A grant from the State of California will give San Joaquin County a million dollars a year in each of the next three years to help keep young people out of gangs.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar says the money will be used to fund Project Navigate, an effort to guide families away from gangs and drugs and toward education and other services.
"There is those who if we get in early enough we can deter from following in the path of those before them or older siblings or parents, or grandparents and start to break that cycle."
Verber Salazar says the program will involve other agencies including the sheriff's office and the county office of education.
"Our program is powerful, it's innovative, it's collaborative, and we can hold our own against any of the big counties."
San Joaquin County was the smallest county in its grant group. It competed against larger counties such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
County Supervisors will vote on the grant approval next week.
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