Federal Activities Addressing Violence in Schools
Introduction
Homicides, suicides, and serious nonfatal violent injuries and crimes are not rare events for American children. Homicide is the second leading cause of death for Americans aged 15 to 24 years. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for this age group. Children and adolescents spend a considerable amount of time in school, on the way to and from school, and at school sponsored events. Each year between July 1994 and June 1998, approximately 45 violent incidents that resulted in deaths occurred in these school-associated settings. While recent school shootings have increased public attention to violence associated with schools, the fact remains that the vast majority of America's schools are safe places. Less than one percent of all homicides and suicides among school-aged children (5-19 years of age) occur in or around school grounds or on the way to or from school. Nevertheless, any amount of violence in or around schools is unacceptable.
Many federal agencies actively address the problem of violence in schools by acquiring and disseminating information about school violence and supporting strategies that work to reduce violence. The following inventory of federal activities addressing violence in schools was created through the collaborative effort of many federal agencies and offices. It is designed to facilitate the coordination of federal school violence prevention activities and enhance collaboration on future projects. By describing these activities and projects, this inventory will also help those interested to better understand federal activities addressing violence in schools.
For this inventory, agencies identified all ongoing activities as well as recently completed efforts that either (1) directly address the problem of violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school, or at school associated events or (2) indirectly address school violence by focusing on precursors of violence, factors associated with violence, or mechanisms for preventing violent behavior. This inventory provides information on the lead or funding agency, collaborating federal agencies, and contact information for federal agency staff associated with each project. Many of the listed projects are collaborative efforts with nonfederal partners. These partners are listed in the project descriptions.
Many federal agencies are involved in activities related to violence in schools. It is possible that some agencies working in this area were not included in this report.
This inventory will be updated on a semiannual basis.
Compiled by
Lisa C. Barrios
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Contributions by
Katie Baer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Gwendolyn Bennett
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Anne Bergan
US Department of Justice
Stephanie Bryn
Health Resources and Services Administration
Sue Callaway
US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Darlind Davis
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Ray Downs
US Department of Justice
Kellie Dressler
US Department of Justice
Tiffany Ho
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Naomi Karp
US Department of Education
Anne Mathews-Younes
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Nataki MacMurray
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Eileen O'Brien
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Mary Overpeck
National Institutes of Health
Winnie Reed
US Department of Justice
Meg Small
US Department of Education
Farris Tuma
National Institutes of Health