Center for the Prevention of School Violence
The Center for the Prevention of School Violence serves as a resource center and "think tank" for efforts that promote safer schools and foster positive youth development. Its website has a multitude of resources for teachers, students, and parents on topics such as alternative learning, adolescent health, crisis response, facilities management, and teacher burnout prevention. There are also links to a library of school safety and youth violence statistics; resources specifically for parents, teachers, school counselors, school resource officers, and principals; and research related to school safety.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
OJJDP’s school violence resource site has links to publications that can be downloaded or ordered for free, such as the Indicators of School Crime and Safety and the Annual Reports of School Safety as well as information on many other school violence related topics. There are also links to federal publications and agencies and organizations with resources related to school safety.

Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, School Violence Prevention and Intervention
It is the mission of the Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice to support and promote a national preparedness to foster the development and the adjustment of children with or at risk of developing serious emotional disturbance. To achieve that goal, their Center is dedicated to a policy of collaboration at federal, state, and local levels that contributes to and facilitates the production, exchange, and use of knowledge about effective practices. The site offers links to resources related to school violence prevention and intervention as well as other issues such as families, mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare, special education, and cultural competence.

Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence
The Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to inform decision-making by policymakers, educators, researchers, and other stakeholders and to support schools by providing research and synthesis of information so that schools are made safe for high achievement. The institute is an excellent source of research and information on many school and community violence related topics.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

This site is aimed to enhance children's success in school and life by promoting coordinated, evidence-based social, emotional and academic learing as an essential part of education from preschool through high school.

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

SAMHSA, an agency of the U.S. Department f Health and Human Services (HHS), was created to focus attention, programs, and funding on improving he lives of people with or at risk for mental and substance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the 13 major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves. Since it was founded in 1946 to help control malaria, CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats. Today, CDC is globally recognized for conducting research and investigations and for its action oriented approach. CDC applies research and findings to improve people’s daily lives and responds to health emergencies—something that distinguishes CDC from its peer agencies.

Georgia Emergency Management Agency, School Safety Training
This page provides a list of school safety training programs offered by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Any of these programs may be requested by community agencies or schools. The page also has links to Georgia-approved school safety plans and many other school safety resources.

Model School Crisis Management Plan
The Virginia Department of Education offers the Model School Crisis Management Plan for use by local educators and law enforcement officers in developing or refining school division-level and building-level crisis plans. The Model School Crisis Management Plan includes model policies, procedures, and forms that can be adopted or modified to meet local needs and accommodate existing resources.

School Crisis Planning: Questions Answered
Previously published as an article in Communique by Scott Poland, Chair of the National Emergency Assistance Team for NASP, this article offers assistance in crisis planning for school personnel. There is also a link to an article about threat assessment.

School Crisis Response: Expecting the Unexpected
This is an article written by Robert Lichtenstein, David J. Schonfeld, and Marsha Kline that was published in Educational Leadership. It provides strategies to aid school districts in establishing crisis response procedures.

Defusing and Debriefing
John D. Weaver, LCSW, BCD, ACSW, CBHE, describes these models of crisis intervention and provides guidelines for implementing them.

Debriefing
This site offers guidelines for implementing the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing model.

Office for Victims of Crime - Schools/Education Community Issues
This page offers information about victim assistance and research findings as well as educational materials or strategies for program and policy development related to school crisis response.

What is youth development? (Definition from National Youth Development Information Center)

Youth Development noun. A process which prepares young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated, progressive series of activities and experiences which help them to become socially, morally, emotionally, physically, and cognitively competent. Positive youth development addresses the broader developmental needs of youth, in contrast to deficit-based models which focus solely on youth problems. (Approved by the executives of National Collaboration for Youth Members, March 1998)

National Youth Development Information Center (NYDIC)
NYDIC provides practice-related information about youth development to national and local organizations. The website contains information about research and evaluation of youth development programs, projects and programs that have developed effective practices for working with diverse youth populations, policies and regulations that impact youth development, funding opportunities for youth development programs and agencies, and career development opportunities in the field of youth development.

The Institute for Youth Development (IYD)
IYD is a non-profit organization that promotes a comprehensive risk avoidance message to youth. IYD believes that if children and teens are given consistent and sound messages, they will be capable of making positive choices to avoid risk behaviors, such as alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco and violence. The website is designed for professionals and for parents and teens looking for current information and advice.

Center for Youth Development and Policy Research
The Center’s mission is to create and strengthen the infrastructures that support positive development for all youth in America. Activities include public education, research, policy formulation, and technical assistance aimed at U.S. communities which seek to expand opportunities and support systems for disadvantaged young people. The site provides information about current projects as well as publications related to youth development.

The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development
This site serves as a source of new ideas and learning, as a connection to new people and resources, and as a catalyst for positive change in the way youth development takes place. There are links to similar organizations and to listservs and discussion groups. The center also provides training and assistance to communities and organizations focused on youth development. A list of publications related to youth development is also given.

YouthBuild USA
YouthBuild USA is the national nonprofit support center and intermediary for the YouthBuild movement, whose goal is to create and sustain a movement in support of policies and programs which enable young people to assume leadership to rebuild their communities and lead responsible lives. The site provides information about its programs and links to publications and other related resources. There is also a link to the Fulton Atlanta YouthBuild program.

National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS)
NPPS was established at the University of Northern Iowa through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NPPS is a national clearinghouse for playground safety information. It also conducts research; sponsors the annual National Playground Safety Week; and provides a number of services, such as a national information hotline, and workshops, such as the National Playground Safety School.

Playground Safety for Kids!
This website is designed for children and families. It provides a “Kid Checker,” which is a free downloadable checklist to determine if a playground is safe or not. There are also playground safety tips and suggestions for becoming involved in playground safety advocacy.

Playground Safety Publications
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission provides a list of free publications related to playground safety. There is a book to read to children and several documents and handbooks about home and public playgrounds and playground equipment.

Playground Injuries Fact Sheet
(from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control)
This fact sheet lists statistics, risk factors, prevention strategies, and additional references.

Playground Safety Fact Sheet
(from Family Health Administration)
This fact sheet provides a list of the injuries that may occur on a playground and how they may occur. There is also a list of organizations to contact for more information.

National Playground Safety Institute from the National Recreation and Park Association
(Click on “Programs” and then click on “Playground Safety.”)

This site provides information about obtaining training and certification to become a Certified Playground Safety Inspector. There is also a link to helpful playground safety sites such as the International Playground Equipment Manufacturers Association and the National Playground Contractors Association.