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BULLYING PREVENTION

The problem:  The widespread problem of bullying affects one out of every three American children in sixth through tenth grade and can lead to more serious consequences, including violent crime and death. The most serious bullies are seven times more likely than other kids to carry a weapon to school, and one study demonstrated that four of every ten boys who bullied others as kids had three or more convictions by the time they turned 24.

The solution: Fortunately, there are cost-effective, evidence-based programs that can prevent bullying and later crime and violence. For example, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program produced a 50 percent reduction of bullying in Norway and a 20 percent reduction when it was replicated in South Carolina. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have recognized this approach as a model program.

Key components of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program include:

• A school survey to determine the prevalence of bullying;
• Training, through a school conference day, for all school personnel and parent and student representatives, to review the survey results and plan program implementation;
• A bullying prevention coordinating committee (including a school administrator, a teacher from each grade, a guidance counselor, a school-based mental health professional or school psychologist, and parent and student representatives) to implement the program;
• School rules prohibiting bullying and appropriate consequences for those who engage in bullying and for those who help prevent bullying;
• Adequate adult supervision of outdoor areas, hallways, the lunchroom, and other specific areas where bullying is likely to take place;
• Class meetings to discuss the problem of bullying;
• Individual interventions with the bully, parents, and school staff, and interventions with the bullied child, parents, and school staff; and
• Parent involvement through participation in meetings, trainings, and individual interventions, as well as through information dissemination.

Legislation:  Fight Crime: Invest in Kids urges Congress to advance legislation to address the problem of bullying in our nation's schools, as part of the 110th Congress' reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, by amending the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act to facilitate the implementation of these important evidence-based bullying prevention program components in every school district across the nation.

For more information, please contact Miriam Rollin at (202) 776-0027 ext. 143 or miriam@fightcrime.org.