Threat Assessment Resources
Schools who implement these three things can change the path of a potential incident in a school to help ensure a safe and secure climate.
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- One is having an anonymous reporting service. Safe2Help Nebraska is a service all schools public and non-public can utilize for free due to 2024 legislation permanently funding this service.
- Two is having a Threat Assessment Team. This team of individuals will take the effective reporting processes of threats in a district and do the following:
- Identify with clear reporting policies & procedures.
- Access the detailed information about the behavior & evaluate immediacy and severity (low, moderate, high level of concern?)
- Manage with intervention, monitoring and documenting records of all reports, assessments, and interventions.
- Third is having every student connected to at least one adult within the school.
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The NDE School Safety Team is here to help Threat Assessment teams build their resources to keep their school community safe and secure. Studies have found that acts of targeted school violence are planned. They are not spontaneous or impulsive. The behaviors leading up to violence are often observable or even known to others. One study of premeditated school violence found that in 81% of incidents, someone else had prior knowledge of plans for violence. Additionally, 93% of those people were friends, classmates, or family.
Violence can be prevented when students, friends or family, school staff, and community members report concerning behavior. It should always be emphasized that reporting a concern that seems in consequential is far better than not reporting something that leads to violence, whether that be forms of self-harm (suicide) or violence directed at others.
Threat Assessment Toolkit
Introduction
This toolkit provides guidance for school threat assessment teams to encourage the reporting of concerning behavior that may threaten safety and security of schools. Part I (“Reporting School Violence Before it Happens”) provides an overview of the importance of reporting school violence, and outlines specific barriers to reporting among youth, school staff, and parents/guardians. Part II (“Developing and Implementing a Reporting Process”) provides guidance on important features of a reporting process for potential or actual violence and other safety concerns. Part III (“Special Considerations”) discusses three particular problems affecting school youth: suicide, bullying/cyberbullying, and dating related violence and abusive relationships. Part IV provides links to helpful resources related to the topics discussed in this toolkit.
We also provide examples of material to use or adapt by your school to promote the understanding and use of a reporting system. Nebraska has developed the brand “Safe2Help NE” for use with reporting systems. We use “Help” instead of tell or report to let individuals know they are making a positive difference in someone’s life when they make a report.
Threat Assessment Toolkit Quick Reference Resources, Guidance, Checklists, and Templates
District Threat Assessment Team Plan will give the purpose, goals, team composition, key processes, screening checklist, risk assessment checklist, post-assessment actions checklist and templates.
School Reporting Process Evaluation Checklist will provide the general reporting system, school climate and culture, reporting process effectiveness, and special considerations to think about when handling school threats.
Eleven-Questions-to-Guide-Data-Collection-in-a-Threat-Assessment-Inquiry is a list of the questions to help guide a team to cover the necessary path to get to the bottom of the problem or issue leading up to this potential threat.
Parent Communication Template will help schools put out the proper communication to parents on what can be reported, how to report the concern, a school’s commitment to the process, let parents know how they can help and letting them know the school is there for questions and support.
Steps in Nebraska School Threat Assessment Team Summary includes what a team should do prior to any report being received, documentation examples, and why schools should all participate in Safe2Help NE. Even if a school is utilizing another anonymous reporting service a school should consider adding Safe2Help NE due to the 24/7 coverage with a Boys Town Crisis Counselor available to assist the reporting party to get the assistance needed to divert a potential issue. Also, there is no cost for Safe2Help NE and it really does not add more to a team already using another system. If you are not a member of Safe2Help NE it goes straight to local law enforcement which is not a best practice when 75% of these are not law enforcement required calls. Contact jay.martin@nebraska.gov if you still need to join Safe2Help NE.
University of Nebraska Public Policy Center Threat Assessment Training Offerings
Dr. Mario Scalora and Dr. Denise Bulling provide the three trainings below. We are working on scheduling additional trainings currently. Once new trainings are scheduled, the workshop details will appear on the ESU professional development pages.
*Prerequisite: Basic Threat Assessment
Basic Threat Assessment
Threat assessment and management evolved from practices used to assess and manage potential risk of violence. This training will help your school form or enhance the team that will focus on identifying, assessing and managing the risk/threat of violence posed by students, staff, and community members toward the school community. The purpose of threat assessment teams is distinct from issues addressed by safety teams, student behavior teams, and crisis response teams, though all these school teams may be implicated in strategies for monitoring and managing potential threats. Objectives include:
Module 1
- List concerning behaviors in K-12 Educational Settings
- Distinguish between targeted and reactive violence
- Demonstrate understanding of the “Pathway to Violence” model
Module 2
- Identify behavioral risk factors for targeted violence
- Evaluate communications for warning signs of targeted violence
Module 3
- Justify levels of concern for targeted violence risk
- List school-based interventions appropriate for low, moderate, and high levels of concern
- Apply the six steps of the threat assessment approach to case examples
Module 4
- Identify multi-disciplinary team members for the school threat assessment team
- Explain the processes needed to formalize the school threat assessment team process
- Describe strategies to facilitate reporting of concerning behaviors
Threat Communication*
Communication during times of uncertainty and high stakes is different than during regular times. Participants will learn how to craft messages using risk communication strategies in support of behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) activities. Objectives include:
- Describe how risk communication is different from regular communication
- Demonstrate construction of a message map using crisis communication principles
- Match communication strategies with threat assessment process
- Manage messaging strategies to increase reporting
Threat Management*
Participants will explore practical threat management strategies for use in school settings. Different interventions will be discussed that are appropriate for use with students or adults/staff. Effective interventions are built on good information and feedback that can be difficult to obtain due to privacy or legal barriers. Training will include strategies for addressing these barriers. Objectives include:
- Dealing with assessment challenges
- Assessing emerging issues related to threat assessment (e.g., extremism, social media, mental illness)
- Managing cases over time
- Coordinating management strategies with community resources
External Resources - Implementing and Enhancing Bystander Reporting Programs in K-12 Schools
- Averting Targeted School Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools
- Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management in Practice
- Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model: An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence
- Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans
- Improving School Safety Through Bystander Reporting: A Toolkit for Strengthening K-12 Reporting Programs
- Invent2Prevent
- Protecting America’s Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence
- School Threat Assessment Toolkit
- School Safety Tip Line Toolkit
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