Education Task Force

Education Task Force

The Coalition's Education Task Force was formed to contribute to prevention and early intervention in family violence and to break the cycle of violence through education.  In order to achieve our goals, 15 community agencies have come together to align their teaching programs in order to ensure consistency in the materials presented to children, youth and adults. 

These agencies provide education through schools, churches, neighborhood groups and social service agencies upon request.  They teach children and youth about healthy relationships in Hamilton County Schools and operate within the school system under a collective and individual memorandum of understanding.  They are also available to the many private schools in the area by request. 

• ID students that are failing more than one subject
• ID why they are having difficulty
• Began on line classes for students
• Assign a mentor and a teacher for the students
• Risk assessment with the Domestic Violence Index
• Licensed counselor
• Anger Management

• Focus on safety, drugs and healthy choices

• Role playing
• Conflict resolution
• Mediation to help students with conflict
• Youth conference at the Choo-Choo annually
• Leadership retreat held annually for student leaders
• Peer lead groups to help students with issues

·         Web site for FTF training information

• Work with kids from kindergarten through sixth grade
• Serves twelve counties
• Some programs that are available:
  • Safety in schools
  • Physical and sexual abuse
  • Conflict resolution and bullying
  • Tobacco and drugs

• A program they have is Road To Excellence (RTE)
• Meet weekly
  • After school
  • Before school club times
  • During a class period 

• Implements and conducts seven task forces
• Educates professionals such as police, teachers, community organizations, health care providers and faith based community on:
  • Domestic violence
  • Child Abuse
  • Sexual Assault
  • Human trafficking
  • Healthy relationships 

School Violence - Family violence does not stay at home.  Unfortunately, it spills over into the community.  for that reason, suggestions for schools follow.

Schools should consider adding dating violence to already existing policies.

We would suggest establishing written procedures and providing comprehensive and ongoing training for all school personnel on domestic violence, including violence in teen dating relationships.

Presenting these or similar recommendations to our local school districts may be the best route to begin the process of getting districts to formally address dating violence in schools.

This is a shortened version on the NY State RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION SYSTEMS"  

a.      Schools should create a domestic violence response team made up of school personnel with specialized training in conducting in-depth assessments, safety planning, making appropriate community referrals, and facilitating linkages with appropriate services. Alternatively, a school could train existing student support services, family wellness centers, and/or child abuse or crisis teams to fulfill these functions.

b.      School personnel should be prepared to respond appropriately to disclosures of domestic violence and/or violence in teen dating relationships.

c.      Schools should cooperate fully in the enforcement of all court orders, including orders of protection and orders for custody.

d.      Schools should actively promote a zero tolerance ethic for domestic violence in the school community, including the development of written policies and procedures for reinforcing accountability and imposing consequences on students who perpetrate violence on school grounds.

e.      Schools should develop written policies and protocols for dealing with a situation in which a student has been a victim of another student's abuse in a dating relationship.

f.      Schools should develop a plan by which to provide crisis debriefing to students and faculty in the event a domestic violence-related incident occurs on school grounds and/or a fellow student or teacher is harmed in a domestic violence-related incident.
 
g.      Domestic violence and, when age-appropriate, abuse and violence in teen dating relationships should be addressed in classes dealing with health and/or life skills, such as Health Education. Education should include issues related to gender equity, sexual harassment, and safety planning, and should also provide information on the services and support available for affected students and/or their parents. In addition, domestic violence-related information should be integrated into other subject areas.

h.      Resources available through school libraries should include age-appropriate books and other information on domestic violence, violence in teen dating relationships, gender equity, and sexual harassment.