With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks to support targeted efforts to address youth violence through implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention efforts in a school-based setting (K–12th grade only). The goals of the program are to (1) reduce the incidence of school violence through improved school safety and climate and (2) prevent youth violence, delinquency, and victimization in the targeted community. This solicitation is funded to support the purposes authorized under the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (or STOP School Violence Act).
This solicitation aims to increase school safety through the development and expansion of violence prevention and reduction programs and strategies. Through this initiative, OJJDP expects applicants to utilize a collaborative approach between schools and community-based organizations (CBOs) to develop and implement these strategies. Funded sites under this initiative will operate from the following three principles:
- Relationships between schools and CBOs require open lines of communication and a shared commitment at the leadership level to accomplish the core goal of increasing school safety.
- Key contributors to youth violence include risk factors within the individual, family, and school/community domains. Funded strategies must address all three to be successful.
- Families are critical partners in dealing with school violence, and their engagement is a critical ingredient for success.