- From the Executive Director
- Human Trafficking Myths
- “Choices” Screening
- SAVE Promise Club Youth Summit
- Youth Legislative Assembly
- SRMP Training
- YMHFA Training
- Executive Director Tours
- Calendar of Events
- Follow Us
- Tell Us About It
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which raises awareness about human trafficking and serves to educate the public about how to identify and prevent it.
On Thursday, 25 January, the Center for Safer Schools will host simultaneous viewings of the film “Choices” in each of our eight regions. Center staff will be on hand to conduct a discussion with attendees about human trafficking. Click here to RSVP.
It’s important to note that human trafficking can result from grooming. Protecting our children is paramount. Therefore, children and adults should recognize “grooming.”
House Bill 142, which was signed into law in September, modifies penalties and definitions for certain offenses against students. It increases penalties for the failure of school administrators to report certain misconduct to the State Board of Education.
At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, the Center for Safer Schools will provide public-school units with three separate videos for middle school students, high school students and school staff.
The videos shown to students will contain age-appropriate information about what grooming looks like. The videos shown to school staff will identify what is and is not appropriate behavior when working with students.
This month, visit the Center for Safer Schools on social media for posts explaining the dangers of human trafficking. You can also click here to view my monthly video message on YouTube.
Thank you for your cooperation to help keep our schools safer.
— Karen W. Fairley
|
Myth: Only females are victims and survivors of trafficking.
-
Reality: Trafficking happens to all genders.
Myth: Human trafficking always involves commercial sex.
-
Reality: Sex and labor trafficking also occur in legal businesses such as agriculture, hotels, salons, retail, restaurants and private homes.
Myth: Trafficking always includes violence.
-
Reality: Most traffickers actually use various means such as tricking, defrauding, manipulating or threatening victims.
Myth: Only undocumented foreign nationals get trafficked in the U.S.
-
Reality: People are trafficked regardless of their citizenship status, and trafficking does not require the crossing of a border.
Myth: Traffickers target victims they don’t know.
-
Reality: Victims are more often trafficked by people they know, who might be a partner, spouse or family member.
Myth: All commercial sex is human trafficking.
-
Reality: All commercial sex involving a minor – and commercial sex involving an adult through the use of force, fraud or coercion – is human trafficking.
Source: North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which raises awareness about human trafficking and serves to educate the public about how to identify and prevent it. The Center for Safer Schools is doing its part by hosting eight simultaneous screenings of the film “Choices” across each of its eight educational regions.
The screenings will be held at the following locations on Thursday, Jan. 25 from 6-7:30 p.m.:
Western: Minitorium, 175 Bingham Road, Asheville
Northwest: Bowman Middle School Auditorium, 410 S. Mitchell Ave., Bakersville
Southwest: West Cabarrus High School, 4100 Weddington Road, Concord
Piedmont-Triad: Morehead High School, 134 N. Pierce St., Eden
North Central: Room 150, Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh
Sandhills: Turlington Auditorium, 116 W. Prospect Ave., Raeford
Southeast: Odell Williamson Auditorium, Brunswick Community College, 50 College Road NW, Bolivia
Northeast: Northampton County High School, 152 Hurricane Drive, Gaston
Following the screenings, Center for Safer Schools staff will facilitate a discussion about the film and how it relates to human trafficking.
Click here to RSVP. If you have questions, send an email to cfss@dpi.nc.gov.
Sandy Hook Promise will celebrate 35 years of students taking action during the 2024 SAVE Promise Club Youth Summit in Charlotte. The event will be held Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at West Charlotte High School, 2219 Senior Drive.
The annual gathering of SAVE Promise Club youth leaders showcases best practices in preventing violence and helping young people feel connected, and make schools and communities safer with youth-led workshops, peer-to-peer presentations, group activities and special guest speakers.
The Youth Summit is a time for youth voices to be heard in workshops and activities that encourage, educate, engage and empower youth with violence prevention strategies.
Click here for more information. Click here to register.
|
The Legislative Services Office, under the N.C. General Assembly, is accepting applications for the Youth Legislative Assembly, scheduled for April 19-21, 2024, in Raleigh. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 16. Click here to apply.
YLA teaches high school students about the laws governing North Carolinians as well as the lawmaking process. Students draft, debate and vote on mock legislative bills while developing skills in research, interviewing, group facilitation and policy writing. As the bills are debated, students get a chance to practice communicating their ideas, opinions and experiences in a team-building environment. At the conclusion of the three-day program, participants have a better understanding of the lawmaking process as well as enhanced written and oral communication skills.
YLA provides the opportunity for North Carolina’s youth to engage with peers from across the state in a structured, positive, youth-focused environment. The YLA program is open to students in North Carolina who are in good standing at a public, private, charter or home school.
For more information, send an email to YLA Coordinator Erica Gallion.
The Center for Safer Schools will hold in-person and online School Risk Management Plan trainings during the 2024 spring semester.
In-person sessions at the Training Center in Moore County will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Feb. 7; Wednesday, March 6; and Thursday, April 4.
Online sessions via Webex will be held from 2-4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6; Tuesday, March 5; and Wednesday, April 3.
After completing SRMP training, attendees will be able to:
- Input site-based school data to develop a comprehensive schematic diagram and plans into the SRMP portal.
- Both identify and discuss vulnerabilities and training gaps in their individual plans.
- At least once annually initiate a full schoolwide tabletop exercise on the procedures documented in the SRMP portal.
To obtain the most beneficial training within the SRMP system, charter school personnel should ensure that their school has been loaded into the SRMP and that they have an active NCID and are able to log into SRMP. LEA personnel should make sure they can log into SRMP using their NCID.
If you are not able to log in, click here to try to reset your NCID password first.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop, as they will receive technical guidance to ensure their plans meet the necessary state requirements. Please register for only one session, as they’re all the same.
For more information on SRMP training, send an email to CFSS Assistant Director-Physical Security Karen Everett.
Are you part of a tribal school or youth-serving organization that wants to implement Youth Mental Health First Aid? Are you implementing Youth Mental Health First Aid in tribal or rural schools or youth-serving organizations and would like instructor support?
YMHFA-related technical assistance and support could look like:
- School-specific or community mentorship and support
- On-site training modeling and mentoring
- Coaching and technical assistance
Technical assistance topics can include:
- Integrating YMHFA into your tribal community, tribal-serving youth organization and/or school
- Understanding the differences between the standard YMHFA course and the Tribal Communities and Indigenous Peoples Community Specific Course
- Resources to market and outreach to tribal leaders, school leaders, youth-serving organizations and programs
- Understanding historical and intergenerational trauma, the resilience of indigenous peoples and the implications of these with YMHFA
- Trauma-informed facilitation skills for YMHFA
- Adult-learning skills for YMHFA
- Navigating Connect: setting up and closing out a course
- Supporting a training group when there has been a community trauma (suicide, loss, etc.)
- Developing your community resource packet for YMHFA
- Developing relevant examples to share in your training (data, etc.)
- Integrating rural data, research and resources into YMHFA within your community
- Resources to market and outreach to rural schools and youth-serving organizations
- Meetings with other communities, schools and/or tribes navigating similar work to share best practices and successes
- Instructor support teaching YMHFA: challenges with timing, specific content, audience challenges, etc.
- Auditing a YMHFA course with a national trainer to gain tips and strategies to add to teaching notes
Start by taking this survey to share more about what your needs are. For program information, send an email to Ruby Brown-Herring with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen W. Fairley will resume her tours of North Carolina school districts and charter schools from February to mid-May. She would like to see anything public-school units want to showcase regarding school safety. For school districts, this includes stops at an elementary school, a middle school and a high school. Fairley also would like to take time to talk with a small group of students. To request a tour, send an email to cfss@dpi.nc.gov.
"Choices" Screening
(Registration is free)
Thursday, Jan. 25; 6-7:30 p.m.: Register
- Minitorium, 175 Bingham Road, Asheville
- Bowman Middle School Auditorium, 410 S. Mitchell Ave., Bakersville
- West Cabarrus High School, 4100 Weddington Road, Concord
- Morehead High School, 134 N. Pierce St., Eden
- Room 150, Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh
- Turlington Auditorium, 116 W. Prospect Ave., Raeford
- Odell Williamson Auditorium, Brunswick Community College, 50 College Road NW, Bolivia
- Northampton County High School, 152 Hurricane Drive, Gaston
School Risk Management Plan Training
(Registration is free)
- Tuesday, Feb. 6; 2-4 p.m.: Register
- Wednesday, Feb. 7; 10 a.m.-noon; 3600 Samarcand Road, Jackson Springs: Register
The Center for Safer Schools welcomes newsletter submissions about school safety events from school districts and charter schools across North Carolina. Email your information and photos to CFSS Public Relations Specialist Charles Kinnin.
|