Published by the National Institute of Justice, The Appropriate and Effective Use of Security Technologies in U.S. Schools provides guidelines that will assist school administrators and law enforcement officials in analyzing a school's vulnerability to violence, theft, and vandalism and in considering security technologies to address these problems.

Based on a 7-year study of more than 100 schools, the report offers practical information on diverse aspects of security and describes commercially available technologies and the potential safety benefits that may accrue from their use.

The Appropriate and Effective Use of Security Technologies in U.S. Schools (NCJ 178265) is available at no charge online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/178265.htm or for $3 by contacting the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-8736 or visiting www.puborder.ncjrs.org.

Federal Activities Addressing Violence in Schools

This online report, produced by the Division of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is designed to facilitate the coordination of Federal activities focused on school violence prevention. The inventory of Federal activities presented in Federal Activities Addressing Violence in Schools will be updated semiannually.

The inventory identifies all ongoing and recently completed projects that either directly address the problem of violence that occurs on school property, around school, or at school-associated events or indirectly address the problem of school violence by focusing on precursors of violence, factors associated with violence, or mechanisms for preventing violent behavior.

For each project, the inventory provides information on the lead or funding agency and collaborating Federal agencies and non-Federal partners and provides contact information for Federal agency staff.

Federal Activities Addressing Violence in Schools is available online at www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/violence or by contacting the Division of Adolescent and School Health at 888-231-6405 or healthyyouth@cdc.gov.

Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2000

The third edition of Indicators of School Crime and Safety, a joint publication of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, is a companion document to the 2000 Annual Report on School Safety (see below). The publications were developed in response to a 1998 Presidential request for an annual report card on school violence.

Indicators provides data on crime occurring in and around schools, presented from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population. It also includes data on crime away from school to provide a context in which to assess school crime. The report is organized as a series of indicators that provide data on violent deaths at school, nonfatal student victimization, violence and crime at school, nonfatal teacher victimization, and school environment. Individual indicators are updated online as new data become available throughout the year.

Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2000 (NCJ 184176) is available online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iscs00.htm or by contacting the Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse at 800-732-3277 or the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (see the order form).

2000 Annual Report on School Safety

Published by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, the 2000 Annual Report on School Safety highlights the nature and scope of school violence by examining data on issues such as homicides and suicides at school, crimes against students and teachers, student perceptions of school safety, and school discipline.

The report also details the work of grantees under the Safe Schools/ Healthy Students Initiative, which is administered jointly by OJJDP, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, and the Center for Mental Health Service, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Initiative promotes comprehensive strategies that provide students, schools, and communities with coordinated educational, mental health, social service, law enforcement, and juvenile justice system services under community partnerships.

The 2000 Annual Report on School Safety is available online at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/violvict.html or by contacting the U.S. Department of Education at 877-433-7827.

Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide

Published by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide provides a comprehensive model for making schools safer and offers practical steps that schools can take to design and implement comprehensive school safety plans, reduce violence, and help children gain access to needed services.

The model's three stages include prevention, early intervention, and intensive intervention. The services encompassed in these stages can reduce violence and other troubling behaviors in schools and help schools improve long-term academic, behavioral, social, and emotional outcomes for students and their families.

Safeguarding Our Children explains how to implement schoolwide teams and student support teams, describes how these teams can improve school safety, provides information about technical assistance centers and other resources that schools can use to build upon their strengths and the strengths of their community, and emphasizes the importance of strategic planning, capacity building, comprehensive approaches, teamwork, and community involvement in successful schools.

Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide (NCJ 182606) is available by contacting the U.S. Department of Education at 877-433-7827 or visiting the Ed Pubs Web site, www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.

Alternatives in Education Since 1992, OJJDP has funded the Juvenile Justice Telecommunications Assistance Project at Eastern Kentucky University to train and inform a geographically diverse juvenile justice constituency through satellite teleconferencing. This technology has become an integral part of OJJDP's continuing efforts to promptly disseminate new information to professionals across the Nation. The most recent teleconference, Alternatives in Education for Safety and Learning, was held May 8, 2001. Presented by the Hamilton Fish Institute and its partners in the Hamilton Fish Consortium, the broadcast featured four ongoing demonstrations of alternative education programs in Eugene, OR; Fredricksburg, VA; Jacksonville, FL; and Syracuse, NY. The teleconference sought to describe historical and modern practices in alternative education; illustrate the benefits of alternative education to students, teachers, and communities; and showcase the Institute's efforts through the demonstration programs to reduce violence in schools and communities. Of interest to educators, law enforcement agencies, policymakers, youth services organizations, community agencies, and others concerned with effective implementation of alternative education programs, this broadcast is available on videotape from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (see the order form). Visit the "Calendar of Events" section of the OJJDP Web site (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org) for a list of past and upcoming teleconferences.