Because there is almost no in-depth information about children and youth who set fires or play with fire tools in Texas, the State Fire Marshal's Office and TDI designed the YFPIP Database Program to facilitate the collection and maintenance of records about juveniles participating in local YFPIPs.
Users of this database program can report information about the incidents and the juveniles, including items such as types of residential environments and relationships to persons exerting a significant influence on their behavior, referral sources and service providers, to the State Fire Marshal's Office. Identifying elements such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and Social Security numbers are maintained only on the local level and not transmitted to the state level. Users can run 27 different built-in reports and are offered the mechanism for additional custom queries.
The program is very user friendly and users don't have to be "computer literate" to operate it. It was created in Microsoft Access, but departments that do not have Access will still be able to use the program through the Office Developer Kit (ODK) version. The database software is being distributed free of charge to Texas departments with youth fire prevention and intervention programs. A user's guide accompanies the software and six-hour hands-on training classes are offered.
The YFPIP Database Program includes 19 data entry forms. Two of the entry forms serve as search tools to facilitate retrieval of specific youth and/or incident information, while another serves as a note pad that may be used to collect any information not captured in the forms, or as each participant chooses to use it.
The forms ensure that events surrounding youth-set fires and fireplay activity or misuse of fire are recorded in a similar manner, leading to consistent and meaningful information. The information collected, locally and statewide, will assist in setting priorities, targeting resources and populations, designing educational and outreach programs, identifying trends and perhaps providing predictors of firesetting behavior.
SFMO Youth Fire Prevention and Intervention Database Program Training
None scheduled at this time.
Return to Youth Fire Prevention and Intervention Program home page.