Stop School Violence RFA Grant

One (1) statewide grant will be awarded to strengthen community partnerships and support the recruitment and retention of NJ public school districts to the SSV Program.
Purpose of the grant program:
The Stop School Violence (SSV)- SAFE NJ program is the first-of-its-kind trauma-informed, human and healing-centered approach anonymous reporting system (ARS) and school safety program for students, staff, families, and communities. SSV meets the needs of families by providing access and linkages to basic, crisis, and mental health resources while ensuring the privacy and dignity all people deserve. SAFE NJ has the full capabilities, safeguards, and escalation procedures of an ARS, while keeping incidents managed locally, and reducing the lift on exhausted school personnel. The SAFE NJ app teaches students about the importance of asking for help as a life skill. Everyone in the community (students, staff, families) is encouraged to ask for help for themselves and others involved in the school community at the earliest point possible National trends support linkages to basic needs and other resources to help to avoid/ reduce childhood trauma caused by family stressors including food insecurity, high-mobility, or homelessness, low or no access to mental health services, violence in home, and other issues.
Using a human-centered approach to school safety increases trust in systems, engagement with the school, and aid both students and teachers in being mentally and physically prepared to teach and learn. By implementing SAFE NJ, schools in NJ will have a valuable tool to prevent and address violence, harassment, and other harmful behavior. “Whole school” interventions (such as encouraging help-seeking and safe, anonymous reporting) and “Whole Child” (meeting the basic needs of all staff and students) have been shown effective in reducing bullying, harassment, and violence (Bradshaw et al., 2018; Vreeman & Carroll, 2007).