profile: Supporting Adolescents with Guidance and Employment (SAGE)

This is a violence prevention program designed to reduce problem behaviors in African American male adolescents. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between participants in the intervention and control groups in overall problem behaviors, violent behaviors, or risky behaviors.

A No Effects rating implies that implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.

Program Goals

Supporting Adolescents with Guidance and Employment (SAGE) is a violence prevention program for African American male adolescents. Created as a response to the growing, disproportionate rate of violence among African American male adolescents, SAGE seeks to decrease violence among this at-risk population through a multifaceted community-based approach.

SAGE, which was developed and implemented in Durham, N.C., by three Durham-based organizations, is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Program Components

In an effort to combat the disproportionate rates of African American male adolescent involvement in violence, the SAGE program combined three approaches to violence prevention: (1) an Afrocentric guidance and instructional approach, which also included a mentoring aspect; (2) a job training and placement approach, which took place during the summer months; and (3) an after-school entrepreneurial training approach. SAGE was the first program of its kind to combine these three different approaches in a single program. In combining these three approaches, the SAGE program consisted of three programmatic components, each occurring in respective succession: the Rites of Passages (ROP) program, the summer jobs training and placement (JTP) program, and an entrepreneurial experience program, based upon the Junior Achievement (JA) model.

The ROP program component was based on the ROP Curriculum created by the Durham Business and Professional Chain in 1993. The overarching goal of this program component was to instill a strong sense of African American cultural pride, ethnic identity, and responsibility to family, peers, and community. Through biweekly seminars over an 8-month period, the ROP sought to encourage positive attitudes, self-esteem, and eliminate participants’ involvement in risky behaviors. Each seminar included both didactic and interactional methods, focusing on conflict resolution, African American history, male sexuality, and manhood training. Participants also met with a mentor throughout the program. The program concluded with an overnight camping trip attended by both participants and mentors. The camping trip included a private right of initiation into manhood and a graduation ceremony where the youths’ family and the larger community attended.

The summer JTP program began with a brief initiation for youth participants and individuals from the organizations where the youth would be placed for the summer. The initiation stressed the importance of appropriate behavior and punctuality. Individuals from the various placement organizations were trained on the importance of providing a structured and supervised environment for the youth, and were provided with overall suitable expectations that they should have for the youth. Youth were matched with organizations based on specified interests, and worked at their respective jobsites for 6-weeks, receiving minimum wage. The JTP program included job counselors who checked in with the jobsite on a weekly basis and, if needed, provided youth with transportation to their summer placement.

The entrepreneurial experience program, based upon the JA model, took place over a 3-month period. During this time, youth met in small groups with volunteer advisors to experience the development and implementation of a small business. Youth formed a legal corporation, developed a business plan, elected officers, sold stock, and marketed and sold a product. At the end of the 3-month period, the company was dissolved and all investors were reimbursed and received a share of the company’s profit.

Study 1

To assess the effectiveness of the Supporting Adolescents with Guidance and Employment (SAGE) program in reducing violence among African American male adolescents, Flewelling and colleagues (1999) conducted a randomized field trial. Participants were assigned to one of the following three conditions: participation in the Rites of Passages (ROP) program, the summer jobs training and placement (JTP) program, and the Junior Achievement (JA) program; participation in JTP and JA only; and a comparison group eligible for delayed participation in JA only. African American males between the ages of 12–16 living in Durham, N.C., in 1993–1994 were eligible for enrollment into the SAGE program. Analysis occurred over 2 successive years, with the first cohort beginning in January 1994 and the second cohort in January 1995. Cohort 1 included 127 participants and cohort 2 included 128 participants; however, data from both cohorts were analyzed together, with a total of 86 youths assigned to the ROP, JTP, and JA condition; 84 to the JTP and JA condition; and 85 to the comparison (delayed JA only) condition.

For both cohorts, outcome measures were based on self-report and archival data, collected at baseline, 18 months, and annually thereafter. The survey questions were prerecorded on audiocassette tapes. Each participant was given a personal tape player, headphones, and provided with clear instructions on how to use the tape player and record their responses on their respective answer sheets. Answer sheets did not include any personal information that could be used to identify the respondent; instead, the answer sheets were coded with each participant’s identification number. The survey included questions regarding youth’s recent involvement in risky behaviors such as physical fighting, carrying a weapon, using a weapon, receiving treatment for an injury that resulted from a physical altercation, alcohol and drug use, selling of illegal drugs, intentionally damaging or vandalizing property, or engaging in sexual intercourse. Potential responses included “within the past month,” “between 1 and 6 months ago,” “between 6 months and 1 year ago,” “over 1 year ago,” and “never.” In addition to these self-report surveys, school suspension records, hospital records, and court records were also used in the analysis. Using both sources of data, the following outcomes were evaluated at the 30-month follow-up period: problem behaviors, violent behavior, and other risky behaviors. The CrimeSolutions review looked at the difference between the ROP/JTP/JA program group and the comparison group at the 30-month follow up. Subgroup analyses were not conducted.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile: