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"Safe Schools/Healthy Students"
Los Angeles, California
| Partners: | Belmont Cluster, Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Los Angeles Police Department | |
If the "Belmont Cluster" were an independent school district, it would be the fourth largest district in the state of California. Within its 19 square miles, 37,000 students attend its 34 schools and children's centers. The area is the most densely populated urban area in the state, with over 323,000 people. The Belmont Cluster is located just east of downtown Los Angeles and is beset with the problems of drug and alcohol use, violence, gang involvement, and fractured families. Upwards of 40% of residents have lived in the United States for fewer than 5 years and the same percentage live at or below poverty level. Over 80 cultural and ethnic groups are represented. The population is comprised of 66.6% Hispanics, 22.9% Asian, 5.7% Caucasian, 4.5% African American, and 0.3% Native Americans.
Project SECURE emerged from the collaboration of the 3 primary partners and over 30 other community-based organizations. The project's mission is to create a community more able to support and nurture its children and youth. Partners include the Los Angeles County probation department, UCLA Orthopaedic Hospital, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, El Centro del Pueblo, and Chinese Services.
The Cluster schools currently provide a myriad of services including after-school programs for 3,000 students, social skills curricula, and academic remediation. Mental health services, however, are limited. The project aims to address this gap in service by providing psychological and family counseling to children under age four that have been identified by early childhood service providers. Home health visits for teen mothers and their infants will be provided with an emphasis on keeping the teen parent enrolled in school. School-aged children identified as needing psychological services will be able to access them on-site. Other on-site services will include family health care, parenting skills class, and group and family therapy. Additional after-school programs will be implemented, including a police athletic league to provide youth opportunities for prosocial involvement. Current prevention curricula will be expanded and students will be taught methods for resolving conflicts. Staff development, individual case management of students, and after-school and Saturday programs will be instituted to promote high academic achievement. Town Hall meetings and a quarterly newsletter will be another means of connecting parents to the school. Additional campus security measures will be implemented and law enforcement will be more visible to provide students with an environment that is safe, clean and conducive to learning.
An outside evaluator will be hired to design an evaluation plan that will look at qualitative and quantitative assessments.
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[Riverside, California]