CARE Team
The CARE Team is available for consultation with campus community members regarding students whose behaviors are of concern because they may pose a threat to themselves or others.
It can be hard to know when a CARE report is needed. Some general guidelines include:
• If you observe behavior in a student that is unusual or abnormal compared to their typical baseline
• If you’re concerned about the health and wellbeing of a student, yourself, or others
• If the student’s behavior disrupts others’ ability to live and learn at CCC
• If your own efforts to assist the student haven’t resolved the issue
• If you have previously reported the student to CARE but haven’t seen improvement, have identified new concerning behavior, or the behavior is reoccurring
Campus/Center CARE Teams
| Hastings |
Team functions include:
Consultation
- Address concerns regarding the safety and well-being of students by drawing upon professional expertise within the campus community.
- Facilitate consistent communication among all CCC staff, faculty, and offices.
Assessment
- Determine referred student’s need for emotional, psychological or physical support and refer to appropriate resources.
- Assess and determine the safety of and/or the risk of harm to the campus community.
Resources
- Identify resources available both on campus and in the community and foster positive collaborative relationships with them.
- Promote our campus resources to students.
Education
- Provide professional development and training opportunities for faculty/ staff to ensure effective response to students in distress (ex: suicide prevention).
- Promote and advocate for students’ overall mental well being.
Central Community College CARE Guide
At CCC, the CARE team (Consultation, Assessment, Resources, and Education) works with the college community to help find solutions for students confronting stressful situations or who are exhibiting distressing or potentially dangerous behavior.
This list includes some specific examples of concerning behavior. The list is not comprehensive. If you notice concerning behavior in a student that doesn’t fit this list, a CARE report should still be submitted.
• Unusual sleep disturbances
• Unexpected mood changes
• Hints or statements of feeling upset in written pieces or presentations
• Unusual interactions
• Unusual Self-isolation or over dependence
• Change in personal hygiene
• Overly insistent of others’ time & attention
• Joking about killing self or others
• Heightened and inappropriate emotional response
• Bizarre behavior out of context for the situation
• Frequent & severe abuse of alcohol, other drugs
• Dehumanizing/objectifying others
• Verbally abusing or intimidating others
• Acting aggressively toward others
• Displays impulsive violence and/or explosive anger
• Self-harm, disordered eating
• Suicidal plans or ideation
The CARE Team’s priority is to lend support to students of concern. A CARE report is not a conduct report; however, if CCC policy violations or infractions of the law may have occurred, the CARE Team will refer a student to the Conduct Office.
A - About the Person
name, relationship to reporter and to CCC
B - Behavior
body language, statements made, tone of voice, actions
C - Context
date & time, location of incident, what class did it take place in, anything essential about the setting
D - Details
witnesses, frequency of incidents, anything relevant and objective about the student of concern
E - Effect
impact to others, impact to you, impact to the student of concern
F - Follow-Up/ Response
did anyone intervene, how did the student respond to the intervention, has the incident been reported to the police, have you attempted to follow up with the student
1. Be objective & describe the behavior.
Instead of “she was creepy,” try: “Her behavior made me uncomfortable. During our 10-minute conversation, she paced back and forth repeatedly.”
2. Be specific and avoid general or vague descriptions.
“He yelled for 30 seconds about topics I couldn’t follow and then called me a ‘b****rd’” is more helpful than “he was rude.”
3. Share only what the student has shared or what you know as fact:
“They are a student veteran who served in Afghanistan. During our conversation, they disclosed that they have been diagnosed with PTSD. When I mentioned Counseling Services, they expressed interest in meeting one of our counselors.”
4. Write as if the student may see your report.
CARE reports are potentially subject legal information requests, such as those governed by the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act, Public Records Act, and subpoenas. Students have a right to review their record and may request to do so. If you’re unsure how to communicate information you feel is pertinent, please consult with a CARE team member rather than avoid submitting a report entirely.
1. Once a CARE report is submitted, it’s forwarded to the campus associate dean of students. The dean of students and director of counseling services receive a copy of each report. Reports involving online students are sent to every associate dean and assigned based on the student’s home address and case history.
2. The associate dean creates a case from the report, and the case is assigned to a CARE team member.
3. The case manager will reach out to:
- The referrer/submitter
- The student of concern
4. Depending on the details of the case, the case manager may also contact:
- Witnesses
- Student’s faculty and/or advisor
- Residence Life
5. The CARE Team will assess the situation and any potential risks of harm to the student or others. Detailed information in the initial CARE report helps the CARE Team complete its risk assessment, which will guide our intervention strategies.
6. If the student responds to the outreach, the case manager will connect them with all appropriate campus and community resources.
7. CARE team will close the case if:
- Support has been provided and the student’s situation has improved or stabilized
- Student has not responded after 3 outreach attempts
- Student responds but declines CARE team assistance
The CARE team takes reasonable precautions to maintain the privacy of the person submitting a CARE referral, if requested. At times, the nature of the report may mean we cannot ensure privacy, in which case the referrer will be informed. Depending on the nature of report, it’s also possible the student of concern may be able to speculate the identity of the referrer, even if submitted anonymously. Individuals sometimes submit reports anonymously. If you choose to submit an anonymous report, please keep the following in mind:
• Students often appreciate knowing who reported them, because it demonstrates that someone in their life cares about their wellbeing, and having a name personalizes the process.
• Informing a student that you’re submitting a CARE referral can help with our outreach.