Wh
at is Handle With Care?
Handle With Care (HWC) is part of the Drug Endangered Children initiative mandated under
Senate Bill 80. Handle with Care requires law enforcement to alert school personnel when a
child is exposed to a traumatic event during a first responder call. The intent is to notify
schools when a student has experienced trauma in case extra support is warrented. School
personnel are simply asked to keep a caring eye on the student or provide appropriate
trauma-sensitive interventions immediately, if needed.
Handle With Care requires:
1. Police to send notification to schools.
2. Schools to receive notifications and prepare trauma-sensitive support.
3. Teachers provide trauma sensitive environments.
4. School counselors, social workers, mental healthcare providers to partner with
schools for on-site assistance and off-site services
The goal is to set schools up to better help children exposed to trauma so they
can learn.
In 2019, the Nevada Legislature passed SB80 mandating Handle with Care across Nevada.
Effective January 1,2020 all counties across the state are implementing it in accordance
with SB80. (BDR-34-502 6/2/19)
What’s Expected of Police in Handle With Care?
Send a confidential notification. When police identify a child at the scene of a
traumatic event, they will send a confidential Handle With Care notification to the
school district, through designated law enforcement system.
Handle With Care
Frequently Asked Questions
The confidential notification, which is documented in the police report, contains only
three pieces of information:
• the child’s name,
• date of birth
• and school
The Handle With Care Notification form also includes the following statement:
“The child referenced below was on the scene of a police action in the last 24 hours and
could exhibit academic, emotional and/or behavioral problems as a result of exposure to
a traumatic event.” Nothing about the specific traumatic incident is shared with the school.
Situations which may warrant a Handle with Care alert include, but are not limited to:
1. Domestic violence in the presence of the child;
2. Death of a member of the family or household of the child;
3. Arrest of a parent or guardian of the child in the presence of the child;
4. Child abuse or neglect.
5. Accident, fire, drug incident, or other exposure deemed traumatic by a member of law
enforcement or emergency personnel.
What’s Expected of Schools in Handle With Care?
Receive notification and prepare process for trauma-sensitive support. Each school
district in Nevada has created a process to triage “Handle With Care” notifications from
police. The process for WCSD involves the District counseling department serving as the
hub for all police HWC notifications. When an alert is received at the district level it is
forwarded to the appropriate school and assigned counselor. The information is then
forwarded to the student’s teachers and any other staff involved with the supporting
the student. The notice also includes; a letter
to teachers explaining the Handle with Care
program and its objectives, trauma sensitive
interventions and resources, as well as, ideas
of how to support the student. All staff is
asked to do is observe the student’s behavior
and academic performance and be prepared
to provide trauma-sensitive support as
needed. For example, if the student acts out,
a teacher might send the child to the
counselor or nurse instead of the Principal.
Classroom interventions include giving the
student extra time on tests, reteach lessons,
reschedule assignments/assessments, etc. If a
student continues behavioral/emotional/academic issues in the classroom, teachers
may refer the student to the counselor for any further support or interventions.
How is the student and family’s privacy protected?
As stated earlier, the notification to the school only includes the student’s name,
date of birth and school, along with these three words: “Handle With Care.”
Even though calls for service are open public records, no details of the incident are
released to schools.
How does Handle With Care help kids?
Relationships with stable, caring adults buffer the harmful effects of trauma. When all
school personnel—administrators, teachers, counselors, nurses, cafeteria staff,
custodial staff, bus drivers, etc.—understand the impact trauma has on a child and are
equipped with trauma-sensitive approaches, they can help students feel safe, which is
critical to help them focus, behave appropriately, and learn. Through the Handle With
Care program, schools get a heads-up from police to provide trauma sensitive support
and connect students and families to mental health services. This helps to mitigate
negative affects experienced by children’s exposure to trauma.
Handle With Care sets schools up to be proactive, rather than reactive. This can reduce
disciplinary action and absenteeism, build resilience, self-respect and confidence.
What is childhood trauma?
Children facing trauma face higher referrals for behavioral problems, special
education and diagnosis for ADHD, as well as absenteeism, suspension or expulsion,
dropping out, or criminal activity. Childhood trauma, often called Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACEs), is an event that can have negative, lasting effects on a child’s
mental and physical well-being. Trauma causes stress, which is anything that disrupts
the physiologic or emotional balance of a child. Childhood trauma and the resulting
stress can interrupt normal brain and body development; undermine a child’s focus and
ability to learn in school; increase risk for engagement in negative coping behaviors and
involvement in the criminal justice system; and increase risk for chronic mental and
physical health problems. Trauma can impair a child’s brain development,
socioemotional and behavioral development,
academic learning and achievement, and overall
health and well-being.
When responding to the stress of trauma, a child’s
normal developmental process is interrupted. The
body responds to stress in a “fight, flight or freeze”
mode. Repeated or chronic activation of stress
hormones bypass the thinking part of the brain and
activate the survival part of the brain. The thinking
part of the brain goes “offline” and the emotional part of the brain remains “activated.”
Trauma can impair focus, complex thought and
learning, resulting in lower grades, more
suspensions and expulsions, and school failure.
Children with trauma are 2.5 times more likely to
have repeated a grade in school. Trauma triggers
can re-occur for years or the entire lifetime,
increasing risk for engagement in unhealthy
coping behaviors, such as substance abuse, early
sexual activity, domestic violence, and
involvement in the juvenile and criminal justice
system. For more information please visit these valuable resources on trauma sensitive
and support: www.traumaawareschools.org and www.nctsn.org
What if I have more questions about WCSD Handle
With Care?
For additional questions or issues, please contact:
Thank
you to Salud America
for developing tools and generously letting school districts use
them for Handle With Care support.
Washoe County School District Counseling Department
Katherine Loudon, Counseling Coordinator
Tiffany Schweickert, Crisis Specialist
tschweickert@washoeschools.net
Beth Schroeder, Crisis Social Worker
Join Together Northern Nevada
Drug Endangered Children Project
775-324-7557
www.JTNN.org
