Newtown School Panel Working On Final Details Of Report
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) - The chairman of a panel created by Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to recommend public safety changes in the wake of the Newtown school shooting says the group hopes to have final recommendations approved by next month.
The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission was meeting Friday to review some outstanding issues regarding school design, mental health care and emergency response. The panel also planned to discuss whether their report should include photos of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Newtown School Panel Working On Final Details Of Report
Commission chairman Scott Jackson, the mayor of Hamden, says they are hoping their report leads to changes beyond the state borders.
As many continue trying to emotionally recover from the shooting, Dr. David Schoenfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, said it is crucial short-term programs don't end abruptly, causing anguish to family members and others who are seeking the therapy.
"As you transition from one funding mechanism to another, you often have personnel turnover, because if they're funded for six months and they don't find out until five months or sometimes seven, eight or nine months if they will have continued funding, they often leave for other positions," he told WCBS 880's Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.
The Office of the Child Advocate in Connecticut first reported the absence of coordinated mental health services for children. This was the case, the report found, in the growing up of Adam Lanza, the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary.
WEB EXTRA: Read The Full Report (pdf)
Twenty first-graders and six educators were killed at the school in 2012 by a gunman who also killed his mother and later committed suicide.
In September 2013, Gov. Malloy announced state grants have been made available to improve school safety.
Schools in 36 districts across Connecticut received $5 million in state grants to improve security in response to the Newtown school shootings, Malloy announced Wednesday.
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