KEY STAKEHOLDERS:
- Minimum key stakeholder representation: School, Child Care Agency, Law Enforcement, Mental Health Provider. Teams are encouraged to include other key stakeholders i.e., child protective services workers, victim advocacy programs, community programs, parent organizations, etc.
- Commitments from local leaders (county school superintendent, principal, chief, sheriff, mental health provider)
- Team Leaders: school, law enforcement and mental health provider must designate a person who will serve as the Team Leader for their discipline. The Team Leader will act as a liaison between key disciplines.
TRAINING:
- Law enforcement supervisors, teachers and staff, and mental health partners must jointly attend a one-hour presentation providing an overview of the impact of trauma on children, the impact of trauma on learning, key elements of HWC, and strategies for successful implementation. This Interest Meeting will be the best place to begin the discussion about next steps for implementation.
- As a part of the Mental Wellness Collaborative piece of Handle With Care, school or child care agency should conduct a needs assessment to identify and assess issues impacting their students and specific individual, classroom and school wide interventions.
- Law enforcement supervisors must provide training to patrols on department policy to identify, document and report children encountered on the scene of calls. Officers must be familiar with appropriate on-scene response when children are present to ensure the impact of trauma is minimized.
- Mental health providers must be trained and certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
FORMS
- Key stakeholders must develop protocols and MOUs utilizing examples of existing agreements and protocols developed by the West Virginia Children Exposed to Violence Initiative
- Schools and child care agencies must utilize required forms (HWC form, parental permission to treat, student handbook notification, brochures, etc.)
ON-SITE COUNSELING
- School commitment to provide space at school for counseling.
COLLABORATION
- Team Leaders must routinely meet to assess gaps/barriers in the program and needed improvements.
- Law enforcement will develop and improve positive relationships with students by routinely visiting, eating lunch and interacting with students in a non-crisis situation.
STEPS FOR HANDLE WITH CARE ADOPTION
1. Interest Indicated
In this initial step, interest in more information about the HWC program has been indicated by a community partner in a county or school district. At this point, the Statewide HWC Coordinator will provide support to the community partner around planning an initial interest meeting in the county, to include, but not limited to:
- Information about the HWC program and how it is meant to work
- Identification of other community partners (first responders, school district, community-based service providers, etc.)
- Assistance with scheduling the first interest meeting including location, partners to invite, etc.
2. Interest Meeting
In the second step of HWC implementation, the interest meeting will be held with identified partners. This will include a description of the program itself, identification of missing partners that may be necessary for effective implementation in the County, and an overview of what full implementation should look like. Discussions in this meeting will also include a draft of what the Process Flow Chart will look like for the county (how first responders will make notifications, who the notifications will go to at the school, how the notifications will be handled at the school level. Additional training needs will be identified at this meeting as well. A specific HWC point person for the entire county/community will also be determined
3. Handle With Care Training
This step of the process will include specific training about implementation of the Handle With Care notification system in that specific community. A launch date will be determined. This meeting will also include a discussion and determination of how data will be collected, to include the number of notifications made, and discussion of feedback loops for follow-up. A discussion about MOUs will be held at this meeting as well, with final MOUs being signed at the actual launch meeting. Additional information about ongoing stakeholder/implementation support will be provided, and the community will be able to determine their own needs as far as
4. Launch Meeting
This will be the date the HWC notification system goes into effect for the identified community. This will also be the time for signing MOUs between partners. Final questions, worries, and other possible gaps will be identified in this meeting.
5. Active Implementation
This step will mean the Handle With Care notification system is up and running in the community. Identification of active implementation will be identified by the first reported notification. Ongoing support will be provided as needed by the community. Additional training needs will also be supported.