The National Academic Centers for Excellence (ACEs) on Youth Violence Prevention Program was initially developed with support from the National Center for Injury Prevention Control’s Division of Violence Prevention in FY 2000. Currently, the ACE Program includes eight ACEs whose research and programmatic activities will receive support from 2005-2010, and two Urban Partnership Academic Centers of Excellence (UPACEs) who will receive support from 2006-2011. This Program was established to connect academic and community resources to study and create lasting ways to address youth violence in some of the most high-risk and vulnerable communities in the United States. Additionally, the ACE Program was established to support the rapid dissemination and translation of youth violence prevention research into effective community practices. To accomplish these goals, the ACE Program’s objectives include: 1) community-based partnerships to address youth violence; 2) interdisciplinary collaboration in the development and evaluation of research and programmatic activities, 3) community surveillance of youth violence, 4) etiological research, 5) implementation and evaluation of violence prevention strategies, and 6) training.