Youngkin announces $631,262 to enhance crisis management in schools

The Department of Criminal Justice Services has been awarded $631,262 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services School Violence Prevention Program.

Funds will be used to implement a crisis management enhancement project to increase communication and coordination and improve information sharing between law enforcement and school officials in order increase school safety and sustainability planning efforts.

“I am pleased to see Virginia developing stronger school-law enforcement partnerships,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. “This funding will have a significant impact on the safety and wellbeing of our school communities in Virginia.”

“Preparation is the key to ensuring the safety and security of Virginia’s schools,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Robert Mosier. “The importance of investing in resources and developing partnerships and communication between law enforcement officers and school personnel cannot be understated.”

“DCJS is committed to providing valuable resources to our school and law enforcement partners,” said Department of Criminal Justice Services Director Jackson Miller. “Our focus is to continuously improve and enhance safety in our schools across the Commonwealth by encouraging collaboration and supporting Virginia law enforcement and schools.”

DCJS will lead the project in collaboration with other state agencies, including the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia State Police. Initiatives will include the:

• Development and implementation of a uniformed, statewide crisis management plan training curriculum.
• Development of a Virginia-specific mobile crisis planning application.
• Automation of the Virginia School Safety Inspection Checklist.
• Development of age-appropriate and role-specific training videos on evidence-based response techniques to crisis events.

Through the standardization of site assessment, crisis planning, and response across Virginia, schools will facilitate an increased ability for an integrated and effective multidisciplinary response to any crisis.

In support of this grant project, the DCJS Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety is releasing new and updated resources to aid in crisis planning and crisis management for schools:

The Division Guide for Crisis Management Planning, developed in collaboration with state and national experts, is a six-step guide to forming and implementing crisis management plans.

The newly developed Virginia Safety Planning Guide for Individuals with Special Needs to help Virginia schools cultivate strategies to meet the diverse safety needs of all stakeholders within the educational community.

The updated Virginia Educator’s Guide for Planning and Conducting School Emergency Drills is designed to give faculty and staff in direct service positions, who interact with students daily, the hands-on information they need to practice the emergency response actions (drills) required by the Code of Virginia.

The DCJS Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety is a resource and training center for information and research about national and statewide safety efforts and initiatives in K–12 schools and institutions of higher education. More information about the DCJS Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety can be found here.