C.L.I.C.K. Services, NFP 

C.L.I.C.K. Services, NFP

www.clickservices.org

110 East 79^th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60619

 P.O. Box 93, Thornton, Illinois 60476

708-921-1395

Dr. Nance conducts interactive seminars, workshops, and public speaking engagements with a team of Licensed Clinical Psychologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and other Certified Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselors on criminal thinking and criminal behavior. He presents a platform and opportunity for parents and other advocates in human/social services and the criminal justice system to discuss violence, crime, and recidivism among youth and adults.

Most researchers agree protective factors are the only way to explain why two individuals grow up with identical risk factors, and one offends while the other does not. Protective factors in this context are: characteristics or conditions that interact with risk factors to reduce their influence on criminal and violent behaviors. These protective factors build a barrier between a developing individual, and his or her risk factors by offsetting or counteracting those risks. Some of the protective factors identified by researchers include:

• Individual: positive/resilient temperament, religiosity/valuing involvement in organized religious activities, social competencies and problem-solving skills, perception of social support from adults and peers, healthy sense of self, positive expectations/optimism for the future, and realistic high expectations

• Family: good relationships with parents/bonding or attachment to family, opportunities and rewards for pro-social family involvement, having an intact stable family, and high family expectations

• Education/School: school motivation/positive attitude toward school, student bonding and connectedness (attachment to teachers, belief [in education] and commitment [to education]), academic achievement/reading ability and mathematics skills, opportunities and rewards for pro-social school involvement, high-quality schools/clear standards and rules, high expectations of students, and presence and involvement of caring, supportive adults

• Peer: involvement with positive peer group activities and norms, good relationships with peers, and parental approval of friends

• Community: economically sustainable/stable communities, safe and health-promoting environment/supportive law enforcement presence, positive social norms, opportunities and rewards for prosocial community involvement/availability of neighborhood resources, high community expectations, and neighborhood/social cohesion

Dr. Nance suggests there are cognitive distortions within our familial, social, and environmental systems, which develop and create risky behaviors. The lack of appropriate cognitive processes in the use of protective factors contributes to the present phenomenon of criminal thinking and criminal behaviors.

Dr. Nance and his team of professionals are willing to travel throughout the United States to engage individual(s), families, and/or groups to conduct interactive seminars, workshops, and public speaking engagements on the topic of crime, violence, and recidivism resulting from criminal thinking and criminal behaviors; and the lack of appropriate use of protective factors.

Dr. Nance is seeking a contractual employment relationship with any agency to evaluate or review their proposals to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) before submission.  He is a peer reviewer for BJA, reviewing proposals.

He has found that many agencies applying for Solicitation Grants to BJA fall short of the mark because of how they format their applications or they have not addressed the criteria appropriately.