NCJ Number
241565
Date Published
February 2013
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This policy brief offers insight from three experts with the Vera Institute of Justice regarding fruitful ways to counter violence against youth in the domains of school safety, mental illness, and the delivery of mental health services.
Abstract
The section on school safety draws lessons and recommends actions related to school safety. It recommends developing a resource guide for local officials to use as they determine whether to introduce or increase the presence of police in schools. In the event that police remain in schools, it is recommended that schools assess the efficacy of current approaches to using school-based law enforcement in order to develop and enhance a best-practices model. The results of a study of 19 school resource officer (SRO) programs across the Nation are presented, and lessons are drawn. One of the lessons is that SROs should constitute only one component of a comprehensive school safety program. The second section of this report focuses on mental illness, stigma, and violence. It cautions against focusing only on mental illness, because mental illness per se does not result in violent behavior. A large national survey of U.S. residents identified demographic characteristics (age, sex, and income), substance use, history of physical abuse, juvenile justice system involvement, parental arrest, unemployment, and divorce as risk factors for violence, among others. It is important to understand the interplay between mental illness and other personal, historical, clinical, and environmental factors. The third and final section of the presentation presents the provider's perspective on mental health and youth violence. Among other recommendations, it advises that before encouraging providers to report a patient's risk for violence more frequently than current standards require, the definition of "credible threat of violence" must be clarified. Notes for each presentation and a listing of mental health and youth resources