The Educational Services Unit
of the Burlington County Special Services School District
Dr. Donald P. Lucas
Superintendent
20 Pioneer Boulevard
Westampton, NJ 08060-3824
Josephine Mercantini-Bocci
Director
Phone: 609-702-0500
Fax: 609-702-9033
www.bcsssd.k12.nj.us
BURLINGTON COUNTY
SCHOOL CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM
www.bcscrt.org
2012-2013
The Burlington County School Crisis Response Team (BCSCRT) is a collaborative
initiative by districts in Burlington County and the Executive Superintendent’s Office to
assist a participating district during critical situations, such as a natural catastrophe, terrorist
event, school shooting, death of a student or staff member, etc. Staff members from other
districts, who are trained as part of the team, assist local district administrators and staff in
dealing with all aspects of crisis management, including student safety, crisis counseling,
coordinating with police and emergency personnel, communication with parents, providing
information to the media, and other important tasks.
The BCSCRT consists of the following elements:

Participating districts provide one or more staff members to serve as members of
the BCSCRT. Participating districts agree to release these staff members
from their duties to assist another district when needed. The BCSCRT
currently has approximately 70 team members who are available to assist
participating districts.

The BCSCRT will be activated only on the request of the district superintendent
or his/her designee. The team is to assist the district under the direction of the
superintendent or building principal. The role of the team in any situation is to
offer support to the district and offer supplemental services in a variety of
functions, including, but not limited to: establishing and operating “Safe
Room/s” for students and staff, providing teacher coverage on an as needed
basis, assisting in security functions, assisting nurses, communicating with
parents, assisting office staff, preparing press releases and managing media
contact, planning memorial events, and other important tasks. The role and
function of the BCSCRT is to support the efforts of the district. The role of the
BCSCRT is explicitly NOT to take over in a crisis and manage or determine the
course of action that the superintendent and other administrators must follow.
Local district procedures and district administrators will direct the activities of
the team and determine what the needs of the district are in any situation.
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
Staff members on the crisis team include professionals in the following positions:
guidance counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, principal or
assistant principal, teacher, security personnel, nurse, SAC, superintendent,
director of communications and director of special services.

All Team Leaders and designated team members (such as Safe Room
Coordinator and Public Relations liaison) have received appropriate materials
and documents to assist in their various roles. All other team members have
access to these materials. Additional materials, such as administrator’s “grab and
go” bags and Crisis Resource Manuals, are available for purchase, if requested.

Information about the BCSCRT has been sent to social service agencies dealing
with students throughout the Burlington County area. These agencies are invited
to send representatives to participate in training sessions responding to crisis
situations, when appropriate. They can also be contacted to provide after care
support.

The Superintendent and/or their Designee have the option to request services
from social services agencies as they deem necessary.

Staff who are trained as part of the team are a resource for local districts to assist
with their own procedures and responses to lesser crises in a school.

Materials are available to participating districts to inform their staff, parents,
Board of Education and community about the BCSCRT and district
participation in the team. These materials include a brochure, press release and
Power Point presentation.

BCSCRT website is available to download crisis response materials
www.bcscrt.org

Training will be provided to BCSCRT members during the 2012-2013 school
year. Additional training for administrators (superintendents, principals and
assistant principals) will be considered. All training is required of team
members. Team members will have release time from their respective
districts to attend.

Training schedule will be sent to district Superintendents for their reference
annually.

The cost of this program is shared among participating districts. Based on the
continued participation of existing members, the fee for participation for the
2012-2013 school year will again be based on the resident enrollment of the
district - $285 for districts with enrollment under 1000 students and $560 for
districts with enrollment over 1000 students. The fee will be used to cover the
cost of training, materials, and supplies for the team for the school year, as well
as, other expenses incurred by ESU to administer this initiative.
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