Keeping our kids safe: preventing threats in school

With the safety of our kids always a top concern of the Republican Caucus, the Legislature has approved the acceptance of state funding by the Onondaga County Probation Department.

Part of the $1,000,000 grant will be allocated to the hiring of a school-based Threat Assessment Coordinator. At the May meeting of the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee, the county’s new Probation Director, Kristen Jackson, explained how her department works with other county departments and outside agencies to support at-risk youth.  

“Anytime a youth makes a threat in a school, we’re notified and do an assessment and actually go through it with Mental Health, Children and Family Services, Probation, the Sheriff’s Office, the School Resource Officers, the school district and assess the case and make sure that services are in place or the appropriate interventions are put into place.”

Director Jackson says there are a lot more of these cases than expected, and the Coordinator will be able to help coordinate the flow of cases and intervention, and directly work with school districts to better the referral process and get the schools the specialized training that can help prevent a tragedy.

The other grant funding will support enhancing youth justice alternatives and diversion programs and services, establish and expand restorative justice programming, expand access to mental health programming, ease transportation and technology barriers for youth, and enhance supervision strategies for high risk youth.

“Anything we can do to get outside funding to improve our juvenile justice system I think is money well spent” the committee’s Vice Chair, Legislator Richard McCarron, said.