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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) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. 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