Handle with Care

Requirements

• A point of contact will represent their school or district on the Handle with Care stakeholder team and help develop the notification flow. This may be through secure email, Google Forms, text or dispatch.
• Partners must complete Handle with Care training and role-specific training.
• Schools receive HWC notifications as a “heads up” to observe the child’s behavior and utilize classroom-based, trauma-sensitive interventions if warranted.
• Schools should provide a safe space for on-site counseling or trauma-focused therapy, with parental permission.

It is recommended that participating schools implement universal, selective and indicated interventions such as having greeters each morning at school entrances, pairing students with adult mentors, providing access to therapy dogs or performing brief student mental health screenings where relevant.

Training

• A one-hour Handle with Care training presentation is required. The training provides an overview of the impacts of trauma on children, the impact of trauma on learning, key elements of the program and strategies for successful implementation. All school staff and administrators should be familiar with the program and implementation.
• All participating teachers and administrators should be trained on the negative impacts of trauma and how to utilize classroom-based interventions to help mitigate the negative impacts of trauma. These interventions may include sending a student to the nurse to get rest when a child is having a hard time staying awake, re-teaching lessons or postponing tests when a student is struggling with their concentration, providing small group counseling to students via school counselors or making referrals for additional counseling services. Training should focus on identifying and assessing issues that impact students and specific individual, classroom, and school-wide interventions.

Resources

• Common Trauma Symptoms in Students and Helpful Strategies for Educators - HWC WV
• Helping Traumatized Children Learn - Trauma Sensitive Schools
  • The Impact of Trauma on Learning - HWC WV
  • Creating and Advocating for Trauma-Sensitive Schools - HWC WV

Requirements

• A point of contact will represent their organization on the Handle with Care stakeholder team and help develop the notification flow. This may be through secure email, Google Forms, text or dispatch.
• Partners must complete Handle with Care training and role-specific training.

On-site Counseling

It is recommended that mental health providers partner with schools to provide on-site mental health services (with parental permission) for students who need trauma-focused therapy. The availability of on-site services helps to address barriers that the child and family may experience in attending therapy outside of the school setting.

Training

• A one-hour Handle with Care training presentation is required. The training provides an overview of the impacts of trauma on children, the impact of trauma on learning, key elements of the program and strategies for successful implementation.
• Mental health providers working with children identified through the Handle with Care program must be trained and certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).