The Handle With Care program can start within a few weeks. There are no costs needed to complete the implementation process.

Both police officers and teachers have asked for ways to further connect with students.

Handle With Care provides this additional touchpoint while minimizing the burden placed on law enforcement and teachers, as they already bear a heavy load.

Police officers accordingly send a brief Handle With Care notification that may be completed in two minutes. Teachers then monitor for potential signs of trauma.

Both officers and school personnel are trained on the signs of trauma and how they may manifest. From there, they gain the tools to help children cope with immensely stressful situations and promote resiliency.

Trauma can disrupt a child’s ability to learn. Many children who experience trauma struggle to focus, develop anxiety, and experience poor sleep, which can negatively impact their school performance.

However, by providing advance notice, teachers are able to anticipate potential signs they may witness and be prepared to help students navigate difficulties. For instance, teachers may provide tutoring after class following absences or inattention. They may also send students who fall asleep in class to the nurse.

HWC is successful with an effort toward communication, reminders to school staff, and training to staff:

• These efforts include acknowledgment of behavior with a lens of what could be causing it
• School staff and police officers can each be trained in a few hours to understand the process of sending and receiving Handle With Care notifications, as well as beginning a trauma-informed approach.

Handle With Care protects a student’s privacy by never disclosing the details of the incident. The notification includes the name, age, school, and a message stating “Handle with Care.” This confidential notification has the option of being communicated through email, text, or calling the dispatcher who would send the email or text.

• Teachers are not expected to initially change the way they interact with the child. The greatest change occurs when they notice the child struggling.
• A child who falls asleep in class after an incident late at night, for example, may be sent to the nurse rather than the principal. A student may similarly be sent to a counselor, instead of a principal.
• Teachers are meant to observe in the HWC program. No additional reports are required from the police officers and school staff involved.

Handle with Care is a system that can refer the child to additional services such as the school social worker, nurse, or mental health professional.

There is not an age cut-off for HWC in schools. Handle with Care currently serves students in grades K-12.

Training for HWC can be completed in a few hours. Following training, the time commitment includes sending HWC notifications when a child is encountered at the scene of a call.