The NCHERM Group Introduces Shortcut for Colleges to Easily Comply with Campus SaVE Act

By now, many in higher education have taken a look at the VAWA Reauthorization section known as the Campus SaVE Act. This act is now law, with enforcement expected to kick in a year from now. Start planning now, because there is a lot to this new law. This amendment changes the Clery Act in ways much more substantive than previous amendments. While amendments before asked administrators to disclose existing policies, they largely did not require the creation of new policies except for the set of amendments contained in the 1992 Campus Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights. Now, those disclosures and rights have been largely eclipsed by the SaVE amendments, which will require the field to develop significant new policy language, much of the content of which is prescribed by the SaVE Act.

Summary of changes

• New hate crime categories added to the Annual Security Report
• New hate crimes and definitions added to the Annual Security Report
• Primary prevention and awareness programs required for all incoming students and new employees
• Applicable jurisdiction's definitions for hate crimes and consent required in policy
• Bystander intervention options required in policy
• Ongoing prevention and awareness campaigns required
• Parties entitled to the same opportunities to a support person/advisor at any proceeding or meeting
• Officials responsible for institutional disciplinary procedures must receive annual training
• Policy statements to include written explanation of:
• the rights of victims
• institutional responsibilities
• information about confidentiality
• prevention of retaliation

The NCHERM Group has a shortcut to SaVE you time. They have created template language to satisfy all of the new SaVE Act disclosure requirements (at least as best can be deciphered before regulations are issued). It's eight pages of model language containing policy and procedure information outlined by Title IX and Campus SaVE. This template is available from The NCHERM Group for $249.

To purchase the SaVE disclosure template, visit the online store or contact Alisha DiGiandomenico at (610) 644-3387. Please note that this template only includes the new ASR required disclosures, not all updates that were made by SaVE, such as those involving hate crimes statistics and hate crime categories. 

For additional information, please contact:

Alisha DiGiandomenico

Client Relations

610-644-3387

alisha@ncherm.org

Click here to view the official press release.

Daniel C. Swinton, Senior Executive Vice President of The NCHERM Group, quoted in The Courant

Daniel C. Swinton, senior executive vice president of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, said the 2011 letter "was them saying, 'Hey, we're serious.'"

Since then, Swinton said, the Office of Civil Rights also been far more public — with fanfare and news releases — about its efforts, releasing information on its findings in the wake of complaints, and the resulting agreements it has made with institutions about how to address the underlying problems.

In the past, Swinton said, such agreements were "normally filed away and not paid much attention to." But since 2011, "these things have taken on an added gravitas."

He said that many colleges and universities now pore over resolutions, looking for guidelines on exactly how to handle assault allegations on their own campuses.

One challenge is that the cases often involve acquaintances or friends, and often both parties had been drinking alcohol, making the cases difficult to prosecute, Swinton said. "Most of them become 'He said, she said.'"

Historically, some colleges and universities have put a lid on problems, discouraged victims from reporting and given favoritism to certain groups of people such as student-athletes, Swinton said.

"I think OCR saw enough of those and said, 'We're done with this. We are going to take more action on this, and make sure it's being enforced, because this is a major problem.'"

http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-uconn-title-nine-1027-20131026,0,4896807,full.story

Senior Executive Vice President, Daniel Swinton, Ed.D., J.D. quoted in The Jewish Daily Forward

Daniel Swinton, senior executive vice president of The NCHERM Group, a law and consulting firm that advises schools and colleges on risk management, said that if Roth lied on his application and the background check missed his convictions, it would most likely be cause for Roth’s immediate dismissal.

But if Y.U. hired Roth knowing about his convictions, Swinton said, that also poses a problem for Y.U.

Swinton, who specializes in sexual violence training, prevention and investigation, said: “Unless there’s some sort of extenuating circumstances, it’s surprising to me an institution would hire someone like this to be around its younger students — any of its students really — with a background like this.”

Swinton added: “Given what [Y.U.] is currently experiencing with these abuse allegations, you would think they would be more attuned to the issues.”

Click here for full article.

Daniel Swinton, senior executive vice president of The NCHERM Group, a law and consulting firm that advises schools and colleges on risk management, said that the majority of colleges submit new hires to a criminal background check.

The minority of colleges who do not background check staff are usually smaller institutions that are reticent to spend the time or money on such a check, he said. But Swinton added that not running a criminal background check is “not best practice and not advised in this day and age.”

He said that to ask about a criminal record on an application form but to not follow up with an independent background check is “asking for trouble, really.”

Click here for full article.

American College Counseling Association Recognizes Brett A. Sokolow, J.D. for Professional Advocacy

"ACCA was excited to recognize Brett Sokolow's contribution to college counseling through our professional advocacy award. His continued commitment to threat assessment has shaped the work of colleges and universities."

-The American College Counseling Association, on their recent conference recognition of Brett A. Sokolow, J.D., The NCHERM Group President & CEO

Advocacy for College Counseling Award

Demonstrated advocacy of college counseling services or an organization which has made a significant contribution to the improvement of college counseling services; may honor a college president, vice president, dean, board member, or legislator who has made a significant impact on the national, state, or local level. Need not be a member of ACCA.

The NCHERM Group's Affiliated Consultant, Carolyn Reinach Wolf quoted in The Washington Post

Kudos to The NCHERM Group's Affiliated Consultant, Carolyn Reinach Wolf, who was quoted in The Washington Post's "Let's Connect the Dots on Mental Illness Before Violence Occurs":

“No one connects the dots. People live and work in silos,” said Carolyn Wolf, senior partner at the Abrams Fensterman law firm in New York and director of its mental-health law practice. She specializes in getting people the care they need and in setting up systems to recognize mental-health issues that could lead to workplace or campus violence.

The School and College Organization for Prevention Educators (SCOPE) is proud to be partnered with USA Today and Media Planet to highlight violence prevention. In this article, Michelle N. Issadore, SCOPE Executive Director, explains the importance of primary prevention.

Brett A. Sokolow, NCHERM Group President & CEO, authored a commentary in The Chronicle of Higher Education: 
To help clear up confusion, the Association of Title IX Administrators, which I lead, has set forth a policy model for mandatory reporting. It recognizes that a simple rule is needed, given the disparate reporting requirements of Title VII and Title IX, which deal with discrimination; the Clery Act, which requires colleges to disclose information about campus crime; and state child-abuse laws.

http://chronicle.com/article/Mandatory-Reporting-for-Title/141785/