Prevention, especially among young people, is critical in efforts to end the cycle of violence. In 2004, The Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) allocated over $4 million dollars to contracts for violence prevention and intervention services, including six programs that involve the whole family in violence prevention.

Dating Violence Prevention
The Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence (OCDV) and the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) have teamed up to educate young people on dating violence in New York City. The project established the NYC Healthy Relationship Training Academy, to teach young people and service providers about the dynamics of abusive relationships and the characteristics of healthy relationships. As part of the NYC Healthy Relationship Training Academy, a team of Peer Trainers facilitates a 90-minute workshop for young people in community organizations and city-funded agencies. The workshop covers the definitions of family domestic violence, teen dating violence, and healthy relationships, the use of power and control tactics, the components of a healthy relationship, and warning signs of an abusive partner. Throughout the workshop, the Peer Trainers highlight real-life experiences and encourage participants to evaluate their own lives and society generally in order to recognize models of both unhealthy and healthy behaviors. The curriculum is inclusive of diverse populations, including immigrants, teen parents, runaway and homeless youth, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender youth. In addition to workshops for youth, the Training Academy also provides training on adolescent dating violence to adult providers who work with young people.

Adopt-A-School/Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP)
RAPP is a comprehensive, school-based teen relationship abuse program. Its focus on prevention, intervention, professional development, community outreach, and parent education allows for full integration of the services throughout the school community while ensuring a "zero-tolerance" approach to abuse in all of its forms. RAPP currently exists in 20 high schools, and the Human Resource Administration will expand it to 10 more middle and high schools in fall, 2005.

Youth Public Education Campaign
This grassroots public education campaign encourages adolescents involved in dating violence relationships to call the City's hotlines and service providers. Materials developed by OCDV have been distributed to all 400 public middle and high schools, hospitals, and after-school programs. The Department of Education has also committed to enhance their violence prevention curriculum in collaboration with the OCDV and DYCD.