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Concerned about a student?

Purpose

The Campus Assessment, Response and Intervention Team is a diverse team focused on early intervention for any person(s) or situation(s) that raise concerns of being at risk of harming either themselves or others, or who pose a significant disruption to the living, learning, or work environment of the College. The team receives and reviews reports of threats and/or other concerning behavior and develops support plans to mitigate risk. The committee does not take the place of standard practices used by College faculty, staff and administration to support student success and does not alter any existing discipline policies. It is also not a substitute for the emergency management team which plans for and manages crisis situations including, but not limited to, working with first responders.  This team replaces the group previously titled the Behavioral Assessment Team.

Rather, the committee assesses reports of concern, and recommends intervention by the appropriate person using relevant College policy if needed.

Process:

If a member of the campus community becomes aware of a person or situation that may pose a risk to themselves or the campus community, they should post an alert to the College’s Navigate system, and select non-academic alert, or use the anonymous reporting online form located on the College’s website.

The AVP for Student Development and the Director of Residence of Life will review all alerts and decide on an outreach process, including following up with the reporting individual. The Chief of Staff and AVP for Student Development will maintain on-going communication regarding alerts.

Any member of the group may convene the CARIT, on an immediate basis, if that team member determines the circumstances are warranted to do so.

The Chief of Staff will share reports that the CARIT considers pose a risk to the campus community with the President to quickly provide the CARIT recommended course of action, and make a determination on how to proceed, including taking emergency administrative action if necessary.

Responsibilities/Goals

  • Receive, review and maintain a record of information about concerns regarding individual(s) behavior that is potentially harmful and/or disruptive to the College community.
  • Perform initial assessment of risk and develop a support plan, within existing College policies, to mitigate risk to the student or the greater college community.
  • Outreach and consultation to others with first-hand knowledge of the situation(s) to gather additional information for making a recommendation.
  • Balance FERPA, HIPAA, and counselor privilege in conjunction with the College’s emergency communication needs, and consulting legal counsel if necessary.
  • Centralize collection and assessment of concerning student behaviors. “Connect the dots” of disparate problematic actions involving individual(s) that may be known to various faculty, staff and administrators.
  • Coordinate follow-up and when appropriate, ensure that services, support and resources are deployed effectively.
  • Utilize a formalized protocol of instructions for communication, coordination and intervention.
  • Coordinate support plan actions, including referrals to campus departments, as well as external agencies as needed.
  • Make recommendations for action and share information with College faculty, staff and others, as appropriate, to assist with managing potentially harmful or disruptive behavior.
  • Educate the College community on the CARIT process and how to identify and report a person(s) behaviors of concern
  • Utilize College policy and processes and consult legal counsel as needed.
  • Review CARIT procedures and protocols, and assess team effectiveness in mitigating risk.

Membership

  • Lisa Haley Thomson – Chief of Staff
  • Jennifer Richardson – Associate Vice President for Student Development
  • Steven Stella – Director of Safety and Security
  • Edward Cruz – Director of Residence Life

HANDBOOK FOR ASSISTING STUDENTS IN DISTRESS