A Project of CVES

Safe Schools/Healthy Students Federal Initiative Background

Since 1999, the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice have collaborated on the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative. The SS/HS Initiative is a competitive award program that provides students, schools, and communities with federal funding to implement an enhanced, coordinated, comprehensive plan of activities, programs, and services that focus on minimizing the risk of school violence and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs while promoting healthy childhood development.

Eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) or a consortium of LEAs, in partnership with their community's local public mental health authority, local law enforcement agency, and local juvenile justice entity, are able to submit a single application for federal funds to support a variety of activities, curriculums, programs, and services.

The SS/HS Initiative draws on the best practices of education, justice, social services, and mental health systems to provide integrated and comprehensive resources for prevention programs and pro-social services for youth. Each project must implement an integrated, comprehensive, community-wide and community-specific plan to address the problems of school violence and alcohol and other drug abuse. This plan focuses on five elements:

Element 1: Safe school environments and violence prevention activities.
Element 2: Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention activities.
Element 3: Student behavioral, social, and emotional supports.
Element 4: Mental health services.
Element 5: Early childhood social and emotional learning programs.

SS/HS comprehensive plans are designed to provide students, schools, and families with a network of effective services, supports, and activities that help students develop the skills and emotional resilience necessary to promote positive mental health, engage in pro-social behavior, and prevent violent behavior and drug use; create schools and communities that are a safe, disciplined, and drug-free environment; and engage parents, community organizations, and social services agencies to help develop an infrastructure that is sustains successful project components after federal funding has ended.

Communities of One Project History
The initial planning of the Communities of One Safe Schools/Healthy Students project began in 2006 at Champlain Valley Educational Services (CVES). Noel Stewart, grants procurement specialist, researched this competitive award and surveyed interest among school districts served by CVES. Several school districts voiced an interest in collaborating with local law enforcement, justice, and mental health partners to form an interagency partnership to minimize the risk of school violence and drug use while promoting social and emotional health among our students and their families. 12 professional agencies joined 5 school districts and Champlain Valley Educational Services to form one of the largest collaborations in the North Country.

The Advisory Board:
Safe Schools Advisory Board

With 18 professional organizations on board, Communities of One was in the development stage. An advisory board was formed to research and develop a comprehensive interagency plan to effectively address the issues surrounding school violence, drug use, mental health, and early childhood development. After two years of planning, the Communities of One Safe Schools/Healthy Students project received federal approval and 4.3 million dollars to make schools safer and students healthier.