07715A65934F1713872584340069FF4B Hearing Summary

The committee returned to order. Sarah Barnes and Erica Maoatl, representing the Colorado Children's Campaign, provided their slide deck (Attachment J) and two handouts about creating safe school environments in Colorado (Attachments K and L). They began with a discussion of how safe schools are for kids. Ms. Manoatl indicated that the research community knows very little about school shooting events and how to stop them due to the relatively low numbers of such shootings. She provided data to show that nonfatal victimization of U.S. students in schools has decreased steadily since 1992. She talked about common settings for active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013. Ms. Manoatl turned to a discussion about how certain experiences and exposures can make a young person more or less likely to engage in violent behavior.

Ms. Barnes spoke about which youth violence prevention strategies have shown results. These include in-school mental health services and behavioral interventions, positive school climate, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and threat assessment processes. In terms of the impact of physical security measures and school resource officers, Ms. Manoatl indicated that research does not exist regarding their effectiveness. Ms. Barnes discussed how Colorado has invested in school safety so far and what are some best practices in the field regarding policy. She provided a list of recommendations for improving the safety of students overall, but especially in schools.

Dr. Anne Williford, representing the National Association of Social Workers, Colorado Chapter, spoke about her professional background in the area of youth violence in schools. She discussed preventative approaches to reducing school violence. Her presentation slides provide more specific information (Attachment M).

Felicidad Fraser, representing the National Association of Social Workers, spoke about her experiencing working with high-risk students in schools. The members of the panel responded to questions from the committee.

Committee questions continued for the panel.