Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) is a grant program funded by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

, and

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

that helps

school districts A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, whic ...

, in partnership with

mental health provider A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

and juvenile justice agencies, implement projects that create safe and healthy schools and communities.

Mission and history

The US Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services funded the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative in 1999 in response to the school shootings in the late 1990s, including the

1997 Heath High School shooting The Heath High School shooting occurred at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, United States, on December 1, 1997. 14-year-old Michael Carneal opened fire on a group of students, killing three and injuring five. Shooting On December ...

, the

1998 Westside Middle School shooting On March 24, 1998, a school shooting occurred at Westside Middle School in unincorporated Craighead County, Arkansas near the city of Jonesboro. Perpetrators Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, fatally shot four students and a teacher ...

, and the

Thurston High School shooting The Thurston High School shooting occurred on May 21, 1998, at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon. 15-year-old freshman student Kipland Kinkel, who had been scheduled to appear at an expulsion hearing the day prior, murdered his parents ...

. Since 1999 the SS/HS Initiative has awarded grants totaling more than $2.1 billion to over 300 local education agencies in a range of urban, suburban, and rural communities. The SS/HS Initiative addresses five elements within each site: * Safe school environments and violence prevention activities. * Alcohol and other drug prevention activities. * Student behavioral, social, and emotional supports. * Mental health services. * Early childhood social and emotional learning programs.

Impact

The

White House Office The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The s ...

released a report in August 2011 citing the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative as one of the three model programs that uses a community approach to prevent violence. The report, ''Empowering Local Partners To Prevent Violent Extremism In The United States'', says that “the United States has rich experience in supporting locally-based initiatives that connect communities and government to address community challenges through collaboration and the development of stakeholder networks.” A five-year evaluation of the program found that 90 percent of school staff saw reduced violence on campus and almost 80 percent said the grant had reduced violence in their communities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Safe Schools Healthy Students Youth organizations based in the United States