State-Level Bullying Prevention Initiatives: Partnerships, Innovations and Equitable Practices

With approximately 21% of youth ages 12 through 18 reporting being targets of bullying, millions of children and adolescents across the United States are affected each year. Bullying has been shown to have serious, lasting effects on physical and mental health and well-being of children, youth, and their families. Three states participating in the Children’s Safety Network’s (CSN) Child Safety Learning Collaborative (CSLC) are focusing on preventing bullying through testing and adapting evidence-based strategies for their local contexts and establishing new partnerships. Each state has chosen to focus on strategies that reflect the needs and capacity of their youth-serving workforce and have modified their strategic approaches based on lessons learned from one another.