Mental Health First Aid to reduce school violence

The FY 18 STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program is a program that supports efforts by state, local, and federally-recognized Indian tribes to prevent and reduce school violence. This program will address: (1) training school personnel and educating students to prevent student violence; (2) development and operation of anonymous reporting systems against threats of school violence, including mobile telephone applications, hotlines, and websites; and (3) development and operation of school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams that may include coordination with law enforcement agencies and school personnel as well as specialized training for school officials help intervene and respond to individuals with mental health issues that could impact school safety.

Funding for this program will support the improvement of school security by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to violent attacks and mitigate risk exposure, and prevent acts of violence. The funds will further support the development of threat assessment and crisis intervention teams and anonymous reporting systems, designed to identify threats before they materialize, including those that originate from individuals with mental health issues; and for the training of students, school personnel and local law enforcement officers necessary to partner together in preventing violent events from happening. No funds awarded under this grant program may be used for the provision of a firearm to any person or training in the use of a firearm.

CA/NCF