Fluent Essays

School crises can have a lasting psychological impact on students. But school crises may also affect families and surrounding communities. For many people, schools represent a safe haven. Therefore, when a violent act occurs in a school, it is especially devastating. Crisis workers who respond to a school crisis must keep this in mind as they assess survivors. They also must be aware of cultural factors that may come into play. Many of todays schools include a broad array of ethnic cultures and primary languages spoken. When a crisis occurs, crisis workers must be prepared to deal with not only the variance in languages spoken, but the differences in how various cultures accept or acknowledge the need for psychological support.In this Discussion, you will analyze the cultural and ecological impact of a school crisis with which you are familiar. Then, you will describe at least one crisis intervention strategy or skill you might have used to respond.To prepare for this Discussion:Review this week’s resources related to School Crises, focusing on topics such as posttraumatic stress (i.e., school shootings), adolescent suicide prevention, and school crisis intervention teams.Think about a school crisis with which you are familiar (Note: It could be one that you heard about in the news or one that occurred in or near your community.Reflect on the cultural and ecological impact of the school crisis. Focus on how the school crisis affected families and surrounding communities.Identify at least one crisis intervention strategy and/or skill that you might have used to respond to the school crisis you identified. Reflect on how this intervention strategy or skill might address the cultural and ecological impact of the crisis.With these thoughts in mind:By Day 3Post a brief description of a recent school crisis with which you are familiar. Then, analyze the cultural and ecological impact of the school crisis. Finally, based on your analysis, describe at least one crisis intervention strategy and/or skill you might have used to respond to the crisis, and explain why. Be sure to protect the identity of any real persons used in the example, including you. This is not intended as a venue for self-disclosure of very personal issues. No identifying information should be used.Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources. chp_13_course_text_pt1.pdf chp_13_course_text_pt2.pdf chp_13_course_text_pt3.pdf school_crisis_teams_within_an_incident_command_system.pdf school_crisis_intervention_in_the_ikeda_incident.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview The California School Psychologist, Vol. 11, pp. 63-72, 2006 Copyright 2006 California Association of School Psychologists 63 School Crisis Teams within an Incident Command System Amanda B. Nickerson University at Albany, State University of New York Stephen E. Brock California State University Sacramento Melissa A. Reeves Cherry Creek School District, Greenwood Village, CO Despite the increasing attention given to the need for schools to be prepared to respond in a variety of crisis situations, there is a lack of information about how to coordinate with multiple agencies following a crisis. This article describes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (2004) National Incident Management System and its Incident Command System (ICS), which provides a common set of concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes to facilitate crisis response activities. The traditional school crisis team structure is compared to the ICS structure and the overlap and integration of the two are highlighted. Two case scenarios are presented to illustrate how the school crisis team may operate in compliance with the ICS in different crisis situations. Crises are sudden, uncontrollable, and extremely negative events that have the potential to impact an entire school community (Brock, 2002). Thus, they require an organized and carefully coordinated response to meet the needs of the affected individuals. During the past two decades, there has been increased public, professional, and legislative interest in school crisis prevention and intervention. It has been recommended that comprehensive crisis teams be established at the school, district, and regional or community levels (Brock, Sandoval, & Lewis, 2001), of which school psychologists are often active members (Allen et al., 2002; Nickerson & Zhe, 2004). Whereas recommendations have been made about the structure and function of these teams, there is a notable absence of literature on how these teams coordinate with other emergency personnel. In particular, guidance regarding how the school crisis team fits within the federal government’s National Incident Management System (NIMS) has been scarce. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2004) developed the NIMS to help facilitate a standardized response to emergencies. A central component of NIMS is the Incident Command System (ICS). Consistent with guidance offered by Brock, Jimerson, and Hart (2006) and required in some states (e.g., California), it is important that school crisis teams conform to the NIMS and its ICS so that these teams can communicate in a common language with the many other agencies and response personnel that may be involved in responding to a crisis at school. Despite the use of the ICS by agencies such as the American Red Cross, electric companies, emergency management, fire, law enforcement, public health, and public works/highway departments (Landesman, 2005), a review of the literature indicates that school crisis teams are rarely described within this infrastructure and when they are, the ICS is mentioned only briefly (e.g., U.S. Department of Education, 2003). However, this issue has received attention recently. For instance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers an independent study course on Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools (http:// www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is362.asp). In addition, Brock et al. (2006) have offered an indepth description of how the ICS can provide the infrastructure for delineating the roles and duties of Address correspondence to: Amanda B. Nickerson; University at Albany, State University of New York; 1400 Washington Avenue; ED 232; Albany, NY 12222. E-mail: anickerson@uamail.albany.edu. 64 The California School Psychologist, 2006, Vol. 11 school crisis team members, specifically with regard to the prevention, preparation, response, and recovery from school violence. The following provides a description of the ICS, reviews the current status of school crisis teams, proposes how school crisis teams can comply with the ICS, and provides two examples of how the school crisis team may operate within the ICS in different emergencies affecting schools. School Crisis Teams Recent surveys of school psychologists provide evidence that crisis response teams are prevalent in schools, with 93\% of respondents in Nickerson and Zhe’s (2004) study indicating that their schools used these teams and 76\% of respondents in Allen et al.’s (2002) study reporting that their districts had these teams. However, Graham, Shirm, Liggen, Aitken, and Dick’s (2006) recent study of school superintendents revealed deficiencies in school emergency/disaster planning. Of school superintendents who responded, 86\% had a crisis plan but only 57\% had a prevention plan. Although 95\% had an evacuation plan, almost 30\% had never conducted a drill and 43\% had never met with local ambulance officials to discuss emergency planning. Experts in school crisis prevention and intervention have emphasized the importance of having a comprehensive school crisis team to address the safety and mental health needs of students, staff, and families through prevention, response, and recovery (e.g., Brock et al., 2001; Poland, Pitcher, & Lazarus, 2002). Although it is important to have building-level crisis teams and ensure that local school resources are the primary providers of crisis team assistance, district, regional, or community-level teams, consisting of members with more advanced crisis knowledge, expertise, and access to additional resources, are also important. Multiple hierarchical teams are necessary given that some crisis events are so severe that they can quickly overwhelm local resources. School crisis situations are also unique because they often impact the school caregiver(s), either physically or psychologically, which may complicate crisis response. Depending upon the nature of the school crisis event the district-level and/ or regional or community-level team may provide consultation to school teams or offer direct services (Brock et al., 2001). A hallmark of school crisis teams is multidisciplinary membership. Some have recommended that teams be comprised of specific staff members, such as the principal, guidance counselor, nurse, psychologist, and teachers (e.g., Peterson & Straub, 1992). Others, however, have advocated a functional, rather than a discipline-specific, approach to team formation (Brock et al., 2001; James & Gilliland, 2001; Pitcher & Poland, 1992). These functions include a crisis response coordinator, counseling coordinator, media liaison, security/law enforcement liaison, medical liaison, and parent liaison (Brock et al., 2001; Pitcher & Poland, 1992; Poland et al., 2002). Organizing teams according to function, instead of being discipline specific, also allows back-up trained personnel to assume duties if a particular individual is not available. The crisis response coordinator is typically a school administrator who is responsible for coordinating the development of the school crisis plan, overseeing the response to an actual crisis, and evaluating the response (Brock et al., 2001). Most school teams also designate a person to coordinate the school’s response to the psychological needs of students and staff. This role has been referred to as the crisis intervention coordinator (Brock et al., 2001), counseling coordinator, or counseling liaison (Pitcher & Poland, 1992). This coordinator is responsible for ensuring that mental health and/or supportive services are provided to the affected individuals through triage, direct intervention, and referrals. Most often, this person is a trained mental health provider such as a school psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor. The media liaison, often the school or district public information officer, School Crisis Teams within an ICS 65 works with broadcast and print journalists prior to a crisis to establish good working relationships and during an event to provide concise and accurate information to be shared with the public. The security or law enforcement liaison is typically an administrator, a school resource officer (Brock et al., 2001), or a school security staff member who has ongoing contact with local law enforcement personnel. Because crises often affect the physical health of students, a medical liaison, who may be a nurse or district health administrator, provides training to school personnel in emergency first aid, coordinates communication between the paramedics and school crisis team, and, in some cases, manages medical triage of victims (Brock et al., 2001). Recognizing parents’ need for information and assurance about their children’s safety, Pitcher and Poland (1992) recommended including a parent liaison as part of the school crisis team. This person is responsible for establishing a system to respond to phone calls and to reunite parents with students. It is essential that comprehensive school crisis teams be prepared to work with emergency response personnel (e.g., fire, police, public health) as a part of their response to school crises. Research has indicated that a common crisis response challenge is generated when multiple agencies, unfamiliar with each other’s work, are involved in a crisis response. Lack of familiarity can impede efficient and effective response (Kartez & Kelley, 1988; Raphael & Meldrum, 1993). Given the reality that some school crises necessitate the involvement of multiple agencies, it is important for schools to be prepared to communicate with and integrate other emergency response providers. Incident Command System The National Incident Management System (NIMS; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004) provides a common set of concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes to allow crises to be managed at all levels in an efficient, effective, and collaborative way. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 5- Management of Domestic Incidents, signed in 2003, communicated the Bush administration’s executive decision to require all federal departments and agencies to adopt the NIMS, including the basic tenets of the Incident Command System (ICS) as a condition for federal preparedness assistance through grants, contracts, and other activities (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). The ICS is to be used for a broad spectrum of emergencies, across all levels of government and nongovernmental agencies, and across disciplines. According to HSPD-5, the ICS should be used in prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation programs and activities. As illustrated in Figure 1, the ICS is organized by five major functions: Command, Intelligence, Operations, Logistics, and Finance. Command. This includes the incident commander, and if necessary, a crisis management team comprised of a public information officer (PIO), safety officer (SO), mental health officer, and liaison officer. The incident commander is the person who coordinates the response to crises. This person is provided by the agency with the greatest interest in the event at that time, or by the agency charged with legal responsibility (Green, 2002). The incident commander sets the objectives for the group, assigns responsibilities, and coordinates the overall response. When a crisis crosses multiple political boundaries or jurisdictions, with several agencies having the authority and responsibility to deal with the incident (e.g., a school shooting), the ICS makes use of a unified command, which involves using a collective approach with a single set of objectives developed for the entire incident (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). The composition of the unified command is flexible, based on the location and type of the incident. The unified command ranges from command by a committee to having a single incident commander take everyone’s concerns into account (Green, 2002). For school districts that encompass more than one jurisdiction (e.g., multiple police departments), it is important for the 66 The California School Psychologist, 2006, Vol. 11 Emergency Operations Center Director/ School Incident Commander (District/school administrator. In a unified command includes an emergency response chief or administrator) Crisis Management Team Public Information Officer (e.g., Media Liaison) Safety Officer (e.g., School Resource Officer) Mental Health Officer (e.g., School Psychologist) Liaison Officer (e.g., Community Liaison) (Thinkers) Intelligence Section (Doers) Operations Section (Getters) Logistics Section Security & Safety Facilities (e.g., School Resource Officer) (e.g., Custodian/Building Engineer) Student Care Supplies & Equip. (e.g., School Psychologist) (e.g., Secretary) Emergency Medical (e.g., Nurse) Staff & Community Volun. Assignment Translation Communications (e.g., Community Liaison) (e.g., Administration) (Payers) Finance Section (e.g., Community Liaison) Figure 1. This flowchart illustrates the elements of the ICS and their hierarchical relationships. It also provides examples of the school crisis team roles and school personnel that might fill these ICS roles. school crisis team to plan with all of those jurisdictions in advance to understand how this structure would be utilized in an emergency situation. Within the command staff, the public information officer interfaces with the public, the media, and other agencies with incident-related information requirements. This person needs to gather accurate information about the incident’s cause, size, current situation, and resources committed (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). The safety officer, who is there for the safety of the response personnel, conducts ongoing assessments of hazardous environments, coordinates safety efforts among different agencies, implements measures to promote emergency responder safety, and advises the incident commander on all safety matters. Regardless of the use of a single incident commander or a unified command, there should only be one public information officer and one safety officer (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). The Los Angeles County Office of Education (n.d.) adds a mental health officer position, which may also be a part of the crisis management team and reports directly to the incident commander. The addition of a mental health officer may be particularly valuable due to the importance of assessing and coordinating mental health services for students, staff, and families. Unlike traditional emergency responders who constantly respond to crises, this is a less frequent role in schools, and being prepared to respond to the mental health issues that may arise is School Crisis Teams within an ICS 67 critical. The liaison officer is the point of contact for representatives of other government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private entities. All agency representatives given the authority to speak for their parent agencies or organizations coordinate through the liaison officer. In large incidents, each of the aforementioned members of the command staff may need one or more assistants to help with the duties. Additional command staff may be necessary depending on the incident (e.g., legal advisor, medical advisor), which may be referred to as “section chiefs.” Another important concept is the command post. It is critical that all incident command staff operate from a single incident command post to ensure a coordinated response. This post should be located in a safe area outside of the immediate impact area of an ongoing event. Incident command staff, regardless of the agency they represent, should all work from this single location (Green, 2002). Assuming the school office is safe and not impacted by the crisis event, this is the typical location for a school’s command post. When the command staff meets at the command post, section chiefs for each function should be assigned. The command post should have the resources needed to organize a response (e.g., phones, fax, confidential meeting space). Intelligence. This section is comprised of “the thinkers” (California Governor’s OES, 1998), who collect, evaluate, and disseminate incident situation information and intelligence to the incident commander or unified command. Intelligence also prepares status reports, maintains status of resources assigned to an incident, and develops and documents the plan, including incident objectives and strategies. This section is constantly asking questions, evaluating new information, planning for future needs, and making use of recorders, logs, radios, campus maps, and buses. It also maintains a status board, which may be a flip chart keeping a summary of what is occurring (Los Angeles County Office of Education, n.d.). Operations. Referred to as “the doers” by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES, 1998), Operations is responsible for immediate response needs, including activities focused on reducing immediate hazards, saving lives and property, establishing situational control, and restoring normal operations (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). The person in charge of Operations directs the strategic response to the incident by organizing the work force, matching supplies with needs, and managing resources. Operations oversees search and rescue, reunion, medical and psychological first aid, security, and fire suppression (Los Angeles Unified School District, n.d.). Activities typically viewed as “crisis intervention” or the immediate response to the psychological challenges generated by a crisis event fall under the control of Operations. Translation and cultural services also fall under this section. Figure 2 illustrates examples of school personnel that may fill the Operations Section roles. Logistics. This section is responsible for obtaining all resources needed to manage the crisis, thus they are referred to as “the getters” (California Governor’s OES, 1998). These resources include personnel, equipment and supplies, and services, including transportation. When Operations needs something, they get it from Logistics and Logistics works with Intelligence to develop resources for future needs. Finance. This section, consisting of “the payers” (California Governor’s OES, 1998), keeps a record of all expenses. Although not all crises require this section, it is established when the agency requires finance and other administrative support services (e.g., payroll, claims and reimbursements). If only one specific aspect is needed (e.g., cost analysis), a technical specialist in Planning can provide this (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). In the schools, it is often the incident commander or administrator who is directly involved in monetary decisions and approval of these decisions. The records of expense become important if federal or state funds are later allocated to the response. 68 The California School Psychologist, 2006, Vol. 11 (Doers) School Operations Section Chief School Security and Safety Coordinator School Student Care Coordinator School Emergency Medical Coordinator Facilities & Grounds Specialist Crisis Intervention Specialist First Aid Specialist (e.g., Building Engineer) (e.g., School Psychologist) (e.g., Nurse) Search, Rescue & Accounting Specialist Student Assembly & Release Specialist Morgue Specialist (e.g., Building Engineer) (e.g., Office Staff) (e.g., Nurse) Crowd Manager Shelter, Food, Water & Supplies Specialist (e.g., School Resource Officer) School Translation Coordinator (e.g., Café. Staff) Traffic Safety Monitor (e.g., School Resource Officer) Figure 2. This flowchart illustrates the elements of the ICS’s Operations section and their hierarchical relationships. It also provides examples of the school personnel that ... Purchase answer to see full attachment