Safeguarding Children
Protecting Children at School
When our children are at school, we assume and hope that they are in a safe environment. However, we know that violence in schools has become a serious problem. Students are usually the first to hear about impending violence at school. The Attorney General has initiated several programs and partnerships to create ways for young and teen students to spot signs of troubling behavior and then get assistance when threats arise.
You Are Not Alone: Reporting Student Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is a serious problem for students at all education levels. Many students are embarrassed, confused or too afraid to report this behavior or seek help.
In October 2019, the Attorney General's Office announced a partnership with the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) to ensure students know where to find support and assistance.
ICASA provide free and confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each of the 30 community-based sexual assault crisis centers provides crisis intervention services, counseling and advocacy for those who have experienced sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment.
The Attorney General's Office has developed resources with information on how students can directly contact ICASA or a local rape crisis center. These materials were mailed to Illinois middle and high schools. Schools can also request additional resources or download them here.
- To find the local rape crisis center nearest to your school, contact ICASA at www.icasa.org or 217-753-4117
Download a 11” x 17” poster to print and customize with local details
Protecting School Children from Mass Shootings
In 2019, Attorney General Raoul initiated a unique collaboration with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) and other agencies to provides a series of trainings on behavioral threat assessment, an approach designed to help prevent mass casualty attacks. Our office has held numerous events for school administrators and school safety personnel.
From November of 2019 through June 2022, more than 2,000 individuals from community organizations and public institutions have been trained.
Contact the Attorney General's Office for more information on mass violence prevention resources and events scheduled by email to Special.Events@ilag.gov.
Reporting School Safety Threats
The state of Illinois has developed a school safety program called Safe2Help Illinois in an effort to raise awareness of threats facing schoolchildren in Illinois.
Safe2Help Illinois is a 24/7 program where students can use a free app, text/phone, and website Safe2HelpIL.com to share information on school safety issues in a confidential environment. Once vetted, the information provided will be shared with local district and school officials and/or local Public Safety Access Point/911 call center, depending on the nature of the information shared.
In the absence of a trusted adult, Safe2Help Illinois offers students a safe, confidential way to share information that might help prevent suicides, bullying, school violence or other threats to school safety.
