Getting Started with Handle with Care

When a child packs their backpack in the morning before school, they might add their classwork or a take-home quiz. But they also carry with them any experiences that occurred after they left campus the previous day. They might have seen a fun movie with friends, scored the winning goal at their soccer game, or stayed up late talking to a significant other. In other instances, parents may have fought, or they may have witnessed drug use in the home.

Without having someone to talk to about these experiences, whether positive or negative, we can only imagine how they relate to the child’s performance at school. They might be tired from staying up late and feeling extra distracted in class. Or they might be feeling the effects of trauma and not even be aware of those physical and mental effects.

Handle with Care is a way that you can provide proactive, holistic support to students affected by traumatic events at home. When a first responder is called to a home and a child is present, the school can be notified of that event so that the next day, someone has the opportunity to check in with the child.

Schools are uniquely positioned to provide care to students. Handle with Care is one way you can interrupt the cycle of trauma and support your students more fully.

This downloadable quick-start guide will offer you a few important things to keep in mind before you get start started along with three action items you can use to kick off the program in your community.