School Violence, Juvenile Delinquency: Santa Cruz County CSSP

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The County of Santa Cruz will be receiving $715,000 in state grant money to address school safety and juvenile delinquency through a new Comprehensive School Safety Program. On September 12, the Board of State and Community Corrections approved the funding from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, according to Sgt. Dee Baldwin, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

The county sheriff’s office, probation department and office of education partnered in early 2019 to form the Comprehensive School Safety Program, Baldwin said. The goals and objectives of the CSSP are: 1) assess threats and potential school violence throughout the county on a regular, consistent basis; 2) develop proactive bullying prevention programs targeting parents, teachers and students; and 3) develop juvenile delinquency programs based on restorative justice and social-emotional learning.

The CSSP will initiate, coordinate and expand several evidence-based programs aimed at reducing juvenile delinquency, increasing credit accruals, reducing bullying and harassment, and improving collaboration between school districts and law enforcement with respect to threat situations and threat preparation in Santa Cruz County schools, according to Baldwin.

The proposed countywide threat assessment program will involve parents, students and teachers. The program includes countywide bullying prevention extending beyond the scope of the school environment by targeting areas such as family members and school staff, Baldwin said.

The CSSP program is designed around a three-year strategy that will use Applied Survey Research to confirm key outcomes and develop tools to measure results, according to Baldwin.

Staffing on the CSSP will include a sheriff’s office sergeant, a quarter-time assistant division director assigned to the probation department as well as a safety coordinator and two project specialists from the County Office of Education, Baldwin said.

The program will contract with the Community Action Board, a non-profit community-based
organization that operates employment and training programs for youth.

The CSSP will initiate, coordinate and expand several evidence-based programs aimed at
reducing juvenile delinquency, increasing credit accruals, reducing bullying and
harassment, and improving collaboration between school districts and law enforcement
with respect to threat situations and threat preparation in Santa Cruz County Schools. The
proposed countywide threat assessment program will involve parents, students and teachers.
The program includes county-wide bullying prevention extending beyond the scope of the
school environment by targeting areas such as family members and school staff.
The CSSP program is designed around a three-year strategy which will use Applied Survey
Research to confirm key outcomes and develop tools to measure results.