The Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) has a standing prevention webinar series that occurs on the third Wednesday of each month. For May, the Southeast PTTC is hosting Dr. Patti Clark, the Program Manager of the Prevention and Promotion Branch within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities. Please find more information about the webinar below:
Keeping Kids Safe in Schools: Associations Between School Safety and Behavioral Health Webinar
Wednesday, May 20, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM CT
Brief Description:
School safety is in the forefront of educators’ minds in light of recent high profile school shootings. Academic achievement and social thriving are reduced when students don’t perceive they are safe. Research shows that the perception of safety is more important and a greater predictor of student success than the presence of physical safety measures. Feeling safe in school is necessary for learning, and for physical, emotional and social development. Students who used substances were more likely to report their school was unsafe and to be fearful at school. However, schools don’t always identify the implementation of prevention strategies as a component of their school safety plan. Prevention professionals play an important role in educating schools on the role of behavioral health issues in the perception of school safety, and supporting the inclusion of prevention education to students and their parents, and the implementation of policies and procedures that create a pathway for connecting students to appropriate resources. In this webinar, participants will learn about the findings from a recent Kentucky study that looked at the association between substance use, mental health issues, interpersonal violence, and problem behaviors and the perception of safety of students, will review specific prevention strategies that schools should consider, and will provide talking points to create dialogue with educational systems around the inclusions of behavioral health prevention components in school safety plans.
Learning objectives:
Participants will:
1. Review research on the importance the perception of safety plays on academic success.
2. Review the associations between substance use, mental health issues, interpersonal violence and problem behaviors and the perception of feeling safe at school.
3. Identify prevention strategies schools can utilize to increase the perception of safety among students.
4. Identify talking points to build collaborations with schools related to embedding prevention to support student safety.
Register for this webinar here.