Ind. Insurance Schedules 4 New Safer Schools Seminars in Midwest

Indiana Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, announced today that it will host four free, day-long Safer Schools Seminars beginning February 19th at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ken. Seminars will follow in Murfreesboro, Tenn. and Normal, Ill., before concluding in Indianapolis on April 16th.

According to Indiana Insurance’s release, school violence and sexual abuse are pressing concerns for school administrators, students, parents and the communities in which they live and learn. Michael Dorn, an expert in school violence prevention and founder of Safe Havens International, a non-profit organization, dedicated to assisting schools throughout the world institute best practice school safety plans, will deliver a series of presentations on this topic.

Attendees will also hear from Pam Church, founder of Childhelp’s Good Touch-Bad Touch. For more than 20 years, this nationally recognized abuse prevention program has provided curriculum and training to more than 6,000 educators in order to present children with positive, non-threatening, and practical information and skills so they can play a significant role in the prevention or interruption of sexual abuse and bullying.

Safe Havens International and Childhelp’s Good Touch-Bad Touch are members of Indiana Insurance’s Safety Advantage Network, a growing group of subject-matter and service specialists that supplement Indiana Insurance’s school loss prevention services. The 2007 Safer Schools Seminars follow a successful inaugural seminar in Columbus, Ohio last October, at which 200 school administrators and resource officers attended to learn about best practice school safety plans.

“We’re bringing together best-in-class resources and professional services to give our schools the means to become safer places for learning,” said Michael D. Connell, president and chief executive officer, Indiana Insurance. “These seminars serve as cooperative forums that allow school officials, law enforcement and our Safety Advantage Network resources to interact and understand each district’s preparedness and needs. Our School Program is committed to facilitating this cooperative approach that experts like Michael Dorn say must occur to maximize school safety.”

Polling by Safe Havens International of educators and law enforcement officials in all 50 states indicates that fewer than 10 percent of school systems have safety plans in accordance with best practice models.

Dorn will discuss the comprehensive school safety-planning model used by more than 8,000 public and private schools throughout the nation. He will address realistic anti-terrorism measures, emergency preparedness, weapons in schools, crisis planning, access control measures, the consequences of school bullying, and school hazard and vulnerability assessments.

“More kids will be injured on school playgrounds or unsecured facilities and equipment on a regular basis than in violent or crisis situations, so hazard and vulnerability assessments are absolutely critical in an overall safety plan,” said Steve Munro, loss prevention manager, Indiana Insurance, who oversees onsite evaluations at hundreds of Midwest schools each year.

Seminar attendees will be able to learn about the Safety Advantage Network’s additional service providers to schools.

•SawStop, the makers of this innovative woodshop cabinet saw will demonstrate the technology that stops and retracts the saw blade within five milliseconds of sensing an object with the same electrical signature as a finger. Approximately 60,000 table saw accidents occur annually. With SawStop, accidental contact yields little more than a slight abrasion.

•Safe Hiring Solutions is a full service employment screening firm that specializes in pre-employment background checks and employee drug screening, among other services. With more than 70 years of combined law enforcement experience on its management team, Safe Hiring Solutions’ web-based InstaScreen system enables schools and other clients to order and retrieve comprehensive reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

•BR Bleachers, is a company dedicated to providing the most experienced and professional care available for school bleachers.

•Summit Trainingweb combines expertly researched safety content with video; state-of-the-art graphics; animation; interactions and narration in providing more than 100 online training courses that address critical safety issues.

To attend any of the free Safer School Seminars presented by Indiana Insurance, register online at www.mysaferschool.com, or contact Stacey Dulin at stacey.dulin@indiana-ins.com . Registration may also be completed by phone at 800-562-2424, or by fax to 317-581-6889.

Indiana Insurance offers property and casualty products, including a comprehensive set of personal and commercial coverage, distributed only through appointed independent agents. Headquartered in Loveland, Ohio, Indiana Insurance writes insurance in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.

Source:Indiana Insurance