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Hi all,

Some of the "people in Washington" have expressed concerns that I am
downplaying the concerns of the risks to young people online. Please
recognize that since 1995 I have been focusing on the concerns of a minority
of young people who are at greater risk online. In fact, you can see my 2000
testimony to the COPA Commission here:
http://www.copacommission.org/meetings/hearing3/willard.pdf

"The more important question, therefore, is how can we help young people
gain the knowledge, decision-making skills, and motivation to make safe and
responsible choices when they are using the Internet."

"The teens that present the greatest concern are those who engage in
continued excessive participation in darkside sites and activities. The
teens who are most at risk are likely outcasts in the school environment and
have come from dysfunctional families where they have been victims of sexual
and/or physical abuse."

In this document you will see that I recognize the difference between those
young people who are at greater risk and all students - this was BEFORE the
research that validated this. I indicate that it is important to teach all
students about these issues and good decision-making. And that the concerns
of a minority of young people require more in-depth intervention. I also
suggest that reliance on filtering in schools can lead to false security and
the failure to set other approaches in place to more effectively supervise
what students are doing online. I essentially forecasted the emergence of
Web 2.0 technologies and the fact that filtering will not be an effective
tool. 

Given that I have been on this same path for so long, you might be able to
understand my frustration that many people still do not recognize the
distinction - or spectrum - of risk and the need to implement more
comprehensive approaches to address the concerns presented by those young
people who are at higher risk online.

So what do we know about these young people? Well, the research is now
demonstrating, just as I noted in 2000, that these are generally young
people who are already at risk on the Real World - psychosocial concerns,
difficulties with parents engage in risk behavior on and off-line - just
like I said back in 2000.

The areas of risk include risk sexual and personal relationship behavior
(sexting, arranging for sexual hook-ups, being exploited or engaging in
exploitation, engaging in sexual prostitution, trafficking in porn, abusive
partners, unsafe online dating), electronic aggression (cyberbullying),
posting threatening material online, engaging in unsafe online communities
that support self-harm like anorexia and self-cutting, and engaging in
dangerous online communities like hate groups and gangs - underlying issues
of concern include addictive access, unsafe posting of material, and unsafe
interactions with others.

Here is what I have suggested is needed:

* A program to address youth risk online that is coordinated by DOJ (OJJDP
and ICAC), DOE (Safe Schools and Ed Tech), and HHS (SAMHSA and CDC).

* Block grants to the states to organize state level task forces ­ which
will include juvenile justice, Internet crime, safe schools, ed tech, and
mental heath.

* Funding to CDC to develop a better risk assessment tool and to coordinate
research initiatives.

* Discretionary grant funding to agencies, education agencies, and
organizations to develop and implement risk prevention and intervention
initiatives, including online initiatives, to address the concerns of the
young people who are at greater risk online.

* Specific provisions in the legislation to ensure that projects have a
reasonable likelihood of success, with ongoing evaluation. Also a mechanism
to encourage ongoing interactions between grantees so they can learn from
each otheršs successes or failures. Preferably designating Crimes Against
Children Research Center as the technical advisory group ­ because they are
already doing evaluations about effectiveness in this area and they do good
research. Note: this is very important because there are currently no
evidence-based best practices in this area. So we need to ensure
accountability. 

* And the presentation of this program needs to be framed in the reality
that the majority of young people are generally making good choices online
and effectively responding to the negative incidents that do occur. This
program is necessary because the research has demonstrated that some young
people are at higher risk.


For those of you who are at a level to make recommendations at a district
level, I strongly urge you to address the "Internet safety" in a two-part
approach:

Universal digital media safety and literacy education - what information
will you provide to all students about these issues. The planning for this
MUST include ed tech personnel, librarians, health educators, counselors,
and school resource officers. I will have much more information on this in
tomorrow's email. 

Targeted risk prevention for those young people who are at greater risk -
especially addressing the issues of concern that while they may be occurring
off-campus are impacting the schools. This includes all of the above list of
more significant concerns.

These concerns are grounded in mental health concerns - or victimization
could lead to mental health concerns. Sometimes the issues reach the level
of criminal concerns. Many times there is an impact at schools.

So school districts MUST pursue collaboration to address these concerns with
local law enforcement and mental health. And if you have any voice at the
state level, this kind of collaboration also needs to occur at that level.

I have been informed that I was in error in my earlier message. The person
who is presenting at FOSI is Jonathan Pyatt, who is Deputy Chief of Rep
Wasserman Schultz's office. He is one of the ones who helped orchestrate
Rep. Wasserman Schultz's attack on my credibility at the hearing.

More tomorrow. Please feel free to forward these messages to those who might
benefit from reading them.

Nancy

-- 
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
http://csriu.org
http://cyberbully.org
http://cyber-safe-kids.com
http://csriu.wordpress.com
nwillard@csriu.org

Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social
Aggression, Threats, and Distress (Research Press)

Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn to Use the
Internet Safely and Responsibly (Jossey-Bass)

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