$1M Grant Aimed at Combating School Violence in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – A $1 million grant was issued to the Indiana State Department of Health to combat school violence and provide mental health training to schools.

The grant, issued through the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, will focus on School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training with state and local governments.

According to U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler, the grant goals include training school personnel and educating students to prevent student violence, developing and operating an anonymous reporting system for school threats, and developing and operating school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams that may include coordination with law enforcement agencies and school personnel.

“We are currently experiencing a violent crime wave of epic proportions, and our schools are not immune,” said Minkler. “The Justice Department is pleased to partner with non-traditional and traditional partners like the Indiana State Department of Health, willing to illuminate the importance of school safety and reduce school violence through prevention and mental health training.”

The violent crime rate in Indianapolis is more than 250% the national average and has been steadily increasing, according to Attorney General’s records.

Experts in mental health, violence prevention, public health, media studies, and law enforcement who gathered in February 2018 at the University of Pittsburgh, Center for Bioethics and Health Law, reported gun violence across the country to be “a public health problem . . . [and] a threat to every dimension of health . . .undermin[ing] physical, mental, and social well-being.”

“I’m grateful to the DOJ for this needed funding, which will allow Indiana to not only remain a national leader in school safety, but to address gaps and increase prevention efforts,” said Indiana State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG.

The grant funding is intended to support the improvement of school security by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to violent attacks, and mitigate risk exposure. The goal is to prevent acts of violence.

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