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Many of today's schoolchildren face challenges much more formidable than learning how to read, write and do math. Consider:

• According to The State of America's Children Yearbook 1997, half of all children will live in a single parent household at some point in childhood.
• The U.S. Census Bureau reports that more than one-fifth of children under 18 and more than a quarter of children under age 3 live in poverty. Nearly 8.4 million children have no health insurance, which affects their ability to get routine medical care.
• According to the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council, each year 3.3 million children in the U.S. between the ages of 3 and 17 witness abuse of their mothers, and 70 percent of men who abuse their female partners also abuse the children.
• In a 1994 Gallup poll of 518 teenagers, one in five said they knew someone who had been assaulted with a knife or gun, another one in five said a friend had been a victim of rape or sexual assault, and 15 percent said their school has gangs.
• Each day in America, 311 children and youths are arrested for alcohol offenses, 403 are arrested for drug offenses, 316 are arrested for violent crimes, six commit suicide and 13 are murdered, according to the Children's Defense Fund.

Common sense tells us that children will not concentrate on their studies if they are sick or hungry, strung out on drugs, harassed by gangs, frightened by family violence, or even worried that their parents might be getting a divorce. This is true no matter how good a child's school or teacher is. Parents who are worried about how to put food on the table or have other pressing personal problems are not as likely to be involved in their children's education as parents without these problems. In turn, teachers do not have time to be social workers, even if they were trained for the job. And school staff often do not know about existing community agencies and programs that could help students and their families.

Fortunately, efforts are now being made to help schools link families to resources in the community. This article will look at two promising programs in Illinois: Project Success and the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council.

Project Success brings schools together with state and local social service providers, churches, community leaders and parents to identify children and families in need, and challenges them to collaborate in providing necessary services. The program focuses on six core service areas: preventive and primary health care; proper nutrition and nutrition education; preventive and rehabilitative mental health services; services that protect and promote the health and stability of families; substance abuse prevention, intervention and treatment; and social activities to enhance positive family interaction.

Project Success was created in 1991 by the Edgar administration and a committee that included teachers, school administrators, community based organizations, the directors of state social service agencies and the Illinois State Board of Education. A pilot program in 1992 initiated the project in six communities. As of this year, the program has expanded to 840 schools in 191 communities throughout Illinois.

The statewide Project Success steering committee is composed of representatives from the Governor's Office, the State Board of Education and the departments of Human Services, Children and Family Services, Public Aid, Public Health, Aging and Student Assistance Commission. Locally, each community program has its own governing board, which may be made up of teachers, school officials, community agency representatives and parent volunteers.

Each community designs a Project Success program tailored to its specific goals and needs, says Rosemarie Frey, assistant to the governor for Project Success in Chicago. Community activities have included health fairs for immunizations and physicals, school breakfast and summer lunch programs, counseling and dental services in schools, parent advocacy groups to strengthen skills and involvement, the distribution of school supplies, drug abuse prevention programs, anti-gang initiatives, parent-child dances, book fairs and field trips. In many communities, teachers and other school staff who spot kids in trouble may make referrals to Project Success personnel, who then contact parents and let them know about available services. Local Project Success programs have also helped community groups bring services to the school, so parents can access them at the school site.

Project Success currently is funded through a $3 million appropriation from the state legislature. State funds are augmented by support from local school districts, local organizations and businesses, in-kind contributions and community volunteers. Each new Project Success community receives a two-year state grant totaling $25,000. Existing Project Success communities are eligible for a one-time expansion grant, based on the community's needs and the scale of the expansion proposal. Governor Jim Edgar's FY1999 budget proposal includes a 33 percent funding increase, or an additional $1 million, for Project Success, and the governor hopes to see the program made available to schools in every Illinois county.

Those who have been involved with Project Success agree that the program provides a valuable service to families, schools and communities, and most of all to students. Better school and community cooperation, as well as local and state level collaboration, leads to increased access to health and social services for students and their families. Better access to community services stabilizes families, and increased family stability leads to increased student achievement.

While school systems have developed policies and training on child abuse, it is only recently that educators have begun to realize the devastating impact on children who witness adult domestic violence. These children display a broad range of reactions to the violence at home, including aggressive acting out behaviors, withdrawal, truancy and delinquency, and low social skills. The fear, anger and powerlessness that children feel are expressed in the classroom, on the playground, and to their teachers and peers. In addition, children living in homes where there is partner abuse are much more likely to be abused or neglected themselves.

Teachers are often confused about the best way to respond when a child discloses violence at home. Schools also may face legal liability issues if a father with an order of protection against him picks up children at school. Empowering educators to identify and respond more effectively to family violence is one of the goals of the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council, according to Janice DiGirolamo, co-chair of the statewide council and manager of the interpersonal violence prevention program for the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.

The Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council was convened by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1993 to promote a more coordinated justice system and community approach to ending family violence. The program functions on both the statewide and local levels, with local coordinating councils formed by judicial circuit. Members of the councils represent law enforcement, prosecution, defense, judiciary, health, religious, social service and education fields. So far, 14 local coordinating councils have been formed. With the addition of four more in 1998, the total will be 18 councils, covering 66 counties. DiGirolamo eventually hopes to see councils formed in every judicial district.

A local council is launched with a family violence symposium hosted by the chief judge. Typically, about 500 professionals attend a one-day program presented twice, on two consecutive days. National and state experts address topics such as the dynamics of domestic violence, effects on children, elder abuse, and effective responses by the criminal justice system, schools, health systems, the court system and clergy. Statewide and locally, councils have worked to establish written policies and procedures for law enforcement, prosecutors and courts; to standardize order of protection forms; to promote specialized training for dentists, law enforcement and hospital emergency room personnel; to encourage conferences and panel discussions by churches and local news media; and to recruit and train victim advocates.

Both the state and local councils have developed special committees to work with schools. The statewide council is working on a guidebook that can be used by schools in developing their own policies and responses regarding family violence, and local councils are working with courts to make sure school principals get copies of orders of protection. By participating in the local councils, educators are introduced to service providers and become familiar with the justice system.

At the school level, activities may include workshops and training for teachers on responses to family violence, curriculum materials for students on peaceful conflict resolution, provision of brochures and information on community resources for parents at health fairs and other school events, and sponsorship of poster and essay contests with themes such as "Peace on Earth Begins at Home." DiGirolamo would especially like to see school boards develop an official policy on domestic violence so teachers and administrators have a specific set of guidelines to follow when responding to the problem.

The councils and school committees will not define one model school response. Instead they will offer a range of responses that can be adapted for different school settings. For example, they may offer specific suggestions for primary versus secondary schools, along with suggestions on collaboration with service providers in a particular community.

Among the enthusiastic supporters of Project Success are participants in Danville District 118, one of the program's pilot communities. The district's collaboration with community groups has yielded a peer mediation program, substance abuse services, GED courses for parents, after-school activities for youngsters, tutoring programs, and transportation for families to school conferences. One laundromat even allows needy families to wash their clothes free.

"We were so surprised at what we ran into just that first school year," says one elementary school parent volunteer. "In a building of 356 students, we were in touch with 23 children whose parents were going through a divorce, and were able to arrange for counseling for most of those children. We were stunned to find that 17 families in the building had no electricity. We had 11 families whose homes were flooded. We have been amazed at the cooperation we have had with the social service agencies in addressing the needs parents have shared with us."

"Students who had poor attendance, for example those who have lice and can't afford the medication, have returned to school and improved their attendance," says Michelle Ramage, assistant principal at Danville’s South View Middle School. "Students who had disciplinary challenges have been more successful in their classrooms. Students who had poor grades have improved their grades."

"Parents are coming into the school building more often, families are receiving services in our community that they didn't realize existed, and students are coming to school ready to learn," says Amy S. Henkelman, executive director of the program in Danville. "Local agencies are looking deeper into their services and producing unique ways to service our families. They are becoming part of our school."

"Future educational success depends on a supportive family and community environment for our children," says Governor Edgar. "We must recognize the interrelatedness of a family and social conditions as critical factors in a child's ability to learn."

Among supporters of the family violence councils are members of the 20th Judicial Circuit's Family Violence Prevention Coordinating Council, who report considerable success so far in working with local schools. This council's education committee decided at its inception to use a "school liaison" approach. The regional superintendents of education requested each school district in the circuit (which includes St. Clair, Randolph, Monroe, Perry and Washington Counties) to appoint a liaison who would be trained and educated about family violence. In addition to the training sessions, the duties of the liaison are to be familiar with local school board policy on family violence issues and to act as a resource person for the local school staff.

Many districts chose to appoint liaisons for each school building, says Deborah Purviance, InTouch coordinator at the St. Clair County Regional Office of Education. The liaisons are often the counselor, social worker, student assistance program team leader, administrator or nurse, but some teachers have participated as well. The education subcommittee also drew up a list of questions for each school district to use in examining their own policies on family violence. Questions included DCFS mandated reporting issues, confidentiality issues, contingency plans for protectively holding students after school, any appropriate follow-up for students who were reported, and the administration and school board policy on family violence between parents.

Training sessions were held in October of 1996 and 1997. Topics included symptoms and dynamics of family violence, defining school policy on the issue, the role of the legal system, dating violence, restraining orders between parents, and building resiliency and coping strategies in students. Resources provided at the sessions included DCFS materials for mandated reporters outlining the steps to take in reporting abuse and neglect, pamphlets on social services such as women's crisis shelters and hotlines, a directory of agencies and services, and handouts on restraining orders and domestic violence.

"The participating schools have found the trainings very helpful," Purviance says. "The networking and personal connections are a visible benefit to these training sessions. Social service representatives as well as school liaisons attended the trainings, which helped people know each other and ‘demystify' the referral process."

Judy Gover, principal of Belleville District 118's West Junior High School, agrees that her school's participation in the council has provided numerous benefits. Besides introducing educators to service providers and the justice system, teachers who participate in training have gained increased confidence when handling situations in which a student discloses violence at home, she says. Counselors have helped students develop a safety plan for what to do if violence occurs, and parents have been referred to community agencies for assistance.

For more information about the family violence councils, contact Janice DiGirolamo, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 840 South Spring Street, Springfield, Illinois 62704, 217/ 785-4702.

For more information about Project Success, contact Office of the Governor, 2 1/2 State House, Springfield, Illinois 62706, 217/782-2654; or Office of the Lieutenant Governor, James R. Thompson Center, 15th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601, 312/ 814-4866.