Giving Compass' Take:
- Schools can start to utilize the Handle With Care model to help address mental health crises and trauma that youth are experiencing.
- How can a trauma-informed response help with youth development?
- Learn more about mental health here.
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Being equipped and ready to respond when students experience a traumatic event must be a top priority for every educator in America. Unfortunately, it is not a universally required part of educator training or professional development. Students do emergency drills, but staff seldom run scenarios and simulations that provide time to develop and practice appropriate trauma-informed responses to use with students in crisis.
This is more urgent than ever. While we can’t predict the future, the data suggests that more students are suffering than ever before:
- According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, school shootings in the U.S. more than doubled between 2018 and 2022. Less than two months into 2023, there have already been 40 school shootings, including a mass school shooting in Michigan this week.
- In 2021, youth mental health was declared a national emergency by the U.S. surgeon general and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Also in 2021, an estimated 600,000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect.
This captures only a fraction of the trauma American youth face. Behind these statistics are students living with everyday adversity, loss, fear and anxiety. There are many situations that unexpectedly catapult a child into crisis, including watching a loved one suffer, living in challenging circumstances or experiencing a sudden tragedy.
The Handle with Care model is simple and effective. When a member of law enforcement or a first responder encounters a child during a traumatic incident, such as a drug raid, a car accident, a situation involving domestic violence or a house fire, they collect the child’s information and notify school administrators before the next school day. The alert includes the child’s name and the message “Handle with Care.” No personal details are shared, but the notification prepares the child’s teacher and activates school-based supports, which may include postponing tests and deadlines, providing on-site mental health counseling or referrals, offering an adjusted schedule, or scheduling a visit with a therapy dog.
The power of the model is in the preparation and practice behind it. First responders and educators know what to do, and have a fairly automated system for working together. Teachers at Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School are trained on the ways trauma affects student learning and behavior. The school has various trauma-informed interventions in place, which means they are ready when a child needs extra care.
Read the full article about student trauma by Stephanie Malia Krauss at EdSurge.