The California Department of Education has provided some helpful resources to assist school districts with the ongoing mental health aspects of crisis planning and crisis response. For more information contact your school district's coordinator for crisis response or your county office of education. Counseling and student support specialists (school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and school nurses) and local mental health specialists can assist you in working with individual students and staff.
Resources for Responding to Crisis
Crisis Response Box (PDF; 2.15MB; 18pp.)
"The box" is a unique product of the California Attorney General and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Safe Schools Task Force, developed to help schools, local law enforcement, and emergency services personnel prepare for a school emergency.
Best
Practices in School Crisis Prevention and Intervention (Outside Source)
Edited by S.E. Brock, P.J. Lazarus, and S.R. Jimerson. This
2002 publication is available from the National Association of
School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda,
MD 20814. The price for non-members is $110.00. Leading national
and international experts contributed to 37 chapters on topics
that include school safety, identification of troubled youth,
suicide prevention, natural disasters, school and war, and children
and grief.
Responding
to Crisis at a School (Outside Source)
Look for this guide under: Center Materials,
Special Materials Developed by Our Center, Section II. Resource
Aid Packets, Part B. Responding to Crisis at a School.
This resource guide comes from the UCLA Mental Health in Schools
Training and Technical Assistance Center. Topics covered in the
guide include an organizational model for school-based crisis
intervention; important considerations in effectively responding
to crises in schools, such as having a crisis response checklist,
providing psychological first aid, and helping children cope with
violence and disasters and their reactions to trauma; instructions
for building a school-based crisis team; and ways to address specific
areas of concern, such as suicide, family violence, and grief
and loss.
Preparing for Catastrophic Events-- Are Your Schools Prepared? (Outside Source)
Preparing for a potential terrorism incident is the same as preparing for an earthquake, fire, flood and other major crisis or disasters. This information is intended to provide school districts and site administrators with general guidelines regarding what measures can be taken to prepare for an emergency or disaster, including an incident related to terrorism. Managing your response should be based on the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS).
AB 103 Pupil Safety Educational Materials
AB 103 requires the CDE to electronically distribute disaster preparedness educational materials and lesson plans that are currently available to local school districts and county offices of education.
