Responding to students in crisis
and at-risk students: What is the
reasonable professional
response?
Michael Mardis, Dean of Students
Christian Gamm, Admissions Counselor,
Senior
University of Louisville
Presentation Agenda
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Introduction
Terminology
Impetus behind the creation of threat
assessment teams
Accepted model of best practice
University of Louisville Student Care Team
Group Discussion
Background
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On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho shot and
killed 32 people and wounded many others
on Virginia Tech’s campus, before committing
suicide.
On February 14, 2008, Steven Kazmierczak
shot and killed five people and wounded 18
others before committing suicide at Northern
Illinois University.
Threat Assessment Team
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Often there is a clear lack of authority to
fully manage threatening situations and to
make critical decisions (Pavela, 2008)
“Better communication about troubled
students is needed,” so there is a need for
a centralized approach to responding to
these students(Fischer & Wilson, 2007).
Threat Assessment Team
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Actuarial and clinical approaches to assessing
threats can lead to false positives (Redden,
2008).
According to the Office of Safe and Drug Free
Schools, there is no “useful profile” for a school
shooter.
93% of crimes students experience occur off
campus (Cornell, 2008).
Murder rate is 28 times higher off campus than
on campus (Cornell, 2008).
Terminology
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Students – troubled, at-risk, disabled,
disturbed, disruptive
Definition of team – threat assessment team,
behavioral intervention team, student care
team, critical incident response team
Profiling v. threat assessment
Impetus for creating teams
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Research suggests the importance of “active
engagement with troubled students sooner
rather than later (Pavela, 2007).”
Governor’s Report in wake of Virginia Tech
shootings; prior to this incident, very few higher
education institutions had threat assessment
teams
Extensive background regarding threat
assessment at the elementary and secondary
education levels.
Roles of threat assessment
teams
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Detect and monitor potentially violent students
(Dunkle, Silverstein, & Warner, 2008)
Monitor other students who may be troubled or
troubling in other ways (Dunkle, Silverstein, &
Warner, 2008)
Engage troubled students as early as possible,
helping them receive appropriate professional help
(Pavela, 2008)
Coordinate responsive efforts of multiple units
Privacy Laws
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Often there is confusion regarding what information on
troubled students educators and mental health officials
can share (Fischer & Wilson, 2007).
Mental health professionals are allowed to share
information in circumstances where they reasonably
believe the client poses an imminent danger of serious
injury to themselves or to others (Pavela, 2008).
FERPA permits educators to share confidential
information with law enforcement, medical personnel,
and others without the student’s consent to protect the
health and safety of others, including parents (Fischer,
2007).
Delworth Model of Threat
Assessment
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Created in 1989
Also referred to as a framework, the
Assessment-Intervention of Student
Problems (AISP) model
3 components
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Formation of campus assessment team
General assessment process for channeling students into
the most appropriate on/off campus resources
Intervention with the student of concern
Delworth Model of Threat
Assessment
From Jablonski, McClellan, & Zdziarski, 2008
Flowchart for Managing Disturbed
and Disturbing Students
From Jablonski, McClellan, & Zdziarski, 2008
Training for threat assessment
teams
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Suggested for members of community and those
conducting the actual threat assessment
National and regional conferences through the
Association of Threat Assessment Professionals
(www.ataworldwide.org)
Specialized Training Services
(www.specializedtraining.com)
Gavin DeBecker & Associates – Advanced Training
Academy for threat assessment professionals
QPR – question, persuade, refer
House Passes Bill to Create
Center for College Campus Safety
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On Tuesday, February 4, 2009, the U.S. House of
Representatives passed legislation, the Center to
Advance Monitor and Preserve University Security
(CAMPUS) Safety Act, to create a center for college
campus safety. (administered by Department of Justice)
Its purpose is to enable colleges and universities to
easily obtain the best information available on how to
keep campuses safe and how to respond in the event of
a campus emergency.
Authorizes $2.8 million in educational and training grants
to institutions of higher learning to campus public safety
and campus mental health centers.
Current Standard at Kentucky
Institutions
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Threat Assessment Team
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Behavioral Intervention Team
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Student Care Team
A rose by any other name
would smell as sweet
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Student Crisis Action Team (SCAT)
Communicating Action Response for Emergency
(CARE)
Care and Action for Students Team (CAST)
Student Protection Response Team (SPRT)
Action for Students In Suffering Team (ASIST)
Ensuring Action for Students in Emergency (EASE)
Action Crisis Team for Students (ACTS)
Behavioral Assessment Response Council (BARC)
Members of U of L
Student Care Team
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Dean of Students
Director of Housing and Residence Life
Director of Counseling Center
Director of the Department of Public Safety
Faculty Representative
Medical Director Belknap Campus
Assistant Dean of Students (Director of Student Conduct)
University of Louisville Properties Representative
Enrollment Management Representative
Academic Advising Representative
(Any of the members may in their absence send an appropriate
designee)
Adjunct Members
Student Care Team
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The purpose of the Student Care Team
(SCT) is to provide a regular opportunity for
communication between departments,
ensuring that all the resources of the
University of Louisville are available to
students in crisis.
Student Care Team
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A crisis for the purposes of this response plan
is an emotionally significant event involving a
student that threatens the well-being of one
or more individuals or the university
community as a whole. A crisis may include
personal crises and behavioral issues
involving individual students or groups.
The SCT focus is to respond to student needs, attempting to
avoid student injury and/or disruption to the integrity of the
learning environment.
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Specific examples may include:
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suicide attempt or suicide ideation
death of a student
sexual assault
physical assault or other act of violence
transport to hospital
alcohol, drugs, eating disorders or serious injury
classroom disruption
any personal tragedy or significant event that might impact
a student’s ability to stay in school
The functions of SCT
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Respond to a crisis that threatens the well-being of
a student, or students. Offer him or her appropriate
assistance in various stages of the crisis.
Share information and resources among appropriate
offices to enhance staff effectiveness and ensure all
University resources are made available to students.
Serve as a local resource to the university-wide
Emergency Response Team in the event of a critical
incident.
Initiate internal review of the crisis situation and
ensure appropriate follow-through (sexual assault;
medical withdrawal).
The functions of SCT
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Identify student behaviors that disrupt the learning
environment.
Provide an opportunity for team members to identify
trends and/or patterns of behavior that may impact
the campus community by sharing information on a
regular basis.
Be proactive by exploring issues that occur on other
campuses or in the Louisville community that could
impact UofL students.
Advise University Officials on issues related to
student crisis and how it may affect the integrity of
the campus community and campus climate.
SCT Communication
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Meeting every two weeks
Special emergency meeting
Discussion of situations
Review of information
Determine response
Identify point of contact & responsible
individual(s)
Determine who else we should inform
DEPARTMENTAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
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Staff members are expected to respond to
student crisis situations based on their existing
departmental policies and procedures.
When a crisis occurs outside of these normal
policies and procedures, staff is expected to
contact their Director.
If their Director is not available, they should
contact the Dean of Students.
In an emergency situation, University Police
should be contacted immediately.
References
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Cornell, D. (2008). No title. NASPA Leadership Exchange.
Delworth, U. (1989). Dealing with the behavioral and psychological problems of
students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Dunkle, J.H., Silverstein, Z.B., & Warner, S.L. (2008). Managing violent and other
troubling students: The role of threat assessment teams on campus. Journal of
College and University Law 34(3), 585-636.
Fischer, K., & Wilson, R. (2007). Review panel’s report could reverberate beyond
Virginia Tech and Virginia. Chronicle of Higher Education 53.
Pavella, G. & Joffe, P. (2007). Responding to troubled and at-risk students. NASPA
Webinar. 10/9/2007.
Pavella, G. (2008). Colleges won’t help students by fearing them. Chronicle of Higher
Education 54(25), A37.
Redden, E. (2008). Predicting and preventing campus violence. Inside Higher
Ed.com, 4/7/2008.
Discussion
Record Keeping/Documentation
Centralized or Decentralized
Staff Training
Parental Notification
Communication with Campus
Privacy Laws
Membership
Resources (Time & Funding)
Audio Online Seminar BIT
MAGNA Publications
1. Why do we need a BIT?
2. Who should be on our team?
3. Is there an ideal team size?
4. How often should the team meet?
5. What are BIT recordkeeping best practices?
6. What is the ideal function of a BIT?
7. Who performs actual interventions?
8. What should a BIT protocol include?
9. How formal should the BIT operations be?
10. How transparent should BIT operations be?
11. What should be reported to the BIT?
12. Who should report information to the BIT?
13. How should information be reported to the BIT?
14. What feedback should reporters receive from the BIT?
15. How should the BIT communicate with the campus, and about what?
16. What is the role of the counselor(s) on the BIT?
17. Who should chair the BIT?
18. What are post-intervention best practices?
19. How can a BIT foster a culture of reporting?
20. How does a BIT successfully address privacy/confidentiality concerns?