School Crisis Support Initiative

The School Crisis Support Initiative (SCSI) is a collaboration that works to prevent violence involving San Francisco public school students. SCSI brings together:

• Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF)
• San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)
• Juvenile Probation Department (JPD)
• Community-based organizations (CBOs)
• UCSF Wraparound Project
• National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR)

We identify and resolve violent incidents using de-escalation and conflict resolution techniques. Our goal is to link supports for students between the school district, City agencies, and CBOs to foster a culture of peace and safety. 

School Violence Interrupters (VIs) are CBO workers based at schools who:

• are trained in de-escalation and conflict resolution
• share students' backgrounds
• build relationships with students and school staff
• keep conflicts from becoming larger or more violent
• provide students with ongoing services like court advocacy and resource referrals

Since 2022, VIs helped resolve incidents that include threats, fights, and assaults. By building meaningful connections with groups of students and engaging them in positive activities, VIs interrupt and prevent conflicts between youth.

Conflicts between students increased nationwide after they missed peer interactions during remote learning. SCSI came together in response to this trend. Our goal is to reduce conflicts and harmful incidents in schools and communities.

1. Incident happens at school
2. Citywide intervention team notified
3. Local school internal response
4. SCSI team meeting
5. School site intervention
6. Safety meeting. 3 possible outcomes:
   1. Mental health referral
   2. Community supports and services
   3. Intensive life coaching

For more information, email info@dcyf.org.