The Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services (RBOCES) was awarded a $1 million cooperative agreement from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention under the STOP School Violence program. The funding will support RBOCES and its Partnership for Safe and Healthy Youth (PSHY) multisector partners to expand violence prevention and early intervention programs for at-risk youth in Rockland County, New York through September 2025.
Specifically, RBOCES and PSHY will use the funding to hire four new staff positions - a project coordinator, school-based clinician, and two family resource coordinators - to provide intensive support services including home visits, school/family/community programming, and threat assessment assistance to 50 unduplicated students and families per year identified as at risk of school violence or avoidance. The services aim to improve school safety and reduce youth violence and delinquency by connecting students and families to culturally-based resources through the PSHY's existing network of county agencies and nonprofit partners.