$923K Violence Prevention Grant Awarded To Loudoun Schools

Ashburn VA

26 January, 2022

12:21 PM

Description

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A new threat assessment and risk management tool will be coming to Loudoun County Public Schools, funded by a $923,050 grant from the Bureau of Justice. The grant would be used to implement new software that would digitize and automate the school system's threat assessment process. The Loudoun County School Board voted unanimously to approve the use of the grant funds at their meeting on Tuesday night. As proposed, the grant will be used to fund a new electronic training program for the school system's threat assessment teams. The school system would continue to use their Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines model. The proposal noted that the new digital training platform would "build, strengthen, and maintain knowledge and skills in threat assessment and suicide prevention." The training program would include digital training modules in addition to interactive virtual or in-person events. In addition to a training program, the new tool would create an electronic case management system. The case management system would allow for more collaboration between school intervention teams and community partners, county employees wrote in their proposal. Information collected through the new system would only be accessible to members of the school system's threat assessment teams. The data collected is confidential and does not identify individuals. The new tool would be fully funded by the Bureau of Justice grant through Sept. 30, 2024. After the grant ends, the tool would cost an estimated $2.25 per student. In recent years, the Loudoun County school system had more than 80,000 students. School board members said they would reassess the program and its effectiveness after the grant expires. Have a story idea? Email me at [email protected] with tips, questions, comments, or concerns