“If you understand trauma, you don’t need details. All you need are these three words: Handle With Care.” — Andrea Darr, Founder, Handle With Care 

Law enforcement is called to the scene of a domestic violence incident where children are present. Mom receives medical attention and her partner leaves in the back of the police car. The children arrive at school the next day physically and emotionally exhausted. They may complain of physical ailments, have emotional meltdowns, or act out towards their peers. In short, they are in no shape to effectively engage in classroom learning, and neither teachers nor school staff know why. 

Andrea Darr, Director of the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice, created a simple yet effective strategy for mitigating the toxic stress that children experience in these types of situations. Through the Handle With Care program, first responders are trained to notify teachers and childcare workers when a child has been present at the scene of a traumatic event — such as crime, violence, domestic abuse, or an accident. Without providing details of what happened, the notification, simply “Handle with Care,” helps teachers and childcare workers treat the child with compassion, and, when necessary, connect children to support services.  

Handle With Care began with a pilot program in West Virginia in 2013 and now exists in at least 33 states, including five states that are implementing the model statewide. 

On October 25, 2022, Pathways to Resilience hosted a learning network session with Andrea Darr, the founder of Handle With Care; Becky Haas, an experienced law enforcement trainer; Teri Lawler, who is leading work in trauma-informed practices and social emotional learning at the Delaware Department of Education; and Zoe Lyons, who has implemented Handle With Care as Director of the Jackson County Office of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. 

The speakers reflected on the strategies that have made Handle With Care successful in communities throughout the country, many of which can be applied to other programs and initiatives:  

Engage with partners who share common goals. The partnerships in Handle With Care are strong and effective because the key players — law enforcement, emergency responders, schools, and childcare providers — already have an interest in promoting child and school safety. Participating in Handle With Care is also an opportunity for law enforcement to build trust with the community. A person who is well connected within the community and with key players can more effectively build trust in the program and facilitate buy-in. Think about ways you can bridge the divide, such as finding an ally from the other sector who can help you speak their language and achieve buy-in. 

Make confidentiality clear up front. Handle With Care was designed to avoid issues with confidentiality and data sharing. The only information a first responder should share with a child’s daycare or school is the child’s name. Schools are advised not to save Handle With Care notices in children’s records. The speakers noted that in the nearly 10 years of Handle With Care implementation, they have not experienced any challenges related to confidentiality. 

Train both first responders and educators. Implementing Handle With Care is easy, but it is critical to train educators on how to respond to a Handle With Care notice appropriately to maximally benefit and avoid re-traumatizing children. West Virginia holds quarterly meetings and check-ins to ensure their Handle With Care program is meeting its model of fidelity. Resources for monitoring Handle With Care program outcomes, including training materials, are available here.   

Make program participation as simple as possible. Handle with Care does not have to be high tech to work, but jurisdictions with the greatest success in implementing Handle With Care have streamlined or standardized their communications processes. Notifying schools using an app or centralized notification center can streamline the process, but are not necessary to get started.  

Start small and expand over time. Many of the states and localities implementing Handle With Care started by leveraging partnerships on a small scale and expanded their work organically. They did not require legislation or significant budgets to create their programs. 

Watch the video below for more from our Handle With Care Learning Network session.

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