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  Need Help Finding Grants?
There are many grant programs currently accepting applications. Please visit our website for the most up-to-date list.
An additional resource is the Grants Finder Tool that the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse team announced on SchoolSafety.gov.
Current Grant Opportunities
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COPS Hiring Program (Initial Document Deadline: June 9) – This program supports law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts, including funding for school resource officers.
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Preventing School Violence: BJA’s STOP School Violence Program (Deadline: June 14) – Through this opportunity, the Bureau of Justice Assistance seeks applications for funding to prevent violence in a K-12 school setting. This program supports and assists county, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions in improving efforts to reduce violent crime in and around schools.
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Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (Deadline: June 16) – This opportunity provides funding to prevent and reduce violent crime in communities by supporting comprehensive, evidence-based violence intervention and prevention programs, including efforts to address gang and gun violence, based on partnerships among community residents, local government agencies, victim service providers, community-based organizations, law enforcement, hospitals, researchers, and other community stakeholders.
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Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education Demonstration Program (Deadline: June 17) – This program provides funding to local educational agencies to develop and implement programs to prevent human trafficking victimization through the provision of skills-based human trafficking training and education for school staff and students as specified in the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018.
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School Violence Prevention Program (Deadline: June 21) – This program offers schools the opportunity to improve security on school grounds through the implementation of evidence-based school safety programs and technology.
Ongoing
2021 Annual Report Released
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“Having a team dedicated to waking up every day thinking about how to improve school safety makes a difference in the lives of students, teachers, and staff who need to be able to focus on learning during the school day,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said. “The Ohio School Safety Center’s accomplishments in 2021 reflect another year of great work.”
Check out more updates and learn how you can get involved with the OSSC in this year's report.
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Meet Your Regional Liaison!
 Recently, you may have received an email from your regional school safety liaison asking to set up a meet and greet for your school or district. Our goal is to develop the partnership and collaboration between OSSC and all stakeholders to better serve the students, school administrators/staff, and communities of Ohio.
The OSSC regional liaisons are hoping to help schools secure free trainings, apply for grants, and assist with any school safety concerns. They will be your go-to resource for all things school safety and will help you work through new statutory requirements, connect you to regional supports at other federal/state/local agencies and organizations, and be your point of contact when you don't know where to go.
Click here to learn who your liaison is and how to contact them!
2022 Annual School Safety Summit
The Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC) is excited to announce that the 2022 Ohio School Safety Summit will be held Aug. 2-4 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
The free summit will provide an opportunity for school safety, public safety, mental health professionals, and others to share best practices, training, and resources with schools and community leaders across the state.
Conference presentations and training opportunities will include experts in physical security, mental health, school climate, critical incident response, cyber, threat assessment, and more.
Additionally, there will be an exhibit hall for vendors and plenty of space to chat with colleagues. If you are interested in presenting at the Summit or in an exhibit hall booth, please click here.
The 2022 School Safety Summit registration is now open. We look forward to seeing everyone in-person this year!
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 Youth Advocates
Speaking Up to Save Lives
The OSSC was able to visit with the students from Washington Local Schools in March 2022 and speak to them about their goals and ideas of school safety.
Youth Advocates club focuses on ways to promote advocacy and leadership in their Whitmer students.
Students focus on community topics that relate to physical, emotional and social positive decision making, such as: staying drug free, promoting kindness, service, inclusion and diversity, promoting health and physical fitness and many other topics that are important to high school students. This club is a great opportunity for students to work on special interests and be a positive role model for other students in the district.
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Students Defining School Safety
 The OSSC attended the 2022 Ohio Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Expo that provides career opportunities and interaction with some of the best career technical students in Ohio. On Thursday, April 28, 2022, approximately 2,000 students and teachers attended the Ohio FCCLA State Leadership Conference.
The OSSC asked students to define what school safety meant to them to get a better idea of what they feel is important. Responses ranged from feeling emotionally supported to not being afraid to go to class.
We also had them fill out the #WhyISpeakUp bubble and created a highlight reel with the responses we received. Encourage your students to share with you why they would speak up for their peers and report concerns for student safety.
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 Family Reunification and Hotwash Resources
The Ohio School Safety Center in conjunction with Cuyahoga County Emergency Management, Knox County Emergency Management Agency, Union County Emergency Management Agency, Jackson Township Police Department and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency developed school specific family reunification resources.
The resources include the Family Reunification Guide, Reunification Policy Template, Reunification Best Practices, and Reunification Card Sample. The resources can be downloaded here.
A Hotwash is a facilitated discussion to capture feedback about any issues, concerns or proposed improvements participants may have following an exercise, planned event or real-world incident. Hotwash resources were developed by the Ohio School Safety Center to include a Guide, PowerPoint Template, Note Template, and Sign-in Sheet Template. The resources can be downloaded here.
Tabletop Exercise Scenarios
The Ohio School Safety Center created five tabletop exercise scenarios for K-12 schools to use. The tabletop exercises are designed to be completed in two hours. The scenarios include Bus Accident, Long Term Power Outage, Missing Student, Suicidal Student, and Unexpected Death on Campus. A Tabletop Exercise Tip Sheet was also created to assist with the exercises. The resources can be downloaded here.
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 Create a Safer School Community: Proactive Measures and Resources to Prevent Youth Violence
Youth violence is a significant public health problem that affects thousands of young people each day. It typically involves young people hurting other peers who are unrelated to them and who they may or may not know well. Youth violence can take different forms, including fights, bullying, threats with weapons, and gang-related violence. These incidents can have lasting effects on the physical, mental, and social health of children and young adults as well as impact families, schools, and the broader community.
Every child deserves to feel safe at school, and all members of the school community, from parents, to teachers, to school administrators, can play a role in preventing youth violence. From putting in place bullying prevention programs to fostering a positive and protective school environment, a comprehensive approach to youth violence prevention can make a difference.
This two-page SchoolSafety.gov infographic illustrates the issue of youth violence, strategies to address it, and a sampling of related resources, programs, and tools available through SchoolSafety.gov.
OSHP Drive to Live Campaign
Education of our young drivers continues to be a strong avenue to safer roadways. The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s new DRIVE to Live program provides impactful opportunities for our troopers and students to engage in candid dialogue on key topics, including safety belt usage, distracted, impaired, and aggressive driving behaviors.
DRIVE is an acronym for Decisions, Responsibility, Invest, Value and Educate.
DRIVE to Live is intended to positively impact our youth and engage in conversations about good decision-making. It is geared toward meeting teens where they are, and listening with a focus toward their future. Success of this program will result in impacting Ohio’s youth in a positive manner and building relationships between students and those in public safety.
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New Resources from the National Center for School Safety
The National Center for School Safety (NCSS) based at the University of Michigan School of Public Health is focused on improving school safety and preventing school violence. They are the Bureau of Justice Assistance Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence National Training and Technical Assistance Center. As a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional center, the NCSS provides expert-led training, technical assistance, and a database of additional resources to address school safety challenges.
A few highlights of their resources are below:
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Don't forget that the below resources are available at no cost to your school and community. Click on the below images to find out more. |
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