School Safety Manual
- Introduction
- Scope
- Keeping Children Safe – The Importance of Prevention
- The Elements of Prevention
- Policies and Procedures
- Safe Physical and Virtual Environments
- Screening and Hiring Practices
- Codes of Conduct and Monitoring
- Building a School/District Reporting Protocol: Recognizing, Responding to, and Reporting Child Abuse
- Definition of Child Maltreatment
- The Need for a Protocol
- Considerations Before Getting Started
- Creating a Child Protection Team (CPT)
- Designing a Protocol
- Problematic Sexual Behavior
- The Impact of Culture
- Can I Really Believe this Report?
- Grooming
- Procedure in Child Abuse and Neglect Situations
- Bringing in Others
- Understanding the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Response
- Anticipating Emergencies
- Notifying the Family
- Protecting the Child’s Privacy
- When the Department of Children and Families (DCF) becomes involved
- Anticipating the Impact of Implementation
- What if DCF does not respond immediately?
- What if I know that the police (or other mandated reporters) have filed a 51A on the same situation that concerns me? Do I still need to file?
- What if DCF screens out the report?
- What if the child knows that DCF has been contacted and DCF has screened out the report?
- What if the parents remove the child from school?
- What if the child has made up a story about being abused or neglected?
- A Word About Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
- Sustaining A Trauma-Sensitive Environment
- Self-audit and Sustainment
- Projections for the Future
- References and Suggested Reading
- Appendices
- A. A History of This Manual
- B. Acknowledgements
- C. Safe Kids Thrive Web Addresses (by prevention element and footnote number)
- D. Physical and Behavioral Signs of Abuse and Neglect
- E. Massachusetts general laws, chapter 119, section 51A
- F. Policy Suggestions in Review
- G. Filing an Effective 51A Report
- H. 51A Report Form
- I. What Happens When DCF Receives a 51A Report?
- J. Sample Code of Conduct and Acknowledgement Form
- K. Sample Reporting Flow Chart
- L. Glossary
- M. Resources for Educators
- N. Supplemental Guidance to Support EQT-3 Superintendent’s Circular (BPS Response to Child-Child Incidents of Sexual Behavior: Guidance for Informing Caregivers)
- O. Endnotes
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