Safe Schools/Healthy Students State Planning, Local Education Agency, and Local Community Cooperative Agreements, (Short Title: SS/HS State Program)

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2013 Safe Schools/Healthy Students State Planning, Local Education Agency, and Local Community (SS/HS State Program) cooperative agreements. The purpose of the SS/HS State Program is to create safe and supportive schools and communities by bringing the SS/HS model to scale at the state/tribe level by building partnerships among educational, behavioral health, and criminal/juvenile justice systems. By implementing this program, SAMHSA expects to achieve an increase in the number of children and youth who have access to behavioral health services; a decrease in the number of students who abuse substances; an increase in supports for early childhood development; improvements in school climate; and a reduction in the number of students who are exposed to violence. Since 1999, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Education (ED), and Justice (DOJ) have collaborated on the SS/HS Initiative. This grant program provided funding to local education agencies (LEAs) that worked in partnership with local law enforcement and juvenile justice, social service and mental health agencies, and other community organizations to plan and implement comprehensive and coordinated programs, policies, and service delivery systems that promoted the mental health of students, enhanced academic achievement, prevented violence and substance use, and created safe and respectful school climates. SAMHSA seeks to build upon the lessons from this important grant program by providing funds to disseminate the lessons learned from SS/HS by engaging state and community (including local education agencies) partnerships that will result in the successful implementation of comprehensive school violence prevention initiatives that are guided by the SS/HS model. Issues that affect the learning environment of schools - such as bullying, fighting, alcohol and substance use, need for mental health services, and truancy - cannot be solved by schools alone. Collaboration allows for combined knowledge, skills, and resources of various local public, private, and community agencies to be used in responding these issues. The SS/HS mission continues to support school and community partnerships in their efforts to develop and coordinate integrated systems that create safe, drug-free, and respectful environments for learning and to promote the behavioral health of children and youth. The SS/HS State Program partnership is designed to facilitate a closer relationship between state policy and local implementation of policies and programs to address youth violence and promote the wellness of children, youth, and families. Under this new program, development of partnerships will be required at both the state/tribe and community levels. As part of the application process, each state/tribe will select three local education agencies (LEAs) within three local communities to partner with and implement a comprehensive plan of services and strategies. In implementing the state/tribe comprehensive plan, the three LEAs will mobilize their community partners, families, and youth to transform their service delivery systems and create an integrated network of activities, programs, services, and policies to decrease youth violence and promote the healthy development of children and youth. Together, the LEAs, their community partners, and the states/tribes, are expected to improve collaboration across all child, youth, and family serving organizations, improve access to the availability of evidence-based prevention and wellness promotion practices, and focus on both school-based and community-wide strategies to prevent violence and promote the healthy development of children and youth. The SS/HS State Program supports the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan of activities, services, and strategies to decrease youth violence and promote the healthy development of children and youth. SAMHSA expects that these cooperative agreements will facilitate wide-scale adoption and operation of the SS/HS model and build state- and community-level partnerships among educational, behavioral health, and criminal/juvenile justice systems that promote systems integration and policy change and sustainable policies, infrastructure, services, and supports.

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