15 Feb Green Hills Area Education Agency (GHAEA) Received a Grant for $669,453 from U.S. DOJ SVPP

Green Hills Area Education Agency (GHAEA) recently received a grant for $669,453 from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) will deliver evidence-based training and technical assistance helping schools implement threat assessment teams (TATs) and high-quality plans to improve school safety, in partnership with school districts, sheriff’s offices, and police departments in southwestern Iowa.

GHAEA proposes to work with these school districts in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in order to increase the capacity of schools to provide high-quality prevention, intervention, and response to crisis situations. Objectives are to: (1) establish TATs; (2) implement evidence-based safety plans in suicide risk and threat assessment procedures; and (3) employ the use of an anonymous reporting system.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth ages 10-14 (Iowa Department of Public Health, 2018). According to the 2018 Iowa Youth Survey, the number of youth who reported thoughts of suicide has increased more than 50% over the past six years. On average, GHAEA responds to at least one suicide within its schools each year. Youth involved in bullying at any capacity – both bullies and victims – are more likely to attempt suicide and suffer from anxiety and depression (Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 2015). Forty-one percent of GHAEA students reported being bullied, and 8.6% of students reported they had a plan to kill themselves (2018 Iowa Youth Survey). Roughly 30% of all crisis calls to the Boys Town National Hotline serving western Iowa were for suicide ideation and 36% were from Page 2 of 10 young people under the age of 23. Experts agree that Iowa’s youth are at a higher risk for suicide due to several contributing factors including living in rural areas, which are more isolated and have less access to mental health and other services, and greater access to firearms.

GHAEA will target all eligible schools within its service area with the goal of 85% participation or 43 TATs in two cohorts over two years (MOUs secured with schools and law enforcement partners in cohort one). TATs will participate in a nationally recognized threat assessment training and suicide risk prevention training and receive ongoing, individualized technical assistance and training to develop and implement high-quality safety plans and an anonymous reporting tip line. The project service area includes 15 predominately rural counties; nearly all of which have a population less than 15,000 residents.