Juvenile court judge Terre Vandervoort heads plan to prevent school violence
LANCASTER − Fairfield County Prosecutor Kyle Witt said school safety is something that keeps him up at night.
"The tragic realities we see and the incidents of violence in our schools publicized throughout the nation, one thing that keeps you up at night is could it happen here?" he said at Tuesday's county commission meeting. "I think the public expects and deserves law enforcement and a juvenile justice system that's going to be proactive on this issue."
County officials are doing just that, as Fairfield County Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Terre Vandervoort told the commissioners about the county's school threat assessment response protocol plan. Vandervoort worked with various law enforcement, county and school officials in devising the plan.
She said preventing school violence is one of the county's priorities.
"The goal of this threat assessment protocol is so reduce the risk of an incident of targeted violence in our Fairfield County schools through the formalization of a comprehensive protocol for Fairfield County school districts, law enforcement and mental health professionals that helps identify individuals whose behavior causes concern and facilitates communication of those concerns to involved parties," Vandervoort said.
The involved parties will then decide on the best way to deal with whoever is deemed a threat.
In other meeting news:
County economic development director Rick Szabrak said the Lancaster and Fairfield Union school districts have received cars to start providing driver's education to students.
Commissioner Steve Davis was named to a state committee looking for ways to better provide attorneys for the poor in court cases.
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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Juvenile court judge leads fight against school violence in county
