TTA Theme This Month
The February–March Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) topic is the public health approach to violence prevention. In addition to the newsletter, DSG will host a Webinar on an overview of the public health approach, featuring experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This Webinar, to be held Wednesday, March 2, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EST, will be available to the National Forum, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Defending Childhood sites (see, under Training Opportunities, MORE).
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IN THIS ISSUE
Community Engagement: Lessons From Boston’s VIP Strategy
Defending Childhood in Grand Forks, N.D.
Announcements and Upcoming Events
• Funding Opportunities
• Training Opportunities
News and Views
• Reports, Guidelines, and Briefs
• News
• Other Resources
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GRAND FORKS, N.D., PROMISES CHILDREN ‘SAFER TOMORROWS’
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by Matthew Malamud
One in two. That is approximately how many students in North Dakota’s Grand Forks County school system reported being bullied by a classmate in 2012.
Sound like a lot? It is. The rate nationwide is closer to one student in three, according to statistics compiled for the federal Web site www.stopbullying.gov.
Public buses like this one traverse Grand Forks, spreading the Safer Tomorrows message, said Community Violence Intervention Center’s Julie Christianson (standing, far left) and Kari Kerr (standing, fifth person in).
But that was before Safer Tomorrows, a Defending Childhood Initiative project to reduce children’s exposure to violence that is spearheaded by the city of Grand Forks, its public school system, the Community Violence Intervention Center, and Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota. Today, Grand Forks schools are in line with the national average, and Safer Tomorrows continues its work to bring the rate closer to zero.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPCOMING EVENTS
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Save the Dates: National Summit Slotted for June 27–29
The Fifth National Summit on Youth Violence Prevention has been targeted for June 27–29—a Monday, a Tuesday, and a Wednesday. Details are forthcoming.
Funding Opportunities
Agriculture Dept., Dairy Council, NFL Make $35M Available to Schools for Healthier Meals
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—in conjunction with the National Dairy Council, and the NFL—is making $35 million in grants available to help schools upgrade their kitchen equipment and infrastructure to offer students better access to nutritious foods.
Though more than 30 million children rely on the USDA’s National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program for one or two meals a day, most schools lack at least one piece of equipment needed to serve healthier foods. The funds are earmarked for helping schools purchase additional equipment to help them meet updated national nutrition standards and serve healthy meals with more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and lowfat dairy, and with less sodium and fat.
Schools interested in learning more about these grants should visit USDA’s Web page on NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants.
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Training Opportunities
Public Health Approach Webinar, March 2
The National Forum, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Defending Childhood sites are invited to a March 2 Webinar on the public health approach to violence prevention, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EST. Neil Rainford and Reshma Mahendra from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will present on CDC’s violence prevention initiatives and the fundamentals of implementing a public health approach to preventing youth violence.
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BOSTON’S VIP INITIATIVE EMPOWERS ALL RESIDENTS
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by Ali Goodyear
Though residents play a critical role in preventing violence and advancing community safety, they are an underused asset to these ends. Social cohesion—the extent that neighbors know one another, are connected to their community and their environment, and feel a sense of power and autonomy—can be a powerful protective factor against violence. The city of Boston, Mass., has realized this potential and enlisted social cohesion as a means to protect the health and well-being of all its residents, with a particular emphasis on communities that are most vulnerable.
With commitments from the mayor, the health commissioner, and the police commissioner in 2007, Boston launched a plan to address community violence. Recognizing that resident engagement was critical to informing the initiative, volunteers joined forces with more than a hundred city staff from across multiple agencies to knock on doors, introduce the initiative, and find out what was important to residents in terms of violence prevention.
Youth and community members come together to share their visions and ideas as part of Boston’s VIP Initiative.
What did residents like about their neighborhood?
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NEWS & VIEWS
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Reports
Two Reports Released on Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has released two reports on allegations of sexual victimization at juvenile correctional facilities:
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News
Epidemiologic Reviews Releases Special Issue on Gun Violence Prevention
The public health journal Epidemiologic Reviews released a special issue this past week entirely on gun violence prevention and policy research. The issue features nine different review articles authored by many of the nation’s top academics in gun violence research.
Among the notable findings:
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Other Resources
Fayetteville, N.C., Police Officer Describes How He Uses Evidence-Based Research Daily on the Job
Capt. James Nolette of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Police Department, a 2014 National Institute of Justice LEADS (for Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science) scholar, has authored a fascinating and pithy piece about how his department incorporates research into practice through programs like COMPSTAT and global positioning monitoring to reduce crime and better help the public. Read the five-page piece here.
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