Keeping our Children Safe: A Systems Approach for Jewish Day Schools DINA R ABHAN AND BRIAN FRIEDMAN
I N STI TU TE FO R U N I V E R S I TY– S C H O O L PA R T N E R S H I P • R E S E A R C H I N P R ACT I C E S E R I E S
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Keeping our Children Safe: A Systems Approach for Jewish Day Schools DINA R ABHAN AND BRIAN FRIEDMAN
TH I S R E S E AR C H WAS MAD E P O S S I B LE TH R O U G H T H E G E N E R O US S U P P O R T O F JAC K A N D CA R O L F O R G AS H. I N STI TU TE FO R U N I V E R S I TY– S C H O O L PA R T N E R S H I P • R E S E A R C H I N P R ACT I C E S E R I E S
KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
VIGNET TE
Miriam, a bright and outgoing third grader, has recently become quiet and withdrawn. She has also been coming to school late and in a disheveled state. Usually well prepared, her homework is late and incomplete. Chaim, age 7, has an unusual bruise on the right side of his face. When asked, Chaim answers haltingly that he fell off of his bike. In most instances, it is nothing. But do teachers in both of these scenarios understand their role in clarifying the source of the injury? Are they aware of the protocols and policy for addressing concerns of abuse in their schools? Do they notice the red flags? To whom do they bring their concerns? What is the procedure for follow up?
Child abuse is a serious problem that does not discriminate according to socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, geographical region or level of education. Unfortunately, the Jewish community is not immune from the tragedy of abuse and has been addressing this issue with greater frequency in the recent past. Interestingly, abuse has seldom been studied and is rarely discussed in the context of the Jewish day school. What unique role does the Jewish day school play with issues related to abuse? Do schools need to approach issues related to abuse differently than other communal organizations? This publication will raise awareness and demonstrate the vital importance for schools to commit the necessary time and attention to the issue of child abuse. Although this publication is not intended to replace the necessary administrator and faculty training, practical steps to improve the protection of children will be outlined. The attention schools pay to this important matter can strengthen their environment and, most importantly, it can better protect our children and save lives.
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
What is the Definition of Abuse? 1.
Physical abuse is when a parent (or legal guardian) commits a physical act which causes serious physical injury to a child. Although the injury is not an accident, the parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child. The injury often results from out of control rage and anger, which can lead to over-discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the child’s age or condition.
I. Physical abuse can be the result of: a. punching b. beating c. kicking d. biting e. burning f. shaking g. or otherwise harming a child physically 2. Sexual abuse is defined as contacts or interactions between a child and an adult when the child is being used for sexual stimulation when the perpetrator or another person is in a position of power or control over the victim. Sexual abuse can include actual physical contact, as well as non-physical forms, such as making a child watch sexual acts or pornography. 3. Child neglect is characterized by failure to provide for the child’s basic needs. Neglect can be physical, educational or emotional. I. Physical neglect includes: a. abandonment b. expulsion from the home c. inadequate supervision
Child abuse is a serious problem that does not discriminate according to socio-
II. Educational neglect includes: a. the allowance of chronic truancy b. failure to enroll a child in school c. failure to attend to special education needs
economic status, religious affiliation,
III. Emotional neglect includes: a. failure to provide necessary psychological care b. spousal abuse in the child’s presence c. allowing the use of drugs and alcohol by a minor 4. Emotional abuse includes acts or omissions by the parents or other caregivers that cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental impairments. I. Emotional abuse includes: a. the use of extreme forms of punishment b. habitual scapegoating c. belittling d. rejecting treatment 3
geographical region or level of education.
KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
Researchers and law enforcement officials take into account cultural norms of the participants and are often forced to discern between “culturally acceptable behavior” and when something has crossed the line into abuse. It should be noted that despite the desire to differentiate between these categories, it is often the case that a child is victim to multiple forms of abuse simultaneously. Therefore, this paper will use the generic term “abuse” to encompass both neglect and abuse of all kinds.
Abuse Exists in Jewish Communities No reliable statistics exist on abuse within our community due to the fact that it is often secretive and remains unknown or unreported. However, studies have indicated and anecdotal evidence supports the reality that our community is seriously affected by abuse and it remains a real concern and risk. There has been a sharp increase in the need for more mental health practitioners with expertise in abuse and trauma to manage the growing number of cases and individuals affected. Abuse is an issue our community cannot ignore.
Impact of Abuse on a Child Childhood abuse can have both short- and long-term consequences and negatively impact the child’s social, emotional, educational, behavioral and spiritual development. Short-term consequences include: • Withdrawing from friends and family members and refusing to participate in previously enjoyable activities • Increased disruptive behaviors in class or disengagement from learning • Lower educational attainment and academic achievement and an increased need for special educational support services • Engaging in risky sexual behavior, abuse drugs and alcohol, and other criminal behavior
Long-term consequences include: • Increased health risks, as abuse has been correlated with obesity and cardiovascular disease • Increased mental health problems in adulthood, including increased diagnosis of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and anti-social personality disorder • Difficulty maintaining healthy and appropriate dating and marriage relationships • Higher incidence of spiritual disengagement
It often takes years of intensive therapy to mitigate the damage that is done to a victim of childhood abuse, however, early identification and intervention can drastically change the prognosis of an abused child.
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Early identification and intervention can drastically change the prognosis of an abused child.
KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
The Importance of Early Identification and Intervention Research indicates that early identification of abuse and the manner in which a child is received when they disclose the abuse is critical to the long-term outcomes for that child and can mitigate the long-term consequences. Early identification can minimize the number of abusive incidents a child experiences while initiating interventions and therapy at a younger age. Sometimes symptoms of abuse are glaringly apparent yet frequently they are subtle and likely to be missed. If school staff does not know what abuse looks like, they will be unable to notice the signs. After an initial comprehensive training, subsequent annual staff trainings as short as 90 minutes is essential for identifying victims of abuse and does not require a significant investment of time or money.
Jewish Day Schools Play a Vital Role Schools must recognize the vital role they play in every child’s life and the enormous responsibility they have to ensure the safety and protection of all students. A whole child approach to education espouses that all children are given the opportunity to learn and maximize their full potential. A prerequisite for any successful learning is a safe environment. It is the responsibility of all the adults associated with the school, including the administration, faculty, school board and staff, to ensure that all children feel safe within the school grounds. Since children spend a majority of their time at school, it is therefore not surprising that many of the negative consequences and manifestations associated with abuse emerge on school premises. Whether in social, emotional, academic, spiritual or behavioral domains, abuse can impact not only the victim, but the other students, teachers and the broader school community as well. Being ill-equipped to identify and manage issues related to abuse and allowing child victims of abuse to go unnoticed will impact the school experience for the victim and potentially their peers as well.
Schools Can Be a Safe Haven For victims of abuse, school may be the only place they feel safe. This can result in schools being a place children are more likely to disclose abuse.
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
VIGNET TE
A sixth grade Talmud teacher made a decision to skip over some sexually explicit content in the Gemara. A number of boys in the class began to snicker and giggle. The teacher looked at the boys and asked what they were laughing about. One boy said, “Rabbi, we know more about this stuff than you’ll ever know in your life.” The teacher quieted the rowdy group and continued to teach. At the end of the class, the teacher asked to speak with the boy that made the declaration. Rather than punishing the student, the teacher used the opportunity to explore the comment and to understand whether there was more behind it. This gentle conversation led to the uncovering of a member of the community who was sexually abusing a number of the boys. This boy was a victim as well. The teacher could have easily dismissed the comment, or worse, punished the boy. In the end, this teacher’s sensitivity and wisdom saved the lives of many children and put an end to a heinous crime.
To ensure the school is safe and the staff is prepared to identify signs of abuse and are prepared for
Recognizing and responding to disclosures of abuse are not intuitive. In fact, hearing about abuse is frequently disturbing and shocking to many. Staff reaction to a child disclosing abuse is critical in the further protection of the child as well as the longterm outcome for the victim. An uninformed or negative reaction can do further harm to the victim of abuse. To ensure the school is safe and the staff is prepared to identify signs of abuse and are prepared for disclosures, school administrators need to establish a system-wide approach to child abuse awareness and prevention.
Research by Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership In April 2010, Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership (YUSP), with the assistance of two leading researchers in the field of child abuse, Dr. Isaac Schechter and Dr. David Pelcovitz, distributed a questionnaire to the professional leadership of 320 day schools in North America. The survey was designed to be the initial stage of a process of engaging the community through its schools and stakeholders to understand the difficult topic of abuse. It was the first known attempt at trying to understand the topic of child abuse in the Jewish community through the prism of the Jewish day school and its leadership. More than 40 percent of those surveyed responded to the questionnaire, representing an extremely robust response rate (as compared to the 10 to 20 percent usually expected in social sciences) and likely indicates the interest in addressing issues related to abuse. Responses came from heads of schools, principals, vice principals, teachers and members of guidance departments. The diversity in job titles suggests that schools use a variety of different approaches and personnel in dealing with abuse. The current analysis includes the responses of 118 people who self-identified as heads of schools, principals and vice-principals. The responses are representative of a broad
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disclosures, school administrators need to establish a systemwide approach to child abuse awareness and prevention.
KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
spectrum within the Jewish community, with a concentration of Modern Orthodox day schools, including a variety of school sizes and locations from across North America. The schools sampled have a total student enrollment that exceeds 35,000; a very significant swath of the Jewish school system.
Research The analyses were designed to establish a baseline of current practices and trends within Jewish day schools to inform and guide the YUSP intervention and education strategies. We specifically focused on five areas that research suggests are critical in determining a school’s ability to address abuse: 1. Presence of policies and procedures 2. Staff awareness of policies and procedures 3. Frequency of professional development about abuse 4. Ability to identify warning signs of abuse 5. Confidence in school’s ability to deal with cases of abuse once they arise
Results Policies are written but not known to staff It is essential that all schools have clear policies and procedures about abuse that are known to their staff. To be most effective, schools should have written policies and procedures that are known and reviewed annually with staff and that provide clear guidelines of how to act when a staff member either sees the signs of abuse or a child discloses abuse. 62 percent of respondents have a written policy about abuse. However, of those who have a written policy, 16 percent (nearly 1/6) said that the policy is not known to staff. An additional 3 percent did not know whether they had a written policy or not. Such percentages make it nearly impossible for a school to be properly prepared to identify and manage cases of abuse.
Does your school have a written policy on abuse? 3%
Yes No
35% 62%
I do not know
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
Does your school have clear policies and procedures about abuse?
100% 90% 80% 70%
62%
60%
52%
50% 40% 30%
19%
20%
16% 3%
10% 0%
Written Policy
Known to Staff
Oral Policy
No Policy at All
Do Not Know
The absence of ongoing, annual professional development and training about abuse School leaders understand the importance of professional development and the ongoing learning of educators. Educators understand that a precursor to all learning is a safe environment, where children feel secure and nurtured. Furthermore, educators understand that a disruption in a child’s social, emotional and physical wellbeing may prevent a child from learning effectively and potentially prevent others from learning as well. Schools have long recognized this and continue to spend professional development opportunities discussing and learning more about the many influencing factors for optimal learning experiences. However, only 25 percent of the responding schools have offered a professional development opportunity about abuse to staff within that academic year. Three out of every four schools chose NOT to spend the time training their staff on current policies, laws and best practices in cases of abuse during that year. 59 percent have had a training at some other point in years past and 16 percent have never had a training on abuse for their staff.
When was your last training on abuse?
16% 25%
Within the Academic Year At Another Point Never
59%
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
Inability to identify signs of abuse We asked administrators to assess their belief that they can identify signs of abuse. Identifying warning signs are one of the most critical components in preventing abuse from continuing. Troublingly, only 14 percent of survey respondents felt confident that they could identify the behavioral, emotional and physical signs of abuse. Similarly, only 14 percent felt that their staff could identify the warning signs of abuse. These numbers are cause for great concern but can be significantly improved with an initial comprehensive training and subsequent regular, annual trainings that can be as short as 90 minutes.
How confident are you in identifying signs of abuse?
100% 90% 80% 70% 60%
86.5%
86% Not Confident
50%
Confident
40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
13.5% Administrator
14% Staff
Discussion of Results The research effectively highlights the existing gaps in how schools approach issues related to abuse. An overwhelming majority of schools are ill-prepared to effectively deal with issues related to abuse because they lack articulated and known policies and procedures, adequate training and the confidence in their own or their staff’s ability to identify signs of abuse. The absence of the aforementioned demonstrates the lack of understanding of the vital importance of school-wide systems dealing with abuse and further underscores that school leaders do not fully appreciate the important role a school plays in protecting students.
Schools are on the frontlines of dealing with issues related to abuse and have the capacity to significantly help children. Children spend more time at school than at home and the school environment is particularly conducive for signs and symptoms of abuse to emerge, whether in the social, emotional, behavioral or academic behaviors of a student. Simple steps can effect change and have a life altering impact on a child’s life.
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
What Schools Can Do: The YUSP Four-Step Approach Four simple steps can increase the safety in our schools and better equip our educators to deal with the challenges of child abuse. Each step does not suffice alone but must be part of an integrated, comprehensive, school-wide approach toward dealing with abuse. STEP 1: Develop new and up-to-date policies and procedures. YUSP has standard
templates of policies and procedures that can be tailored to each specific school. These procedures should be reviewed every year with the entire staff, included in faculty handbooks and signed by every person at the start of the new school year. Policies concerning the use of technology, social media and appropriate modes of communication between faculty and students must now be included. STEP 2: Offer annual professional development related to abuse. This will ensure that all
staff members understand the school’s legal procedures and are very confident and comfortable identifying all forms of abuse. A focus on what must be done once the abuse is recognized or a child discloses is critical as well. Furthermore, beyond the formal trainings, there should be ongoing conversations about child safety so it is clear to the staff that issues related to abuse are something everyone knows about and is familiar with. The school must have a shared language around issues of abuse. Teachers are often nervous and scared to discuss issues related to abuse. Creating a safe space to do so will help teachers be more effective in their critical role around identifying abuse. STEP 3: Establish a Child Safety Response Team (CSRT). The CSRT is comprised of
representatives from the administration, faculty, mental health team and legal representatives to deal with issues of abuse as they arise and to ensure that there is a collaborative and holistic approach to addressing issues of abuse. Moreover, the CSRT should be known to the entire school community and any concerns that may arise would be brought to them. When an issue of abuse arises, it often induces a crisis and panic response. A CSRT is prepared to address all issues around abuse and take great care in deliberately and carefully communicating necessary information to all of the school’s stakeholders. STEP 4: Encourage parent partnership and communication. All parents should be made
aware of school policies and procedures and the Child Safety Response Team. Parents benefit from regular trainings in talking to their children about abuse and in maintaining open and transparent communication with the school.
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
Conclusion Schools take pride in being safe places for children. Fire drills take place every year to ensure that every single person on staff knows what the fire drill policies and procedures are. There are often signs up in the hallway and in each classroom outlining procedures in the event of a real fire. Schools take time to practice what happens in the event of a real fire. Never would a school assume that since teachers practiced the fire drills last year or once before that there is no need to practice again. In fact, schools are acutely aware that in the event of a real fire, without the proper training and practice, there would be chaos. Child abuse is as serious as the dangers of fire and can equally harm a child. For schools to be safe places for children, every single person on the school staff must know what abuse looks like and what to do if a child reports abuse or if a child displays any signs or symptoms of abuse. Without training and comprehensive systems in place, fewer cases of abuse will be identified as most cases will go unnoticed. For the few cases that are identified, the process of identification and the ensuing management of such cases often induce a level of chaos and crisis with high levels of anxiety and stress by all involved, most particularly the teacher who is interacting with the child most closely. The YUSP Four-Step Approach will lead to better prepared schools, a more effective approach toward issues related to abuse and, most importantly, better servicing of the needs of all of our students. For more information and for consultation, contact Dina Rabhan at rabhan@yu.edu For a bibliography with some key follow up resources/links, visit www.jfsla.org/page.aspx?pid=767
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
DINA RABHAN is the director of the human resource development office at Yeshiva
University’s Institute for University-School Partnership. In collaboration with her colleagues, Dina’s office provides a comprehensive continuum of support to the teachers and leaders in the field of Jewish education. She is responsible for identifying, recruiting and developing emerging teachers and leaders. Additionally, she supports schools and candidates during the job placement process and provides a wide array of support, enrichment and professional development opportunities for all future and current teachers and leaders. Dina is a licensed social worker who has been involved in education formally and informally in the Jewish community for the past 20 years. She has taught and lectured extensively on various topics and themes related to Judaism and its rich culture to diverse audiences and broad age ranges. As a social worker, Dina worked in schools and as a private consultant for students with educational and emotional needs. She also worked in a partial hospitalization program for the chronically mentally ill and in an out-patient rehabilitation program for chemical dependence and substance abuse. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in education at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration with a concentration on psychology of student support and school leadership. As part of her dissertation work she is managing the CARE (Comprehensive Abuse Response Education) program and working in conjunction with Dr. David Pelcovitz to better understand school systems addressing issues related to child abuse.
BRIAN FRIEDMAN received his BA in psychology from Yeshiva University in 2007 and
his masters and PsyD in school psychology from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University in 2012. Brian has worked in public and private schools providing academic assessment, student guidance and consultation services to teachers and administrators. He has worked with school personnel in developing, implementing and evaluating school-wide prevention programs to help ensure a safe learning environment that meets the academic, emotional, behavioral and spiritual needs of all students. As part of his internship at the Institute for University-School Partnership, Brian worked as the program coordinator of the Comprehensive Abuse Response Education (CARE) program and the BRAVE Bully Reduction and Social Leadership Development project. He currently lives in Maaleh Adumim, Israel, where he works as a school psychologist in the local school district.
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KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE : A SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS
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500 West 185th Street, BH 214 New York, NY 10033 212.960.5260 schoolpartnership@yu.edu • www.yu.edu