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"Safe Schools/Healthy Students"
Tazewell, Tennessee
| Partners: | Clinch-Powell Educational Cooperative Frontier Health and Cherokee Health Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, and Union County Police Departments | |
The Clinch-Powell area, a rural mountainous region, comprises a five-county area in Northeast Tennessee. The five-county educational cooperative formed by the five school districts serves 18,342 students. One of the counties, Hancock County, is the seventh poorest in the nation. The county population is 98% white. Designated a manpower shortage area, Hancock County has no hospitals, three physicians, and one dentist. The percentage of people living in poverty is 34% compared to 15% nationwide.
Local law enforcement agencies are currently collaborating with the schools on programs dealing with drug abuse prevention, adolescent life skills, lifestyle intervention, and gang resistance training. Frontier Health and Cherokee Health contract with schools to provide counseling and educational services related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
C-HOSTS will provide Clinch-Powell students, schools, and families with a network of effective and comprehensive services, supports, and activities. The network will ensure that all students can attend school and learn in a safe, disciplined, and drug free environment. Beginning with preschool age children, counselors will provide services, referral, and consultation for those exhibiting problematic behavior. The school system will link with Tennessee Early Intervention System to assess and refer children ages birth to three to appropriate services. Elementary school children will receive preventive services, intervention, and referral for treatment from child development specialists. The children will be exposed to a prevention program aimed at reducing risk factors contributing to youth violence. Community service agencies will link with the school systems to assess family-related issues including alcohol and other drug use. Middle and high school children will have access to mental health counselors and school resource officers who will provide education, counseling, and liaison to school, home, and community. In addition to early intervention, mental health education, teacher consultation, and enhancement of the school climate, the counselors will train students as peer counselors. The community partners involved in this proposal will form a multi-disciplinary oversight committee to continually review and rework safe school policies. Home school visitors, who are trained social workers, will liaison with school-based services to ensure continuity between behavior management plans at school and home. School safety strategies will include partnerships with local law enforcement officers and school facility and security measures.
The research team will be organized within 30 days of the award and will assess C-HOSTS process, outcome, and impact objectives.
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[Georgetown, Texas]