CARE Team

C.A.R.E. meets on a quarterly basis or sooner, if need be, and supports individuals outside of their peer network, to identify academic, social, personal troubles and/or disruptive behavior and direct those individuals to the necessary assistance they may need to resolve their problems.  Any individual member of the campus community, internal or external, may report confidentially to C.A.R.E., their concerns or observation, through a university web link to C.A.R.E.  They may also contact Campus Safety or any member of C.A.R.E., regardless of whether or not a code of conduct violation has occurred, with the understanding that their identity will remain confidential.

TAT meets on a monthly basis or sooner, if need be, and is called when a person of concern is identified.  This person could show signs of suicidal ideation, attempts, threats or gestures, behavior determined to be, or of concern, that may be potentially destructive or violent to self or others.  TAT is a subgroup of C.A.R.E. and members of C.A.R.E. are also members of TAT so there is consistent communication.

C.A.R.E. and TAT Member Responsibilities:

• Respond to reports of which may range from class attendance concerns to violence;
• Investigate the situation by consulting with the reporter;
• Determine the action plan;
• Respond quickly to behavior indicating a student, faculty, staff or visitor who poses a risk to self or others;
• Identify resources for troubled students and personnel and make referrals to appropriate campus and off-campus resources;
• Help secure therapeutic actions that are appropriate, such as treatment or counseling;
• Notify, within FERPA/HIPPA guidelines, parents, guardians and/or next of kin;
• Initiate action to place a student in the custody of a mental health facility capable of supporting specific behaviors;
• Periodically assess outcomes of actions taken.

The mission of the C.A.R.E. Team is to serve the University community by:

• Effectively responding to referrals of students, faculty and staff who are experiencing distress, engaging in harmful or disruptive behavior or who are at risk of jeopardizing their academic success or employment security;
• Providing policy recommendations that further prevention, intervention and response efforts for the community and its members; and
• Fulfilling the University’s obligation to operate a behavior assessment and management process consistent with best practices for higher education.

C.A.R.E. serves as a point of referral for all individuals who are concerned about the physical, emotional, academic or financial health of another individual.  C.A.R.E. can assess the situation, offer support and provide information regarding appropriate resources on and off campus.  C.A.R.E. provides ongoing policy and procedure recommendations.  For students, notification to a student’s parents/guardian by the University’s attending physician or administrator may occur when deemed necessary.

This multi-disciplinary approach to identifying and developing plans of remediation also include services in intervention from local psychiatric facilities to include Linden Oakes Hospital, Naperville, Illinois, which provides 24 hours/day, 7 days/week inpatient and outpatient services.  C.A.R.E. may require a mandatory evaluation, with a recommendation from the facility that the individual referred no longer poses a threat to the campus community.  C.A.R.E. members consist of faculty, staff and administrators from many disciplines around campus including Campus Safety, Health Services, Student Affairs/Residence Life, Human Resources, and Academic Divisions.

C.A.R.E. information is posted on the University’s main Website, in the Emergency Response and Recovery Plan and reviewed during on-going violence prevention initiatives, through PowerPoint and personal awareness presentations, to include students, faculty, and staff.

All immediate life threatening situations or observations should be reported immediately to Campus Safety for prompt intervention.

The University has established a Threat Assessment Team to engage in the behavior assessment and investigation of persons of concern on behalf of the University.  These efforts include:

• Identifying person and situations of concern, to include developing and implementing strategies and materials to help encourage the University community to report threats and other troubling or disturbing behavior exhibited by current or former students, current or former employees and or guest/visitors;
• Gathering information from multiple sources (on campus and outside the institution) regarding the person or situation of concern;
• Evaluating the information gathered to determine whether the person or situation of concern poses  threat of violence, self-harm, or both; and
• Developing, implementing and monitoring case management plans to reduce any threat posed, using available resources and requesting the University’s assistance to secure resources where needed.

CARE and TAT Team Members