Bullies can be found in every school, in every city, and in every country. Job Corps is not without its share of bullying, harassment, and hazing. Bullying victims often live in fear, their grades sometimes drop, and they occasionally develop lifelong social issues and phobias. Not only does bullying hurt the person who is tormented, bullying also affects the bully and those who witness bullying as well.

Putting an end to bullying and other unwanted behaviors takes cooperation from staff and students. According to the Department of Education’s Preventing Bullying: A Manual for Schools and Communities and Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus, a successful bullying prevention program should include school-level interventions, classroom activities, individual interventions, and community activities. On an individual level, Job Corps staff can take the following steps:

• Immediate intervention by school staff in all bullying incidents
• Formation of “friendship groups” or other supports for students who are victims of bullying
• Involvement of counselors or mental health professionals, where appropriate

A plethora of bullying-prevention information is available on the Internet, much of it free of charge. To order the manual cited above, visit the Department of Education's Online Ordering System. An on-line bullying curriculum entitled The ABCs of Bullying: Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression is available free of charge at Center for Substance Abuse Program (CSAP) Prevention Pathways Online Courses. Professionals who complete this certification may be able to obtain continuing education units (CEUs).

Some other interesting resources and sites include:

• The Bullying Prevention Handbook : A Guide for Principals, Teachers, and Counselors
• Bully Free 
• Guidelines for Responding to Student Threats of Violence 
• Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
• Blue Prints for Violence Prevention: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence