The Safe Start Center Series on Children Exposed to Violence: Schools

• NCJ Number: 243305
• Author(s): Pia V. Escudero; Lynn R. Garst; Audra K. Langley; Erum Nadeem; Marleen Wong
• Date Published: January 2010
• Length: 12 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Issue Overview

Annotation

This issue brief, the third in a six-part series, discusses what schools can do to work with children exposed to violence.

Abstract

This issue brief from the Safe Start Center discusses what schools can do to work with children exposed to violence. This brief is the third in a series of papers providing research-based information to practitioners working with children and families exposed to violence. The brief provides school staff with research-based action steps for designing and implementing programs that meet the needs of children and youth exposed to violence. The steps are outlined using various scenarios that depict different sources of violence. These scenarios cover violence in the community and violence in the home. The paper also examines the impact that children's exposure to violence can have on the school setting. The paper also presents suggestions for use by teachers, school mental health service providers, school administrators and other school personnel, and State policymakers on promising practices that are available for addressing exposure to violence in the school setting. Specific evidence-based school mental health interventions identified in the paper include CBITS (Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools); UCLA Trauma/Grief Curriculum; School Intervention Project (SIP) of the Southwest Michigan Children's Trauma Assessment Center; and the Trauma Center Community Services Program. The paper also addresses special considerations that may arise from implementation of evidence-based practices. References