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The "Safe School Initiative" was implemented through the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center and the Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program. The "Initiative" drew from the Secret Service's experience in studying and preventing assassination and other types of targeted violence and the Department of Education's expertise in helping schools facilitate learning through the creation of safe environments for students, faculty, and staff. This document, the "Safe School Initiative's" final report, details how the two agencies studied school-based attacks and what they found. Some of the findings may surprise readers. It is clear that there is no simple explanation as to why these attacks have occurred. Nor is there a simple solution to stop this problem. But the findings of the "Safe School Initiative" do suggest that some future attacks may be preventable if those responsible for safety in schools know what questions to ask and where to uncover information that may help with efforts to intervene before a school attack can occur. It is hoped that the information presented in this final report is useful to individuals on the front lines of this problem--the administrators, educators, law enforcement officials, and others with protective responsibilities in schools--and to anyone concerned with children's safety. Appendices include: (1) Incidents of Targeted School Violence by State; (2) Incidents of Targeted School Violence, by Year; and (3) Resources. (Contains 31 footnotes, 13 resources and 2 online resources.) [This report is an update of "The Final Report and Findings of the "Safe School Initiative": Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States", which was published on May 2002. To access this report, see ED466024.]

This publication results from on ongoing collaboration between the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. Its goals are to determine whether it could have been known that incidents of targeted violence at schools were being planned and whether anything could have been done to prevent them from occurring. Results from the Secret Service's Exceptional Case Study Project (ECSP) are used to organize planning. This report describes the Safe School Initiative, defines "targeted" school violence, and discusses the prevalence of school violence in American schools. The methodology of this study, sources of information, and an analysis of survey responses are also discussed. Incidents of targeted school violence are characterized, including characteristics of the attacker, conceptualization of the attack, and signaling, advancing, and resolving the attack. Implications of study findings and the use of threat assessment as a strategy to prevent school violence are presented. Appendix A lists incidents of targeted school violence by state; Appendix B lists these incidents by year; and Appendix C is a list of resources. Contact information follows the appendices. (Contains 13 references and 2 Web site resources.) (RT)

This formative evaluation study of Home Start uses a case study approach. A brief case study focuses on the administrative structure and staff resources and responsibilities of National Home Start. Also included are reports on seven local programs developed after two field visits had been made to each program. In the first visit, objectives chosen by the program staff were identified. During the later site visit, program staff were asked to describe successes and/or failures in reaching preliminary goals, to define those goals, and to describe the working relationship between program objectives and actual services provided for enrolled families. Each case study includes general information regarding program type, sponsors, admission criteria, start-up date, and hours of operation. Specific descriptive data on enrollment, characteristics of the families involved, staff, and funding is included. Most of the report's information is relayed in the following discussion sections: (1) Progress Report, (2) Administration and Training, (3) Parent Participation, and (4) Family Needs and Program Services. (DP)