SRI Education evaluated the implementation and outcomes of the Handle With Care 2.0 program in West Virginia. Handle With Care 2.0 fosters a collaborative relationship between local first responder organizations (e.g., law enforcement, emergency medical services, and fire departments) and schools to identify and support K–12 students who experience trauma. The program also includes training and coaching for school staff to implement trauma-sensitive practices. The evaluation team collected survey and focus group data from staff in intervention and comparison schools and conducted interviews with first responders to assess the implementation and outcomes of the Handle With Care 2.0 program.
With funding from the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice, SRI Education conducted an evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of Handle With Care 2.0, a program to support students experiencing trauma.
Traumatic events cause physical, emotional, or psychological distress, or harm, and are perceived and experienced as a threat to one’s safety or to the stability of one’s world. Exposure to trauma can contribute to social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Students who continually experience these types of challenges without receiving necessary supports are at increased risk for not meeting expected school outcomes.
Handle With Care 2.0 Program. The Handle With Care 2.0 program fosters a collaborative relationship between local first responder organizations (e.g., law enforcement) and schools to identify and support K–12 students experiencing trauma.
One of the key components of the Handle With Care process is that local first responders alert schools whenever they encounter a school-aged individual at the scene of an incident. The responders share the student’s name and the three words, “Handle With Care,” with the designated Handle With Care contact in the district or school before the school bell rings the next day. The contact then notifies school staff members who interact with the student, and those members are responsible for providing an appropriate trauma-informed response to support the student (should the need arise), while also protecting the student’s and family’s privacy and confidentiality.
The Handle With Care 2.0 program also includes training for all school staff on trauma-sensitive practices. Each Handle With Care 2.0 school identifies a school team that monitors program implementation; analyzes data on attendance, behavior, and achievement for students with Handle With Care notices; and reflects on the data they collect to inform decisions.
Implementation study. SRI Education’s evaluation focused on comparing six schools in West Virginia implementing the Handle With Care 2.0 program to eight similar schools that were not implementing Handle With Care 2.0. For the implementation study, the evaluation team conducted focus groups and interviews with district and school staff and local first responders. The team gathered information about the collaboration and communication between schools and local first responder organizations to understand any key differences between schools implementing Handle With Care 2.0 (intervention schools) and schools not implementing the program (comparison schools). The team also explored whether intervention schools provided different types of supports to students experiencing trauma from those provided by comparison schools.
Outcomes study. The outcomes study provided preliminary information about how outcomes for intervention schools compare with outcomes for comparison schools. The evaluation team examined a range of school outcomes (such as school climate, behavior, and achievement), school staff outcomes (such as knowledge and self-efficacy in how to support students experiencing trauma), and student outcomes (such as attendance, behavior, and achievement for students with Handle With Care notices).
SRI Education, in collaboration with the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice, used the evaluation findings to identify implications and recommendations for improving the Handle With Care 2.0 program and supports to help schools meet the needs of students experiencing trauma.
