Mental health challenges are on the rise among today's youth. Recent reports have noted an acute and significant need for school-based mental health education and supportive interventions for children and adolescents. Among these approaches, a growing focus has centered on improving students' mental health literacy (MHL) as a foundational…

The United States has recently experienced numerous large-scale crises that resulted in high death tolls and extensive property damage. Critical incidents such as suicide contagion, natural disasters, or mass casualty events have the potential to cause traumatic reactions and significantly affect children's sense of safety and security. School…

This timely book presents a data-driven approach to preventing and responding to school violence. As school violence receives increasing attention across the nation, the application of scientific knowledge is critical. For maximum effectiveness, transdisciplinary teams should use school data, logic models, and theories of change to design,…

For administrators at the secondary level, not many school days go according to plan or script, but few things are more disruptive than a student threat of violence. When threats are made--or if there is a rumor of a serious student threat--it can take both time and resources to investigate, interview, and analyze multiple pieces of information in…

The common path through which youth with mental health problems actually receive treatment is the education system. The current study used qualitative methodology to explore why school psychologists are not providing the level of mental health services that children need, leaders in the field call for, and practitioners desire. Thirty-nine school…

In this book, David Capuzzi, a renowned expert on suicide, encourages suicide prevention in schools through the use of a clear and effective crisis management plan designed to identify and serve at-risk youth. His concise, step-by-step framework provides essential information for school counselors, administrators, and faculty on suicide…

The purpose of this document is to provide information and guidance for Nebraska School districts in creating new, or revising existing policies and procedures related to the use of physical restraint and seclusion in school settings. The goal is to create policies that are informed by national policy directions, research, good practice and…

The suicide of a competent and popular teacher required rapid but careful response by administrators at a midwestern high school. This article explains how faculty members and students were informed and how crisis specialists were brought in to help respond to strong student reactions. (PGD)

This monograph was written to help principals and other school personnel explore the issues of adolescent suicide and its prevention. Chapter 1 presents statistics on the incidence of adolescent suicides and suicide attempts. Chapter 2, Causes of Suicide, reviews developmental tasks of adolescence, lists several contributors to adolescent suicide,…

Teenage depression and suicide are a growing problem across the nation. A New Jersey high school has developed a crisis management team to deal with such problems. Twelve steps to take in developing such a team are provided, along with guidelines on the referral process, student representation, and community support. (TE)

A data-based crisis support program at a special school for severely emotionally disturbed children provides on-the-spot intervention for students with behavioral difficulties, records data about the incident, and provides monthly summary data reports on program use. One month's data report is used to illustrate program structure and data…

Describes the importance of developing a school violence prevention and crisis response plan, explaining what an effective plan should include; how to establish a school-based team; essential components of a crisis response plan; how to ensure safety via contingency provisions to the crisis response plan; and how to handle the crisis aftermath. A…

Each week the equivalent of fifty 48-passenger bus loads of students do not return to school because they have died. Created to foster successful responses to crisis situations, this book serves as a step by step reference guide for school administrators, counselors, and other faculty. Techniques are presented for dealing with: (1) murders; (2)…

A model for organizing crisis intervention efforts outlines three levels of intervention: primary prevention, secondary intervention, and tertiary prevention. Emphasizes the importance of conducting crisis drills, which are an example of secondary intervention. Includes a 15-point crisis intervention checklist. (MLF)

The only way to prepare for a violence-induced crisis in a school system is to develop a crisis-preparedness policy. Offers guidelines to a school board in developing such a plan. (MLF)