2018- 2024. With funding from the Department of Justice’s Stop School Violence Act grant, the California Department of Education (CDE) is implementing Project Cal-STOP in schools throughout California. The program will train school staff and students to prevent school violence by delivering the Know the Signs programs in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise; train district and school staff to respond to related mental health crises by expanding CDE’s current Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) and other mental health trainings; and train students through on-campus student-led clubs to promote connectedness, increase mental health awareness, reduce stigma, and empower students to bring change to create a positive school culture. The CDE contracted with our School Health Evaluation and Research Team to evaluate the reach and impacts of Cal-STOP on student mental health and violence prevention. Training progress and impact data is being collected on training and webinar participant surveys, SAVE Promise Club advisor and student training surveys, and interviews with administrators and lead mental health staff. The evaluation findings will provide perspectives on school violence, students’ mental health needs, effective strategies to address school violence, and whether Project Cal-STOP affected their school culture.
