Introduction
death, violent
Firearm injury is the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the US.Handgun carrying is a key risk factor for youth violence in urban settings.With some exceptions, federal law prohibits the purchase and possession of handguns by any person younger than 18 years.In recent years, calls for devoting resources to community-driven approaches for preventing firearm-related harm have notably increased.Communities That Care (CTC) is a science-based approach that activates a coalition of stakeholders to choose and implement tested and effective evidence-based interventions (EBIs) tailored to identified needs in the community with the overall objective of achieving collective positive impacts on youth development.Prior studies have demonstrated the impact of CTC on reducing various health-risking behaviors such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, using drugs, and broadly engaging in any of several delinquent (eg, damaging property) or violent (eg, beating up someone) behaviors across different developmental stages from early adolescence through young adulthood.