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"Safe Schools/Healthy Students"
New Haven, Connecticut
| Partners: | New Haven Board of Education Connecticut State Department of Children and Families New Haven Department of Police Services | |
New Haven is home to 130,474 residents, of whom 49% are Caucasian, 35% African-Americans and 13.2% Hispanic. New Haven's poverty rate is three times that of the statewide rate, and one-third of all families feature single mothers. The New Haven Public School system serves 19,385 students grades K-12. The district has 26 elementary schools, seven middle schools, seven transitional centers, and seven high schools (including five alternative high schools). The percentage of 4th, 6th, and 8th grade students who met the Connecticut Mastery Test goals for reading, writing and mathematics is 9.2%, 5.6% and 6.1%, respectively. The annual drop-out rate for grades 9-12 is 9.7%, as compared to 3.9% statewide. Rates for juvenile crime are high, with 2,055 per 100,000 youth being arrested in 1995. This figure is 306% higher than the state average. While the city does have some after school programs and mental health services to address these problems, they are limited in number and cannot meet the need for services.
The New Haven initiative is an expansion of a current partnership with the Department of Police Services, Juvenile Probation Office, and the Yale Child Study Center. A District Student Support Team consisting of these partner members and numerous other allied agencies will coordinate service delivery, monitor efficiency of services, and establish cross-agency procedures for referral and points of entry.
The goal of the New Haven initiative is to create an infrastructure of collaboration and to expand current efforts to improve school safety and child well-being. Early childhood needs will be addressed through the addition of a Family Resource Center, two additional Children and Parents Succeeding sites, and home-based mental health and case management services. Parent leadership training and an Early Childhood Resource Van will supplement these efforts. To improve the school climate and reduce/prevent alcohol and drug abuse and violence, a social development curriculum will be updated and on-going teacher training provided. Schools will provide outreach coordinators to link students and families to services. At least 150 students will be paired with adult mentors. These mentors and other staff will assist students making transitions from alternative placements back to regular-education settings. All schools will have either a part-time or full-time mental health clinician, and all K-5 students will be screened by trained teachers for problem behaviors requiring further intervention. A School Safety Policy Work Group will convene to review current policies and revise them as warranted. Law enforcement will play a major role in reducing truancy through enforcement and home visits. A police athletic league will be also expanded to provide youth with prosocial adult role models.
The New Haven initiative will utilize a three-part evaluation strategy to obtain baseline data, to document the extent and quality of the plan's implementation, and to look at specific outcomes. Three research agencies will be responsible for coordinating the evaluation plan.
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[Waterbury, Connecticut]