St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) – Canton, NY
In 2006, the St. Lawrence–Lewis BOCES Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) program launched an integrated approach that addressed school violence by a) developing mentoring programs, b) promoting school-based nutrition and fitness, c) providing school-based mental health services, and d) initiating the administration of a Youth Risk Behavior Survey every other year.
The program brought together the Mental Health, Disability Services, and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services county government agencies. They collaborated to develop a single Community Service Plan (CSP) that changed how the county conducted its annual services prioritization and planning.
The resulting prioritization of services led to lasting positive impacts such as the integration of the three county community services subcommittees.
"This is a significant structural change which promotes the timely sharing and interaction of the committee members with greater efficiency and productivity. This integration has also increased capacity of county personnel and subcommittee members to assist our rural communities to develop initiatives to address their particular needs."—Marsha A. Sawyer, Project Director