Since then, collaborations have existed between school officials, law enforcement and community based organizations. Record low numbers were seen by the impact of direct contact with students and parents, Law Enforcement and the District all working together.
During the Covid Pandemic, with limited in-person contact with students, the MUSD saw an increase in gang involvement, association and membership.
In 2023, at the request of the School Board, Gang Intervention was re-started and Hector Garibay, former law enforcement with the MPD was hired. Since this time, the original Intervention Programs already established didn’t meet all the criterias now facing our student population. The Enhanced Gang Intervention Program was initiated.
In 2024, the Madera Unified School District, the Madera County District Attorney’s Office, the Madera County Sheriff’s Department, Madera Police Department, Madera County Probation department, Madera County Mental Health Department and the Camarena Health Services Programs embarked on the collaborative development of Gang Collaborative to intervene in the growth and recruitment of criminal street gangs in the district of Madera Unified. The collaboration specifically focused on preventing younger children from joining gangs through a simultaneous prevention and intervention approach.
