SCN Center Welcome Message

Welcome to the Secure Community Network (SCN) website. Working together for more than two years, member agencies of the Jewish community, security experts and law enforcement officials have established the Secure Community Network as a primary vehicle to facilitate sharing of information and policy protocols concerning Jewish communal security...

Why SCN?

SCN (Secure Community Network) is part of the Jewish community’s response to heightened security concerns in the United States. Through SCN, the organized Jewish community is coordinating and addressing critical safety and security needs in addition to establishing national standards for improving security at the local level.

For SCN membership, your organization should be affiliated with the Conference of Presidents. Click here to learn more about SCN, or register to become a SCN member now.

School Safety and Security

Tragic school shootings in which multiple students or faculty have been killed or injured in a single event, as well as terrorist threats to homeland security, have heightened the need for crisis and emergency preparedness.  Emergency preparedness is an important responsibility shared by all individuals as well as communities, including schools.  U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings recently joined DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez in a press conference where Secretary Spellings announced the availability of new brochures that provide guidance on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to enable schools to better balance students’ privacy rights with school safety concerns.  In conjunction with this release, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a wide-range of emergency preparedness resources to help schools create safe and secure environments for their students. The FERPA brochures and additional resources available through DHS and other sources are accessible on the School Security section of the site.

CDC Releases New Community Guidelines for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Planning

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in cooperation with departments and agencies across the Federal Government, released new guidance on community planning strategies that state and local community decision-makers, as well as individuals, need to consider based on the severity of an influenza pandemic. These strategies are important because the best protection against pandemic influenza -- a vaccine -- is not likely to be available at the outset of a pandemic. Planning now for a severe pandemic will help assure that your organization is prepared to implement these community recommendations. The “Pandemic Influenza Community Mitigation Interim Planning Guide for Faith-Based and Community Organizations”, has been developed specifically to assist Faith-Based and Community Organizations with pre-pandemic planning and can be accessed by clicking here. The complete guidelines can be accessed by clicking here.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. To find out more about CERT training in your area, please go to the State Directory page of the CERT website.

For crisis or emergency situations please call your local law enforcement. To reach SCN after normal business hours or to report an incident please call:

1-877-265-3337

Please direct all other inquiries via email to Scandesk@scnus.org or call 212-284-6940

Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks