Purpose

To provide training and technical assistance to assist school districts, schools, and communities in their efforts to create and maintain a safe learning environment free of crime and violence, including development or enhancement of comprehensive safe schools action plans, and to assist them in dealing effectively with the aftermath of school-related crime or violence when it occurs.

Background

Sections 244, 245, and 246 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, authorize support of training and technical assistance programs for juvenile justice and other youth service personnel. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has provided such support through awards to various organizational entities competent in training and technical assistance development and delivery in many different subject areas, including the National School Safety Center (located at Pepperdine University in California), which has received funding from OJJDP and the U.S. Department of Education since 1984.

OJJDP and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program (SDFSP) of the U.S. Department of Education are aware of the ongoing problems many school districts, schools, and communities are experiencing in the delivery and maintenance of safe schools and safe learning environments. The March 1998 publication Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-1997 shows clearly that the majority of America's schools are safe. However, the report also states that too many children face a frightening reality every time they enter school. In 1996, there were more than 10,000 physical attacks or fights with weapons in schools, 7,000 robberies, and 4,000 rapes and sexual assaults. The threat of such violence can close children's minds to learning and prevent teachers from teaching effectively.

In April 1998, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics released the study Students' Reports of School Crime: 1989 and 1995, a collaborative effort to collect information about students' experience of crime and crime-related conditions at school. This study presents a national portrait of the extent to which students ages 12 to 19 experience violent crime or theft at school and their perceptions of the presence of guns, street gangs, and illegal drugs at school. The study's findings provide additional data to support the need for specialized training and technical assistance in the areas of safe schools and safe learning environments. The study reported that there was an increase in the percent of students in 1995 likely to be victimized by a violent crime-physical attack or a robbery by force, weapon, or threat-compared with 1989. In 1995, 4.2 percent of all 12- to 19-year-old students experienced a violent crime, compared with 3.4 percent 6 years earlier. Violent victimization was also reported to be associated with the presence of street gangs. In 1995, half of Hispanic students ages 12 through 19 reported gangs in their schools, compared with 35 percent of the black students and 23 percent of the white students. For the study, "school" included areas in school buildings, on school grounds, or on school buses. This definition of school is also applicable to this program announcement for all references to school.

OJJDP and SDFSP will offer assistance to school districts, schools, and communities to make their schools safe and free of violent crime through the services of a safe schools training and technical assistance provider. OJJDP and SDFSP will work with professional organizations in juvenile justice, education, law enforcement, social services, and youth-serving groups to meet the safe school training and technical assistance needs of school districts, schools, and communities through the use of the most recent advances in training and dissemination technologies.

This program will result in a competitively awarded 3-year cooperative agreement funded initially with fiscal year (FY) 1998 funds from OJJDP and SDFSP, to a safe schools training and technical assistance provider. OJJDP will administer the cooperative agreement in consultation with SDFSP.

Goal

To support and enhance the capacity of school districts, schools, communities, and related agencies and organizations to provide safe and orderly learning environments for students through the development, implementation, and evaluation of safe schools action plans, training, and technical assistance.

Objectives

The objectives of this program are to:

	Provide a centralized information access point for schools and related agencies regarding the availability of training and technical assistance to create and maintain safe schools and safe and orderly learning environments.
	Assist schools, communities, law enforcement, juvenile justice, and related agencies to assess needs, identify resources, and develop and implement comprehensive, communitywide safe schools action plans.
	Involve school districts, schools, communities, law enforcement, juvenile justice, and related agencies in identifying and responding appropriately to existing and emerging safety and security needs that can be addressed through training and technical assistance.
	Develop a crisis response team of expert practitioners who have been trained to provide onsite technical assistance to school systems when a crisis has occurred within a school that has threatened or placed in jeopardy the safety and welfare of students, teachers, and other staff or harmed them in any physical or psychological way.
	Develop and disseminate a variety of publications on school safety issues and concerns that highlight programs, strategies, services, and activities; identify "best practices and programs"; note future training opportunities; and provide in depth case studies on the delivery of training and technical assistance to a broad spectrum of recipients from large to small, rural to urban, and to Native American communities where ethnic and cultural differences are addressed.
	Develop and disseminate internal standards and formats for the preparation and distribution of training and technical assistance materials for purposes of ensuring quality, usability, and relevance in collaboration with OJJDP's National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Center.
	Develop a systematic customer feedback process with scoring criteria to assess customer satisfaction of the applicant's programs, resources, and training and technical assistance to determine levels of effectiveness and areas that need improvement.
	Provide staff support for one meeting a year of training and technical assistance providers who are experts in the fields of education and safe schools planning and implementation to share information and coordinate efforts on collaborative projects.
	Develop a methodology for gathering the most current research and evaluation information on school safety issues and transferring that information into training and technical assistance support.

Program Strategy

OJJDP and SDFSP are soliciting innovative proposals for this competitive program. Applicants are encouraged to submit creative proposals addressing how they would achieve the goal and objectives in a manner that will attract the most interest and participation of the target groups and provide applicable and appropriate training and technical assistance in a dynamic manner with a consistent level of performance, imparting subject matter to participants effectively and efficiently. In addition, the applicant is expected to describe a comprehensive design for user-friendly publications and online services that use state-of-the-art computer technology to develop, maintain, and disseminate these services. The applicant's services are to reflect its ability to respond to cultural differences within urban, rural, and Native American school systems and districts.

The applicant is expected to work collaboratively with school districts, schools, communities, law enforcement, juvenile justice, and related agencies and organizations in the development and implementation of safe and orderly learning environments. The collaboration will include more than 50 State and local education agencies and OJJDP and SDFSP contractors and grantees to make their applicable training and technical assistance more easily accessible to school districts, schools, communities, and related agencies and organizations.

The provider is also to work closely with OJJDP's National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Center, the Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence, and the Department of Education's Comprehensive Regional Assistance providers to access organizations and programs that can be useful to school districts, schools, communities, and related agencies in the promotion and enhancement of safe schools and safe learning environments.

The applicant, working with States, the District of Columbia, local education agencies, and OJJDP and SDFSP contractors and grantees, will share information for the purposes of using meetings and conferences and other forums to disseminate information on the applicant's available services. It is expected that training and technical assistance contractors, grantees, and others will provide requested materials and share responsibility for developing materials for common use. The applicant will have access to appropriate OJJDP and SDFSP program materials and publications in carrying out its responsibilities under this project.

On an ongoing basis throughout the grant, the applicant is to promote the use of computer technology by schools and school districts to facilitate, but not be limited to, assessments of the problem and existing services, communication, training, program evaluation, and information dissemination in the delivery of safe schools and safe learning environments.

The tasks outlined below are consistent with the stated OJJDP and SDFSP goals and objectives. Applicants are encouraged to be creative in their proposals to implement the overall project. An annual breakdown of expected activities and accomplishments is provided as a guide. Modifications are expected as the work of the grantee evolves and needs assessments are conducted. The major requirements are that the proposal describe, in appropriate detail, how the applicant will deliver training and technical assistance to schools and school districts and how the goals and objectives will be achieved.

OJJDP and SDFSP do not intend to support an elaborate or costly physical plant. However, the project's office, equipment needs, location, and access to training facilities and resources are significant considerations to be addressed in the application.

Deliverables

Year 1

	Within the first 3 months of the project, the applicant will develop, in coordination with the Office for Victims of Crime, a list of expert consultants who can provide, by request of the funding agencies only, crisis intervention services onsite to a school when a crisis within a school has threatened or placed in jeopardy the safety and welfare of students, teachers, and other staff or harmed them in any physical or psychological way.
	Provide two focus group and program development meetings that address issues unique to school districts, schools, and communities and that bring together experts in related fields to address problems that threaten school safety and safe learning environments.
	Develop, publish, and disseminate on an ongoing basis throughout the grant a minimum of four publications per year-a combination of reports, bulletins, fact sheets, updates, and related publications on specific aspects of current school safety issues to provide a comprehensive approach to the development, delivery, and evaluation of a safe schools action plan.
	Develop on an ongoing basis throughout the grant a minimum of four media packages and/or limited searches of major issues impacting school safety and safe learning environments, Federal and State legislation on or related to school safety, and other information to assist the field with school safety planning and policy development, implementation, and evaluation.
	Develop and maintain a data base that shall include, but not be limited to, training and technical assistance programs, instructors, curriculums, materials, and costs for purposes of supporting marketing, cross use of educational resources by contractors and grantees, and use of related OJJDP and SDFSP training and technical assistance programs.
	Develop and publish a training and technical assistance resource directory of current school training and technical assistance providers, resources, and activities including schedules, costs, locations, eligibility requirements, instructors, and course descriptions.
	Operate an 800 number that provides access to general information for ordering various publications; schedules of trainings; qualified trainers and their areas of expertise; training curriculums on effective and promising safe school, delinquency, crime, and violence prevention programs; and general training resources such as methodologies, theories, and techniques.
	Develop a system to implement a training curriculum protocol that ensures consistency in style and content from one training and technical assistance provider to another to avoid duplication of efforts. The expectation is that the grantee will work with OJJDP's National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Center grantee, which has developed some of these kinds of materials.
	Develop training programs that demonstrate state-of-the art instructional strategies that incorporate trainee participation and computer technology for the instructors into the delivery of safe schools training and technical assistance to schools and school districts and related agencies.
	Document and analyze user responses to the applicant's services and prepare a report that includes who used the services, what services were available, who benefited from them and how, and lessons learned to improve future service delivery.
	Formulate a marketing strategy that takes into account practitioners' training needs in education and related fields for the development and maintenance of safe schools and safe learning environments in school districts and communities throughout the United States and its territories.
	Provide assistance through specialized training and onsite technical assistance to a significant number of school districts in the development or enhancement, implementation, and evaluation of a safe schools action plan.
	Prepare an annual report that includes information from the user responses on the number of safe schools and safe learning environments that have been developed or enhanced as a result of the applicant's training and technical assistance services-what services were delivered and by whom, who used the services, and how recipients benefited from the services.

Year 2

	Conduct a one-time national conference to bring together expert practitioners, researchers, and professionals from education, law enforcement, juvenile justice, probation, social services, youth-serving organizations, faith-based groups, service clubs, parents, students, and related organizations to share information on best practices, lessons learned, and the latest technology available to provide a comprehensive communitywide approach to the development, implementation, and evaluation of a safe schools action plan, onsite security and school resource officers, specialized services, training packages, technical assistance, and available options such as in-school suspensions, educational passports, identification badges, alternative education programs, and career academies-and any other areas and issues that need to be addressed. Prepare a report on the conference.
	Develop and implement up to four workshops to bring school safety teams together for specialized training based on assessment forms completed by the attending schools and school districts with limited onsite technical assistance available as a followup.
	Provide a mechanism for an annual update of needs assessment reflected in focus group meetings held in Year 1.
	Develop and maintain systems for online access to reference and referral services and create structures that enable users to engage in online discussions about training workshops, safe schools and positive learning environments, and training and technical assistance issues, with the applicant as the broker.
	Develop an evaluation manual, if found to be necessary after an assessment of current program evaluation tools, that describes a process with user-friendly guidelines that schools, school districts, community-based organizations, and related agencies can use to assess the multitude of safe school programs and school-related delinquency, crime, and violence prevention/intervention programs, policies, strategies, and techniques available to them in the development of safe schools and safe learning environments-to help them identify promising or effective programs and strategies and best practices.
	Establish a second data base that can be made available on a Web site that gives schools, school districts, community-based organizations, and related agencies easy access to promising or effective programs that promote safe schools, safe learning environments, and the prevention and intervention of school-related delinquency, crime, and violence.
	Establish and distribute an updated directory of all of the applicant's training and technical assistance resources including schedules, locations, eligibility requirements, instructors, and course descriptions.
	Develop training guides and evaluation manuals on school safety programs that are user friendly for schools, school districts, and related agencies.
	Review and upgrade training and technical assistance technologies used by the applicant to deliver services and disseminate information in order to ensure that service delivery in all areas use the latest innovations and cost-effective measures.
	Provide assistance through specialized training and onsite technical assistance to a significant number of school districts in the development/enhancement, implementation, and evaluation of a safe schools action plan.
	Propose a plan and a process for charging reasonable, appropriate fees for publications and training services under this award. This system of cost recovery for services would be implemented at a future date; however, the proposed plan must make a proportion of the services available on a no-fee basis to accommodate high-need districts.
	Prepare an annual report that includes information from user responses on the number of safe learning environments that have been developed or enhanced as a result of the applicant's training and technical assistance services-what services were delivered and by whom, who used the services, and how recipients benefited from the services.

Year 3

	Maintain and continue to provide training, technical assistance, publications, information dissemination, and other tasks as described above in Years 1 and 2.
	Provide assistance through specialized training and onsite technical assistance to a significant number of school districts in the development or enhancement, implementation, and evaluation of a safe schools action plan.
	Prepare an annual report that includes information from user responses on the number of safe learning environments that have been developed or enhanced as a result of the applicant's training and technical assistance services-what services were delivered and by whom, who used the services, and how recipients benefited from the services.

Eligibility Requirements

OJJDP invites applications from public and private agencies, organizations, institutions, and individuals. Private, for-profit organizations must agree to waive any profit or fee. Joint applications from two or more eligible applicants are welcome; however, one applicant must be clearly indicated as the primary applicant (for correspondence, award, and management purposes) and the others indicated as coapplicants.

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated and rated by a peer review panel according to the criteria outlined below.

Problem(s) To Be Addressed (15 points)

The applicant must convey a clear understanding of the approaches used nationally to address the problems of promoting, creating, and sustaining safe learning environments and of the multiple purposes of this cooperative agreement. In particular, the applicant must present a clear concept of how it intends to promote and increase the number of safe learning environments across the country. The applicant must further convey an understanding of the expected results of this effort and of possible obstacles to their achievement and proposed solutions for these potential obstacles.

Goals and Objectives (10 points)

The goals and objectives to be achieved by the project must be clearly defined in operational terms with measurable outcomes that are consistent with the issues and performance requirements set forth in the conceptualization of the problem section of the application.

Project Design (35 Points)

The application must include a project design indicating a workplan that identifies responsible staff, their time commitment, major tasks, and milestones; specific procedures to be developed and carried out; projected performance schedules and expected accomplishments; and products. The design must correspond with the project's goals and objectives and with the conceptualization of the problem. Activities must constitute a coherent, sustained program of training and technical assistance in the development, maintenance, and evaluation of safe learning environments and in the fields of delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, and crime and violence prevention/intervention as they relate to school safety and safe learning environments.

Performance feedback and continuous improvement must be integral to the project design. An evaluation process with a scoring criterion should be incorporated into performance feedback to make improvements and build on successes. Training or professional development services must be of sufficient quality, intensity, and duration to lead to improvements in the practice of developing, implementing, and maintaining safe learning environments by the recipients.

Management and Organizational Capability (30 points)

The project's management structure and staffing must be appropriate for the successful implementation of the project. Applicants must present credentials of staff with expertise in the development, maintenance, and evaluation of safe learning environments and related concerns and issues that are applicable to the goals and objectives of this cooperative agreement.

Key staff must have significant experience in school-based programming, training, and technical assistance delivery and management, computer technology, and in the performance of other work outlined in this announcement. Staff must also have successfully worked in the areas of delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, crime and violence prevention/intervention, and safe school planning for safe learning environments. Key staff résumés should be attached in an appendix.

The applicant must also describe how it intends to pull together education and directly related community-based providers to deliver training and technical assistance to schools and school districts to develop or enhance, implement, and maintain safe school planning for safe learning environments.

The applicant's organizational ability to administer the project successfully must be clearly documented in the proposal and should include available computer technology and computer programs that will be utilized in the attainment of the objectives. The documentation must include past or current organizational experience in the subject areas and skills required to achieve the objectives and with projects of the magnitude and complexity described in this program announcement.

The applicant must demonstrate that it has the capability to use computer technology to develop and disseminate the variety of publications and online access to services, described above, in a timely manner.

The applicant must demonstrate that it can provide programmable support to OJJDP and SDFSP on school-related issues or, alternatively, indicate how it will reach out to locate the necessary providers.

Budget (10 points)

Applicants must provide a proposed budget that is complete, detailed, reasonable, allowable, and cost effective in relation to the activities to be undertaken.

A 12-month budget period should be programmatically structured for the continuation and, where appropriate, the completion of work started in the two previous project years. The year's program should reflect the applicant as an established entity with some cyclical aspects to its activities.

Format

The narrative portion of this application must not exceed 50 pages (excluding forms, assurances, and appendixes) and must be submitted on 8½- by 11-inch paper, double spaced on one side of the paper in a standard 12-point font. This is necessary to maintain fair and uniform standards among all applicants. If the narrative does not conform to these standards, OJJDP will deem the application ineligible for consideration.

Award Period

The project will be funded for 3 years in three 1-year budget periods. Funding after the first budget period will be contingent upon OJJDP's and SDFSP's assessment of continuing need, performance of the grantee, and availability of funds.

Award Amount

Up to $1 million is available for the first-year budget period.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number

For this program, the CFDA number, which is required on Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance, is 16.542. This form is included in OJJDP's Application Kit, which can be obtained by calling the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-8736 or sending an e-mail request to puborder@ncjrs.org. The Application Kit is also available online. (See the Introduction for more contact information.)

Coordination of Federal Efforts

To encourage better coordination among Federal agencies in addressing State and local needs, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is requesting applicants to provide information on the following: (1) active Federal grant award(s) supporting this or related efforts, including awards from DOJ; (2) any pending application(s) for Federal funds for this or related efforts; and (3) plans for coordinating any funds described in items (1) or (2) with the funding sought by this application. For each Federal award, applicants must include the program or project title, the Federal grantor agency, the amount of the award, and a brief description of its purpose.

"Related efforts" is defined for these purposes as one of the following:

	Efforts for the same purpose (i.e., the proposed award would supplement, expand, complement, or continue activities funded with other Federal grants).
	Another phase or component of the same program or project (e.g., to implement a planning effort funded by other Federal funds or to provide a substance abuse treatment or education component within a criminal justice project).
	Services of some kind (e.g., technical assistance, research, or evaluation) to the program or project described in the application.

Delivery Instructions

All application packages should be mailed or delivered to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, c/o Juvenile Justice Resource Center, 2277 Research Boulevard, Mail Stop 2K, Rockville, MD 20850; 301-519-5535. Note: In the lower left-hand corner of the envelope, you must clearly write "School Safety Training and Technical Assistance."

Due Date

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the original and five copies of the application package are received by 5 p.m. ET on August 28, 1998.

Contact

For further information contact Robin Delany-Shabazz , Program Manager, Training and Technical Assistance Division, 202-307-9963, or send an e-mail inquiry to delany@ojp.usdoj.gov.

References

Amundson, K. J. Violence in the Schools: How America's School Boards Are Safeguarding Our Children, Alexandria, VA.: National School Boards Association and Office of Federal and National Education Issues Advocacy, 1993.

Chandler, K.A., Chapman, C., Rand, M.R., and Taylor, B.M. Students' Reports of School Crime: 1989 and 1995. Washington, DC: U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, 1998.

Dryfoos, J. G. Adolescents at Risk: Prevalence and Prevention. London: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Heaviside, S., Rowand, C., Williams, C., Faris, E., Burns, S., and McArthur, E. Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-97. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1998 (March).

Ingersoll, S., and LeBoeuf, D. Reaching Out to Youth Out of the Education Mainstream. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1997 (February).

Kenney, D., and Keough, K.E. Reducing Fear in the Schools. Washington, DC: Police Research Forum, 1998 (April).

Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. and LRH Research, Inc. A Survey of Experiences, Perceptions, and Apprehensions About Guns Among Young People in America. New York: Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. and LRH Research, Inc., 1993.

Sickmund, M., Snyder, H., and Poe-Yamagata, E. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1997 Update on Violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1997 (August).

Sickmund, M. Offenders in Juvenile Court. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1997 (December).

Snyder, H., and Sickmund, M. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A National Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1995 (August).

Snyder, H., Sickmund, M., and Poe-Yamagata, E. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1996 Update on Violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1996 (February).

Trone, J. Teaching Brain Power, Not Gun Power. New York, New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 1997.