Safe2Help Illinois Offers Reporting Resources, Curriculum

Provided by the Illinois Terrorism Task Force and Illinois Emergency Management Agency

The State of Illinois is developing a school safety program called Safe2Help Illinois in an effort to raise awareness of 21st-century threats facing schoolchildren in Illinois.

In the absence of a trusted adult, Safe2Help Illinois offers students a safe, confidential way in which to share information that might help prevent suicides, bullying, school violence, or other threats to school safety. This program is not intended to suspend, expel, or punish students. Rather, the goal is to get students to “Seek Help Before Harm.” Safe2Help Illinois will also develop an educational curriculum aimed at changing the culture in Illinois schools while also providing the resources to help parents and educators reinforce the components of this program.

About Safe2Help
Safe2Help Illinois is a 24/7 program where students can use a free app, text/phone, website (Safe2HelpIllinois.com) and other social media platforms to report school safety issues in a confidential environment. Once vetted, the tips will immediately be shared with local school officials, mental health professionals, and/or local law enforcement, depending on the nature of the tip. The program also will help local officials by connecting them with mental health resources or other appropriate resources to intervene and help students before they harm themselves or others.

In visiting with other states that have implemented similar programs, we found the two most common tips have been threats of suicide and bullying. We believe we will see similar results based on the following:

• 47,000 Illinois students reported attempting suicide in 2015.
• Nearly 100 Illinois youth (age 10-19) died by suicide in 2015.
• Two in 10 Illinois students report being bullied.
•  Students who are bullied are twice as likely to attempt suicide.

Similar school safety programs in other states have been assessed as effective in helping prevent acts of school violence. In fact, on the first day of Nevada’s program, a tip successfully thwarted a potential school attack.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 85 percent of mass shootings that occurred, someone knew something before the event took place. These signs range from social media posting to observed signs of distress.

Within the last 15 years, in almost every case of a mass school shooting committed by a student in the United States, after-action reports indicate at least one other student knew something might happen and did not come forward for a variety of reasons.

School FAQ
Will the state Safe2Help program replace an already established local tip line?
No. Local school districts may elect to continue to operate their existing tip line. However, we encourage districts to consider the cost to operate the service and understand that participation in Safe2Help is free and provides 24/7 accessibility.
 
What is the cost for a school district to participate?
There is no cost to the school district to participate in the program and receive reports from the Safe2Help program.
 
Will the state program replace the need for districts to identify mental health providers?
No. The objective of the Safe2Help program is to support schools and school districts in determining what mental health services they believe best to respond to each report. If requested, the Safe2Help program can assist reporters and schools in identifying mental health services available within their community, county or region of the state. Direct intervention with the student is the responsibility of the district.

Are school districts required to participate?
No. The Safe2Help program will forward confidential tips received from students, parents, school officials, and the community to the local law enforcement and/or schools whether or not they elect to formally participate in the program.

Is the state program a confidential or anonymous tip line?
The Safe2Help program is a confidential tip line. Reporters will be encouraged to provide their name and contact information, but it isn’t a requirement. Information received by Safe2Help is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reporting rules and can only be accessed under limited conditions by a court order.

What are the requirements for a school district to participate in the Safe2Help program?
The school district will be asked to provide contact information for five individuals (minimum) at each school and five contacts at the district. These individuals will be called end-users. School end-users should include at least one individual from local law enforcement and the other four from within the school or community. The school can include an individual(s) from their behavioral threat assessment team in case the information would need to be shared and handled within that team. A local police department can also be an end-user.

The school/district will enter contact information for each identified end-user into an online geoform. Required information includes each end-user’s name, title, email, office phone number, and a yes or no to if the end-user would like to subscribe to text alerts (to notify them of incoming Safe2Help Illinois report emails). End-users will be updated every year as necessary.

What are the responsibilities of the end-users?
End-users are the contact points within the school, district, and law enforcement. End-users will be responsible for addressing the reports that are received from Safe2Help Illinois. These individuals also will be responsible for submitting general follow-up information on how the Safe2Help Illinois report was handled at their school. End-users will go through a brief training so they understand how to view and enter follow-up information into the Safe2Help software.

Can a district participate in the Safe2Help program if they are unable to designate the minimum five end-users from each school?
No. Each school is required to provide five end-users. If there are questions, the school and Safe2Help staff can work together to help identify end-users or come up with additional options. At least one end-user must be from local law enforcement. Schools can add more than five end-users if they want. In addition to the end-users provided by each school, the district will be required to provide five contacts, as well.

What is the difference between the end-users designated for the Safe2Help line and required for the Behavioral Threat Assessment Team?
Schools can list an individual(s) from their Behavioral Threat Assessment Team as an end-user. This could be helpful in case the information would best be shared and handled within the Behavioral Threat Assessment Team. If you are interested in forming a Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams, there is free training in the state of Illinois. For more information, call 309-298-2646 or email [email protected].

Changing the Culture
Safe2Help Illinois is a long-term initiative to change the school culture in Illinois. By providing a recommended educational curriculum as early as preschool, we hope to remove the stigma associated with mental health issues, foster a culture of kindness, and instill important lessons such as the difference between telling and tattling, internet safety, and suicide prevention.
 

Reprinted with permission the Illinois Terrorism Task Force and Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Full resources, including links to Safe2Help Illinois participating districts and training for Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams, can be can be accessed via bit.ly/ND20JRes.