May 2024
Latest News
Support Youth Mental Health and Well-Being This Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM), an annual observation to increase awareness about mental health and its impact on the overall health and well-being of Americans, including youth. With alarming increases in the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and other behavioral health challenges among young people, schools can play a critical role in supporting student and educator mental health. Learn more about MHAM and access school-specific resources on mental health here.
DOJ Releases School Safety Funding Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced multiple school safety funding opportunities available through the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Grant Program. These include the FY24 STOP School Violence Program Competitive Solicitation, which provides funding to increase school safety by implementing solutions that will improve school climate. Other funding opportunities include the School Violence Prevention Program, which provides funding to improve security at schools and on school grounds through evidence-based school safety programs and technology, and Enhancing School Capacity To Address Youth Violence, which supports targeted efforts to address youth violence through evidence-based prevention and intervention efforts in a K-12 school-based setting.
DHS Launches Know2ProtectTM Public Awareness Campaign to Combat Online Child Exploitation and Abuse
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Know2Protect, Together We Can Stop Online Child ExploitationTM, a first-of-its-kind national public awareness campaign that brings together public and private sector partners. Through Know2Protect, DHS and its partners will educate and empower young people, parents, and trusted adults on ways to prevent and combat exploitation and abuse both on and offline, explain how to report incidents of these crimes, and offer support resources for victims and survivors of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Federal Government Hosts Summit for Sustainable and Healthy Schools
The federal government hosted the first-ever Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K-12 School Buildings and Grounds in late April, bringing together students, teachers, school administrators, facilities and grounds experts, and government officials to discuss deployment of federal funding for school infrastructure, clean energy, and healthy schools. Alongside the Summit, the government released the 2024 White House Toolkit for Sustainable and Healthy K-12 Schools. The toolkit provides an overview of school infrastructure funding, programs, and technical assistance to support schools, teachers, and students in achieving energy efficiency, resilience to extreme weather, and cleaner air, water, and transportation.
Applications Open for Several DHS Grant Programs
DHS opened several grant programs for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, including the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program, the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), and the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP). The TVTP program provides funding for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; nonprofits; independent school districts; and institutions of higher education to establish or enhance capabilities to prevent targeted violence and terrorism. Among other DHS preparedness grants, the NSGP and HSGP provide funding to help organizations prepare for, prevent, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism and disasters.
HHS Releases National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (National Strategy) and accompanying Federal Action Plan. The National Strategy outlines concrete recommendations that seek to prevent suicide risk; identify and support people with increased risk through treatment and crisis intervention; prevent reattempts; promote long-term recovery; and support survivors. Suicide is an urgent and growing public health crisis, particularly among youth. In 2021, 22 percent of high school students seriously considered suicide, with nearly 1 in 10 having attempted suicide.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Grants and Funding Opportunities
May Deadlines
June Deadlines
Technical Assistance Webinars on Funding Opportunities
Visit the SchoolSafety.gov Grants Finder Tool for additional school safety-related funding opportunities.
Events, Webinars, and Conferences
School Mental Health Virtual Learning Series: Using Data to Promote Equity (May 14) – This webinar, hosted by the Central East Mental Health Technology Transfer Center in collaboration with the National Center for School Mental Health, will explore data sources and strategies that decrease disproportionality and promote equitable emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes among BIPOC students.
2024 Children, Youth, and Young Adult Mental Health Symposium (May 17) – This livestreamed symposium, hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration through the Center for Mental Health Services, will convene multidisciplinary stakeholders and thought leaders to share information and best practices for improving mental health outcomes for children, youth, young adults, and their families in schools and communities.
Implementing Multi-tiered Systems of Support to Expand Mental Health Services to Students (May 30) – This training, hosted by the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, will discuss the components of a school-based behavioral health model that addresses students’ mental health needs from prevention/promotion to early intervention to intensive services.
Preventing Mass Attacks in Our Communities (June 5, August 7, October 1) – These virtual training events, hosted by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), will cover important findings from NTAC’s research on mass attacks perpetrated in public and semi-public spaces, including businesses, restaurants, bars, retail outlets, houses of worship, schools, open spaces, and more. This training will also provide guidance on how communities may develop or improve existing violence prevention programs utilizing a behavioral threat assessment model.
Enhancing School Safety Using Behavioral Threat Assessment (July 11, September 12, November 20) – These virtual training events, hosted by NTAC, will highlight key findings and implications of NTAC’s research on school violence prevention. Attendees will learn about the background, thinking, and behavior of school attackers and how some schools discovered and stopped plots before violence occurred. This training will also provide guidance on how schools may develop or improve existing violence prevention programs utilizing a behavioral threat assessment model.
Visit the SchoolSafety.gov Events Page for additional school safety-related webinars, conferences, and more.
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School Safety Resources
Emergency Planning Resources
Bomb Threat Checklist
This checklist provides instructions on how to respond to a bomb threat and a comprehensive list of information that will assist law enforcement in a bomb threat investigation.
Fentanyl and Opioids: Preventing Overdoses and Related Emergencies at K-12 and Higher Education Campuses
This fact sheet provides information and strategies for addressing opioid overdoses at K-12 schools and institutions of higher education through emergency operations plans and other preparedness activities.
School EOPs In-Depth: Planning for Large Events
This training provides information on large events and the special vulnerabilities they pose to schools, along with guidance on accounting for large events in school emergency planning efforts.
Mental Health Resources
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
This program offers 24/7 call, text and chat access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing a suicidal, substance use, and/or mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. The corresponding webpage provides additional resources and information for strengthening suicide prevention and mental health crisis services.
Classroom WISE
This training package assists K-12 educators and school staff in supporting the mental health of students in the classroom and offers evidence-based strategies and skills to engage and support students experiencing adversity and distress. The package includes a self-paced online course, video library, resource collection, and website for K-12 educators on mental health literacy.
Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Oriented Schools Toolkit
This toolkit outlines a framework for implementing trauma-informed, resilience-oriented approaches in any school or school district. It includes a variety of materials to explain the concepts of trauma and toxic stress and offers individual and school-wide strategies for addressing trauma and fostering resilience, as well as assessing the impact of these adaptations throughout the school community.
Additional School Safety Resources
Preventing and Responding to Bias and Hate Incidents in K-12 Educational Settings: A Toolkit for School and Community Leaders
This toolkit provides school and community leaders with information and strategies to create safe and inclusive learning environments free of harassment and discrimination. It includes best practices to facilitate difficult conversations and equip schools to prepare for, mitigate, and respond to bias and hate incidents.
Visit SchoolSafety.gov for additional resources to support school safety and security efforts.
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If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future newsletters, please contact us at SchoolSafety@hq.dhs.gov.
SchoolSafety.gov Disclaimer
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Education (ED), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) do not endorse any individual, enterprise, product, or service. DHS, ED, DOJ, and HHS do not mandate or prescribe practices, models, or other activities described in this communication. DHS, ED, DOJ, and HHS do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any information outside of those respective Departments, and the opinions expressed in any of these materials do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of DHS, ED, DOJ, and HHS.
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