RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Rapid City Police Department, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Area School District and the Douglas School District plan to launch the ‘Handle with Care’ Program to support children facing trauma.
The “Handle with Care” program enables police to notify schools if they encounter a child at a traumatic scene, so schools and mental healthcare leaders can provide trauma-sensitive support right away.
In a prepared video, Rapid City Police Chief Don Hedrick says the program gives police a process enabling them to reach out to the schools directly.
This past year, police, school leaders, mental health professions and other stakeholders met to learn about and discuss the program.
Since then, they have established a notification system, and joined more than 65 other U.S. cities that have started their own Handle with Care program.
The new-for-2021 program helps educators stay in tune with the specific needs of a child who’s been exposed to trauma, while maintaining confidentiality to the specifics of the event.
Learn more about the program here: https://youtu.be/QyC6hSi3qUc
