Law Enforcement:

"Handle with Care" provides local students' schools with a “heads up” when a child has been identified at the scene of a potentially traumatic event. It could be a meth lab explosion, a domestic violence situation, a shooting in the neighborhood, witnessing a malicious wounding, a drug raid at the home, etc. When police note that there was a child present at the scene of an incident via a Special Attention Code ("SAHWC"), DAC connects that child's name and date of birth with what school they attend, contacts their school, and their school facilitates the distribution of a card that says. . . “Handle With Care” to relevant school staff. That’s it. No other details.

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Schools:

School staff have been trained on the impact of trauma on learning, and are incorporating many interventions to mitigate the negative impact of trauma for identified students, including: sending students to the school nurse's office to rest (when a HWC has been received and the child is having trouble staying awake or focusing); re-teaching lessons; postponing testing; etc. Many Allen County schools have also implemented interventions to help create trauma sensitive schools (Greeters; pairing students with an adult mentor in the school; “thumbs up/thumbs down” to indicate if a student is having a good day or a bad day; etc.).

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School Counseling and Nursing:

When identified students exhibit continued behavioral or emotional problems in the classroom, the teacher sends them to the counselor or to the nurse. 

While there, students can take time to decompress, take a nap, talk to a trusted adult about what they've experienced, or anything else they may need.

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Counseling:

When identified students exhibit continued behavioral or emotional problems in the classroom and is sent to the nurse or counselor's office, the student will have the opportunity to receive counseling for free. 

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Here is what a Handle With Care Card looks like: