National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention

Rescheduled—Teleconference on Student Benefits of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
The teleconference titled “Social and Emotional Learning and Student Benefits: Research Implications for the SS/HS Core Elements,” originally scheduled to take place on July 15, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, August 27, 2008, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ET). This event will be hosted by the National Center in partnership with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). During the presentation, Roger Weissberg from CASEL and Joe Durlak from Loyola University in Chicago will share the latest research on SEL effects on students and strategies for implementing SEL. They will also elaborate on how SEL can be an integrative prevention framework that addresses the SS/HS core elements. Registration information will be e-mailed to SS/HS grantees shortly.

New 2008 Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grantees
The U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice have announced the recipients of the FY 2008 SS/HS Award. The SS/HS Initiative draws on the best practices of education, justice, social services, and mental health systems to provide integrated and comprehensive resources for prevention programs and prosocial services for youth. Background information on the SS/HS grant and a list of FY 2008 award recipients are available at http://www.ed.gov/programs/dvpsafeschools/fy2008awards.html.

List of SS/HS 2008–2009 Events Now Available
SS/HS grantees can now view a listing of SS/HS events for 2008–2009. Please note that the dates and locations of some of these events remain “to be determined” and will be announced to grantees via e-mail and the Center Events section of the Web site as they become available. See the listing at http://www.promoteprevent.org/events/center-events.

New Publication—Youth Violence Prevention Program Monograph
The Youth Violence Prevention (YVP) program was created in 1999 to support community-based organizations as they analyzed risk and protective factors of youth violence so that they could address the issue at early stages by choosing appropriate interventions. Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services, the grant served 189 sites across 43 states during its six-year history. This monograph provides a description of the initiative along with its key elements and also highlights the experiences of various YVP communities. Download and read Strengthening Communities: A Review of the Youth Violence Prevention Grant Program at http://www.promoteprevent.org/Publications/YVPmonograph/YVPmonograph.pdf.

The following is a summary of key findings from the fields of education, mental health, violence prevention, and/or youth substance abuse prevention.

Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context
The Girls Study Group was convened by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, to examine if, and how, patterns of offending among girls differ from those among boys, as well as to examine the risk and protective factors associated with delinquency among girls. One of the motivations for creating the study group was to examine whether delinquency and violence among girls were rising as dramatically as implied by many reports in the press.

After carefully examining the data, the Girls Study Group concluded that there has not been a dramatic increase in violence among adolescent girls. Rather, the increase in reported delinquency is a result of changes in enforcement. For example, while the most common targets of violence among both boys and girls are children of the same age and gender with whom they are acquainted, the second most common targets of violence by boys are strangers, while the second most common targets of violence by girls are family members (who can easily identify the assailant). Many police departments have policies mandating arrests for any incident of domestic violence. So boys who commit assaults against strangers often escape arrest, unlike same-age girls who commit violence against family members.

The Girls Study Group also reported some interesting information about girls who fight in school. The Girls Study Group’s review of the literature indicated that girls in schools tend to use violence when they feel that they need to defend themselves against victimization and sexual victimization, especially if they feel that this victimization is being ignored by school authorities. Studies also found that girls who feel stigmatized by a minority racial or socioeconomic identity may fight to enhance their social status in the school. These girls may also refuse to back down when confronted by peers since the confrontation has implications beyond that of the disagreement or cause of the confrontation. Girls from low- income backgrounds who lack hope about their future may be more prone to become involved in fighting because they do not worry about the administrative or legal consequences of violence.

Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context can be downloaded from the publications section of the OJJDP Web site (http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/218905.pdf).

This section highlights a few updates from the prevention field. Please go to http://library.promoteprevent.org for more news items and resources.

Publication Highlights Best Practices for OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model
A new OJJDP publication, Best Practices to Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model, offers guidance on implementing the Comprehensive Gang Model developed through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and recently tested in OJJDP’s Gang Reduction Program. The report highlights the model’s strategic planning process and presents best practices for the Comprehensive Gang Model. In addition, the report includes feedback from a meeting of practitioners regarding their experiences in implementing the model. Access the report at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/222799.pdf.

For additional information about OJJDP’s efforts to prevent and address gang problems, visit http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/programs/antigang.

A Closer Look at Evidence-Based Practices and Multicultural Mental Health
As the mental health system moves toward the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in a push to improve quality, effectiveness, and accountability in mental health services, mental health care providers working with culturally diverse populations are faced with the new challenge of ensuring that these EBPs cater to the cultural preferences and diverse needs of their clients. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) addresses this challenge in a recent publication, Evidence-Based Practices and Multicultural Mental Health. The publication discusses cultural adaptations of EBPs along with the concept of practice-based evidence (PBE), which describes “a set of unique and inherent cultural practices that have non-traditional evidence based upon community consensus.” Access this resource at http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Fact_Sheets1&
Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=63974.

Six Guiding Principles for Quality After-School Programs Serving Preteens
In a report sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, researchers from Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) examine the literature and outline a set of guiding principles for after-school programs serving preteens. Putting It All Together: Guiding Principles for Quality After-School Programs Serving Preteens identifies six elements that are present in programs that are more likely to see positive outcomes in the emotional and behavioral health of their participants. These principles include: (1) focused and intentional strategy, (2) exposure (duration, intensity, and breadth), (3) supportive relationships, (4) family engagement, (5) cultural competence, and (6) continuous program improvement. For an in-depth examination of each of these principles, download the report at http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/publications_description.asp?
search_id=20&publication_id=234.

The Grant Opportunities page is updated regularly with announcements of current public and private grant competitions. Here is one of the listings you will find:

Title: ING Foundation Grants
Funder: ING North America Insurance Corporation
Description: One of the main focus areas for ING Foundation Grants is education for youth. ING is committed to supporting and improving education for youth in grades K–12, especially children in underserved areas or facing economic disadvantages. The ING Foundation supports broad, strategic partnership opportunities that leverage their commitment to empowerment and focus on improving the lives of individuals in underserved communities across the country.
Award: N/A
Eligibility: 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations that fulfill a community need targeting children’s education
Deadline: September 12, 2008
For more information: http://www.ing-usa.com/us/aboutING/CorporateCitizenship/INGFoundationGrants/index.htm

We regularly add to a detailed listing of conferences and events occurring within the National Center and across the nation. For example,

Date: September 25–27, 2008
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Title: School Mental Health for All Students: Building a Shared Agenda for Youth, Families, Schools, and Communities
Sponsor: Center for School Mental Health at University of Maryland School of Medicine
Description: The 13th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health will offer numerous specialty tracks and opportunities to learn about: