Addressing Youth Violence in a School-Based Setting

Family Service of Rhode Island (FSRI) is partnering with the Central Falls Rhode Island School District (CFSD) to implement a highly innovative, culturally aligned Go Team School Violence Prevention Project during the three-year grant period. The Project Team will (1) improve school safety and climate; (2) prevent youth violence, delinquency, and victimization; (3) actively engage families and improve school/family communication; and (4) provide cutting-edge and evidence-based practices (EBPs) to students and families to address trauma exposure and prevent future violence. Each year, the Project Team will identify at least 160 students most at risk of victimization or participating in violence through FSRI's Go Team police partnership (an award-winning model deploying social workers on patrol with law enforcement to crime scenes to address trauma and connect victims to immediate services and supports), Restorative Teams embedded in Central Falls Schools, and/or through community-based partners. The Project Team will deliver (1) assessment of each youth's unique needs; (2) provision of EBPs focused on prevention, intervention, and diversionary services; (3) intensive triage; and (4) youth-focused, individualized case management and wraparound support for students and families.

FSRI is certified in a range of youth-focused EBPs and will deliver Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Systems Therapy, Familias Unidas, and The Seven Challenges, as well as Go Team co-response with local law enforcement. FSRI will partner with CFSD to deploy the School Project Coordinator; co-facilitate a multidisciplinary, multiagency Project Advisory Committee; co-develop risk screening and service planning; implement in-school project referral pathways; and co-facilitate in-school, monthly multidisciplinary teams to monitor progress. The Project Team will achieve: (1) increased behavioral health/case management access by students/families; (2) improved classroom stability; (3) increased family and community organization engagement with schools; (4) increased access to trauma-focused professional development for school staff; (5) prevention of school violence; (6) reduction of school violence incidents; and (7) increased school and community safety. Beneficiaries include a total of 480 students, parents, teachers/school administrators, schools/school climates; community-based organizations, police, and the community.