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February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Teen dating violence (TDV), also called, “dating violence”, is an adverse childhood experience that affects millions of young people in the United States. Dating violence can take place in person, online, or through technology. It is a type of intimate partner violence that can include the following types of behavior:

Physical violence is when a person hurts or tries to hurt a partner by hitting, kicking, or using another type of physical force.

Sexual violence is forcing or attempting to force a partner to take part in a sex act and or sexual touching when the partner does not consent or is unable to consent or refuse. It also includes non-physical sexual behaviors like posting or sharing sexual pictures of a partner without their consent or sexting someone without their consent.

Psychological aggression is the use of verbal and non-verbal communication with the intent to harm a partner mentally or emotionally and exert control over a partner.

Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted attention and contact by a current or former partner that causes fear or safety concerns for an individual victim or someone close to the victim.

Teen dating violence profoundly impacts lifelong health, opportunity, and well-being. Unhealthy relationships can start early and last a lifetime. The good news is violence is preventable, and we can all help young people grow up violence-free.

Consider taking part in this awareness month by

• Learning more about the effects of teen dating violence  and considering the implementation of prevention programs;
• Educating your school or campus community about the warning signs of teen dating violence, as well as indicators of safe and healthy relationships;
• Creating or enhancing a Domestic Violence Annex in your emergency operations plan (EOP) that outlines courses of action to be taken before, during, and after known incidents of teen dating violence; and
• Offering students further resources and connections to support services for teen dating violence, such as the Love is Respect website and hotline.  TDVAM Action Guide

 

Homeless Youth & Violence Prevention

It’s also important to note how dating violence impacts runaway and homeless youth. They are at an increased risk of experiencing dating abuse. The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence published a Runaway and Homeless Youth Relationship Violence Toolkit. This resource was put together by advocates, for advocates, to help organizations better understand and address the intersection of runaway and homeless youth and intimate partner violence. Service providers can use this toolkit to help increase safety, create prevention strategies, and help heal and treat those who have experienced violence.

Together, we can work on recognizing the signs of teen dating violence and teaching healthy relationship skills to raise awareness and end the cycle of teen dating violence.

 

 

New PSU SMH Plan Template

With the 2025 revisions to the SHLT-003 board policy, a new template is now available for the required school mental health plans.  This template includes all additions to the policy and is in an easier-to-follow format.  Downloads of the template are available on the webpage in PDF and Word.  Please review the new materials on the SMH Policy webpages and prepare to submit your new SMH plan by September 15. 2025.

 

SMH Policy Components Webpage

2025 PSU SMH Plan Template

 

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Black History Month

The NC African American Heritage Commission believes that "This February, and every month we continue our work to preserve, protect, and promote North Carolina's African American history, arts, and culture for all people." Educator Resources

 

 

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Licensure Renewal Requirements

Based on changes in Session Law 2023-134, LICN-005 has been updated to reflect the changes for licensure renewal. These amendments include the removal of the requirement for digital teaching and learning continuing education units (CEUs) and the provision that mandatory state and local professional development may be counted towards general CEUs.

This means school social workers will now be required to have 4 CEUs in social work-related education and 4 hours of general education for a total of 8 CEUs (80 hours) for licensure renewal.   

Student Services Personnel:
a. 4 Professional Discipline Area
b. 4  General

See the revised NC State Board of Education Board Policy.  

 

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Need CEUs?

NCSNH is offering a FREE two-part course, Treating Trauma in Schools: Foundations and Practical Applications for Professional Practice, which focuses on treating trauma in youth populations. Participants can earn up to 20 CEUs and will also be invited to participate in a university study of the effectiveness of the course as it will aid in improving resources for practitioners.  Register

 

 

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Legislative Updates

View the K-12 Education Office of Government and Community Affairs Update from Friday, January 31, 2025.  View here.

 

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Recruitment for Medicaid Learning Collaborative - Cohort II

Rural Opportunity Institute is actively recruiting school districts and charter schools for their 2025-2026 Medicaid Learning Collaborative (MLC) Cohort II. The goal of the MLC is to build capacity related to Medicaid reimbursement for School-Based Services including Behavioral Health Services.  Please review the Recruitment Flyer which links to an interest form for the 25-26 cohort.  

For additional information, please contact La’Shanda Person, Innovation Program Manager, with Rural Opportunity Institute at la'shanda@ruralopportunity.org.

 

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Kindergarten Readiness Resources For Families

As you engage with families in the community please add these resources to your toolkits.  The Office of Early Learning has released many resources related to the transition to kindergarten.   View them all here.

 

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Thank You, School Counselors!    The work you do to help all students succeed is valuable, and we are all better because of each one of you.  Happy School Counseling Week!   Shout out to the NC Consultant for School Counseling,  Dr. Kisha Bryant.

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Receiving this as a forward? 

Subscribe to this NCDPI School Social Work newsletter here.

Enter your email, then advance to the next screen that will give you a list of subjects and scroll down to find School Social Work. 

 

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