Focus is stopping school violence through prevention and mental health training
INDIANAPOLIS - United States Attorney Josh Minkler is pleased to announce a $1 million U.S. Department of Justice grant issued through the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance to the Indiana State Department of Health. The grant focus is combatting school violence through School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training with state and local governments.
The grant goals include:
1. Training school personnel and educating students to prevent student violence,
2. The development and operation of an anonymous reporting system for school threats including mobile telephone applications, hotlines, and websites, and
3. The development and operation of school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams that may include coordination with law enforcement agencies and school personnel as well as specialized training for school officials help to intervene and respond to individuals with mental health issues that could impact school safety.
Justice Department funding for the program is intended to support the improvement of school security by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to violent attacks, and mitigate risk exposure. Moreover, the goal is to prevent acts of violence.
According to U.S. Attorney Minkler, “We are currently experiencing a violent crime wave of epic proportions, and our schools are not immune. The Justice Department is pleased to partner with non-traditional and traditional partners like the Indiana State Department of Health, willing to illuminate the importance of school safety and reduce school violence through prevention and mental health training."
As the Attorney General recognized, the violent crime rate in Indianapolis is more than 250% the national average and has been steadily increasing. Experts in mental health, violence prevention, public health, media studies, and law enforcement who gathered in February 2018 at the University of Pittsburgh, Center for Bioethics and Health Law, reported gun violence across the country to be “a public health problem... [and] a threat to every dimension of health...undermin[ing] physical, mental, and social well-being."
“I’m grateful to the DOJ for this needed funding, which will allow Indiana to not only remain a national leader in school safety, but to address gaps and increase prevention efforts," said Indiana State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “We must continue to tackle the problem of school violence from all angles, whether it’s hardening our schools, investing resources in preparedness and training or enhancing our mental health services, in order to keep our students, teachers and administrators safe."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
