School Safety Contracting With Schools

1. School Safety Contracting With Schools Presented By Scott Smith MA LCPC PF Dover Counseling LLC

2. Purpose of Presentation • Provide the following: • Reasons for safety contracting • How to approach schools when safety contracting • Pitfalls to avoid when dealing Schools • How to prepare • The nuts and bolts of School Safety Contract • How to provide training for school staff monitoring safety contracts

3. What You Get In This Training Training materials included in this disc: • Form letters for trainings • Lesson plans for training educators • Handouts for trainings • Ways to deal with training problems • Slides for this training • Slides for grooming presentation Important note: Read all documents before watching the rest of this video.

4. Why Safety Contracts in Schools? • Safety concerns • Identify and protect vulnerable students both physically and emotionally • Younger children • Mentally challenged students • Disabled students • Victims of the offender

5. Why Safety Contracts in Schools? Cont. • Victim sensitivity (if in same school) • Unnecessary contact between offender and victim may cause: • Problems with victim’s recovery process (e.g., PTSD) • Interference with the victim’s “normal education”

6. Additional Benefits to Safety Contracts in Schools Collaboration of all players provides: • Holistic view of the youth • More information to assess the youth’s risk and progress • Ability to evaluate the School Safety Contract from multiple perspectives • Establishment of professional relationships

7. Additional Benefits to Safety Contracts in Schools Cont. Increased Data to aid supervision/treatment • Objective data • IQ scores • Diagnosis • Psych evals • IEP’s • 504 Behavioral Plan • Grades • Attendance

8. Additional Benefits to Safety Contracts in Schools Cont. Observation of Social interactions • Boys and girls (peers) • Authority figures (dean, teachers) • Conflict resolution skills (impulse control, anger management, frustration tolerance)

9. Additional Benefits to Safety Contracts in Schools Cont. Quality Data Gained from School • Information comes from several hours of observation (35+ hours per week) • Multiple sources = Multiple perspectives • School not motivated to cover for offender (objectivity)

10. Additional Benefits to Safety Contracts in Schools Cont. • Structured setting observations • Can they handle structure? • Compare behavior between structured vs. unstructured environments Note: May represent only time youth is faced with structure.

11. What is the best way to approach schools?

12. Usually best if: Schools are not in a “crisis mode” Plenty of time is available Meetings first take place with administration only School administration is willing to work with you School is willing to work with you How to approach schools

13. How to approach schools Cont. Usually best if: • Probation is diplomatic and assertive • Probation officers are teamed with a therapist or another probation officer (power in numbers) • Probation is prepared for this mission • Supported by the court, state’s attorney, probation administration

14. How to approach schools Cont. Usually best if: • Probation is willing to set limits and be flexible with the school • Parents and probationer are involved in the process

15. THE IMPORTANCE OF PITFALL AVOIDANCEWITH SCHOOLS

16. Pitfalls to Avoid When Dealing With Schools • Scare tactics • Appearance of being a “know it all” • Not providing training to educators • Territoriality • Their turf – we are not in charge • They have their own set of rules • Forgetting that we are guests

17. Pitfalls to Avoid When Dealing With Schools Cont. • Not standing up for specific points • Being too pushy • Trying to be an authority on everything-giving too many opinions • Trying to solve all of the school’s woes • Trying to do case management at the training with specific cases

18. Pitfalls to Avoid When Dealing With Schools Cont. • Getting off topic • Using jargon • Forgetting job roles and duties • Assuming educators have significant training and experience working with individuals that have committed sexual offenses

19. Pitfalls to Avoid When Dealing With Schools Cont. • Assuming that educators are comfortable with discussing sex offending issues • Forgetting that some educators may be sexual abuse victims and may still struggle with their own abuse • Assuming that all educators will be motivated to work with someone that has committed a sexual offense

20. Pitfalls to Avoid When Dealing With Schools Cont. • Establishing School Safety Contracts without: • A written confidentiality policy for schools • Educators being trained in Mandated Reporter status • A multidisciplinary team (i.e. all the relevant players) creating the contract • A sex offense specific risk assessment anchoring the contract

21. Pitfalls to Avoid When Dealing With Schools Cont. • Forgetting that this may be the first time that educators have had to professionally deal with sex offending issues • Forgetting that educators’ main job is TEACHING CHILDREN – For most educators, working with individuals that committed a sexual offense is more than what they bargained for.

22. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING PREPARED

23. Preparation for Training Schools • Read and understand: • Reference Information for Myths and Facts about Sex Offending • School Safety Contract • Lesson Plans and all accompanying documents

24. Preparation for Training Schools Cont. • Read through all documents with co-presenter and discuss any points that are not understood and resolve • Read through Lesson Plan 2B and complete safety plans for the 3 scenarios. Work independently of your co-presenter to look for inter-rater reliability. Safety Plans should look similar to one another. • Practice scenarios of risk in the community.

25. Preparation for Training Schools Cont. • Assign job duties to you and your presenter (who will do what?) • Rehearse your presentation at least once before presenting it • After rehearsing, be honest with yourself and determine what parts you need to improve on and make necessary changes.

26. School Safety Planning The nuts and Bolts

27. Reminder…The Purpose of the School Safety Contract • Two main features 1) Minimization of SEXUAL RECIDIVISM RISK 2) SENSITIVITY to the needs of the victim…when possible, should be placed above the concerns of the offender

28. Safety Planning Should be… • Individualized • Completed after sex offense specific evaluation/risk assessment • Completed by the MDT • Based on the offender’s risk to re- offend, triggers, past patterns and static and dynamic environmental factors

29. Safety Planning Should Be Cont. • Flexible - Restrictions can be lifted or added easily and quickly when needed • Least restrictive approach • Should be stated clearly and is understood by all • Enforced fairly, professionally and consistently • Communicated to all relevant parties (e.g., parents, teachers, PO’s therapists, coaches, substitute teachers, aides, etc.)

30. More Pitfalls to Avoid • Outdated plan • Staff forgetting the plan/plan is shelved • Containment is not universal • Violations are not reported in a timely manner • Plan is not individualized – “Boilerplate” • Denial a. “It wasn’t a big deal” b. “He’ll be okay. He won’t do it again.” c. “He won’t abuse a guy.”

31. More Pitfalls to Avoid Cont. • Reluctance to supervise - “Not me Man” • Inadequate supervision ratio • Blame is placed on the victim • Offender is viewed as “special” • Overly “policed” • Supervision is applied with emotions and not objectivity • Self-fulfilling prophecy is relayed to the offender • Plan is overly restrictive or not restrictive enough

32. Things to consider • When does the plan begin and end? • Who do you want involved? • Does your plan include special events? • Is there coverage when it is needed? • How will violations be handled? • How will violations be reported/documented?

33. Risk Situations to Consider • IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS IS NOT A EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF ALL RISK FACTORS THAT WILL EXIST. NOT ALL OF THESE RISK FACTORS WILL APPLY TO EACH YOUTH. PLANS WILL BE TAILORED TO EACH YOUTH’S INDIVIDUAL NEEDS.

34. DON’T FREAK OUT!!! NOT ALL OF THESE WILL APPLY!!!

35. Risk to Consider • Supervision at bussing times (before school and after) • Bus ride supervision • Victim and offender ride the same bus • Arrival and departure times, methods and locations • Aimless wandering of hallways – hall passes?

36. Risk to Consider Cont. • Are daycares on the premises? • Are special education students at risk? • Are younger children (3 years or more or court ordered restricted age range) at risk? • Escorts to manage frottage, highly impulsive youths, etc. • School dance restrictions to manage frottage, highly impulsive youths, etc.

37. Risk to Consider Cont. • No volunteering, tutoring, supervising younger children (3 years or more or court ordered restricted age range) • No employment in grade schools or where vulnerable students exist

38. Risk to Consider Cont. • Not hold a position of authority (e.g., crossing guard, class monitor, peer tutor, aid for younger kids, or referee for games) • Field trips and extracurricular events (with the victim, supervision, dynamic environmental risks) • Victim and offender in the same class

39. Risk to Consider Cont. • Victim and offender are on the same sport teams, academic teams, or other extracurricular organizations affiliated with the school system • Victim and offender are serving detentions or in school suspensions at the same time in the same location • Victim and offender attend same lunch period together

40. Risk to Consider Cont. • Offender will sit separately from the victim at school assemblies, sporting events, and other school sponsored activities • Offender and victim are in same PE class, lab partners, etc. • Contact sports • Showering, whirlpools, sauna, steam room, undressing and changing of clothes—Supervision?

41. Risk to Consider Cont. • Computer usage monitoring • Bathroom usage and monitoring

42. Additional Things • Review dates for the plan • Signatures of those involved • Established support network for the offender to seek out assistance when needed • Contact information of all parties • Establish MDT • Currents releases of information signed

43. We All Need to Practice CONFIDENTIALITY!!! The potential for harm, hysteria, fear, embarrassment, ostracism, re-victimization, parental outrage and safety problems increases when confidentiality is breached. Sensitive topics need to be treated sensitively.

44. How to Begin the Process with Schools

45. How to Start With Schools • Start first with administrators • Begin with a form letter stating your intention and purpose for wanting to work with their school • Follow this letter with a phone call asking for a meeting with school administration only • Send training materials to administration for their review

46. How to Start With Schools Cont. • Once administration has reviewed these materials, attend a meeting with them to discuss: • One hour training with school personnel • Training documents • Multidisciplinary team • Concerns about confidentiality • Mandated Reporter Training • Training logistics

47. How to Start With Schools Cont. • Prepare for trainings with school personnel • Refer to Lesson Plans 2A and 2B

48. Demonstration • Lesson plans • Lesson Plan 2A • Lesson Plan 2B

49. Q: Will there be a need for more training?A: Probably YES

50. Additional Training Topics • Grooming techniques • Continuum of sexual abuse • Consenting sex • Registration laws • Court orders • Normal vs. abnormal sexual expression