Chapter 8 – Referral Processes for Students Exhibiting Violent Behavior
Mentoring
•In using early warning signs or screening procedures, identification is only half the battle; there must also be programs in place that can help reconnect students identified as at-risk for violence. Both mentoring and counseling can provide structures that allow us to rebuild those connections.
•In mentoring, a supportive one-to-one relationship is structured between an adult or older peer to provide support and guidance for an at-risk student.
•The mentor and the child typically meet one to two times a week and engage in a variety of activities including tutoring, discussion, field trips, or community service. As important as any activity, however, is the opportunity for the at-risk student to develop a trusting relationship with an adult.
•The most comprehensive program of mentoring is Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; national evaluations have shown it to be a highly promising program for addressing issues of school violence. A number of other school- or community-based programs have documented decreases in students’ violent attitudes, gains in self-esteem and career aspirations, and improved social skills and academic achievement.
Several components are essential in developing an effective mentoring program.
–Clearly, there can be no effective mentoring without quality mentors: the selection of committed and responsible mentors must be assured, as well as training in working with difficult students.
–Mentoring requires a long-term commitment; some programs have reported that a relationship of at least a year must be in place before significant changes can be observed. Ongoing meetings among mentors can provide support and evaluation, assisting mentors in solving problems that may arise.
–Although solely school-based mentoring programs are possible, involving both parents and the community in mentoring appears to increase the success of the program.
Counseling
A closely related intervention, counseling, has been widely recommended during the national discussion on school violence. Yet the success of counseling appears to be highly variable, depending upon the type of problem being addressed. For students experiencing depression, cognitive-behavioral group counseling approaches have been shown to be quite effective over a relatively short time period. For students with acting-out or antisocial behavior, counseling is unlikely to be effective, and placing such students together in a group counseling situation may, in fact, make the problem worse.
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing schools in the implementation of effective counseling programs is to ensure that there are mental health professionals with sufficient time available to engage in counseling. If school psychologists are engaged primarily in assessment activities, and school counselors in guidance functions, these professionals will simply not have time to develop effective counseling relationships with at-risk students.
For counseling to be an effective component in school violence prevention, additional time must be found for mental health professionals to engage in counseling. This might be accomplished either by hiring additional psychologists, counselors, or school social workers, or by re-allocating time of existing personnel so that mental health professionals are able to spend a greater proportion of their effort in developing preventive mental health programs.
Community Programs
Many resources are available in the community to help schools prevent, prepare for, and manage school emergencies. In addition to your local law enforcement and mental health agencies, they can include youth bureaus, private foundations and not-for-profit agencies. Many offer speakers or training to school personnel and youths. Local businesses or churches may provide volunteering or employment opportunities, mentoring or structured recreational activities for youths.
State Resources
For more information about violence prevention and safe school planning you may contact the following:
•New York State Police ……………………………………………………………………………………………518-457-2180
–Programs for schools and communities
•New York State Education Department……………………………………………………………………518-486-6090
–Comprehensive Health and Pupil Services Team
•Upstate Center for School Safety ……………………………………………………………………………914-255-8989
•Downstate United Way…………………………………………………………………………………………..212-973-3894
–New York City Technical Assistance Center
•New York State Office of Mental Health …………………………………………………………………..518-474-8394
–School-based program and county mental health services
•New York State Office of Children & Family Services Public Information: …………………….518-473-7793
–Aggression Replacement Training (ART)
–Getting Kid Smart
•Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services …………………………………………………..800-522-5353
–School and community-based prevention, intervention and treatment programs
•New York State Department of Health Public Information …………………………………………518-474-5422
•New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services …………………………………………………518-457-8462
–Office of Funding & Program Assistance
•Council on Children and Families …………………………………………………………………………….518-474-6294
–Resource guides from child serving state agencies
National Resources
United States Department of Education
Safe and Drug Free Schools
202-260-3954 Online: www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS
Safe Schools and Violence Prevention Office
Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for Action
916-323-2183 Online: www.cde.ca.gov/spbranch/safety/safetyhome.html
Safe Schools, Safe Students (manual)
A guide to Violence Prevention Strategies
202-663-6090 Online: www.drugstrategies.org
Center for Safe Schools
Toolkit for School Safety Planning
Online: www.center-school.org
Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc.
Non Violent Crisis Intervention Training Programs
800-558-8976 Online: www.crisisprevention.com
Youth Crime Watch America
Peer programs to reduce crime and drugs in schools
305-670-2409 Online: www.ycwa.org
National PTA
800-307-4782 Online: www.pta.org
National School Safety Center
805-373-9977 Online: www.nssc1.org
National Institute for Dispute Resolution and National Association for Mediation in Education
202-466-4764 Online: www.crenet.org
National Crime Prevention Council
202-466-6272 Online: www.ncpc.org
American Association of School Administrators
703-528-0700 Online: www.aasa.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
215-567-7000 Online: www.bbbsa.org
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
404-815-5700 Online: www.bgca.org
Center for the Prevention of School Violence
800-299-6054 Online: www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/cep/PreViolence