'Handle With Care' Program Helps Kids Who Went Through Traumatic Events

“Handle with Care” is a program that works to give teachers and school administration a “heads up” that a student has been through something traumatic, and that they may act out or just act differently at school. 

“Really the goal is to keep kids safe so they can learn,” said Adrienne Elder. 

She said Handle with Care works to do exactly what it’s named, notify teachers of children that have been through a traumatic event, so they can be handled with care. 

“Children that are exposed to a traumatic event, they'll go to school the next day and if the schools are not aware that something has happened, the staff may misinterpret these behaviors as disrespectful or disengaged or not wanting to learn.” 

Elder said the initiative was a grassroots effort that really gained headway 4 years ago. She said part of the reason this started was she heard over and over from law enforcement that they wish they could have done more for children in a traumatic situation. 

“A lot of times they would walk away from a scene, from a 911 incident and they could see that kids were suffering. I think this kind of allows them to pass that baton, and know that those kiddos are in good hands,” said Elder. 

“Instead of walking away wishing they could do more, they make a simple ‘Handle with Care’ notification. It can be an email to the school or childcare facility.” 

The email does not go into any specifics about the nature of the situation the child was involved in but is just a simple notification to handle that child with extra care. 

One of the Handle with Care partners is the Choctaw Police Department. 

Choctaw police Chief Kelly Marshall says she’s seen the impact an event like this can have on a child. 

“It can be traumatic for a child to be moved from one home to another because of a domestic event or something of that nature.” 

This program ultimately gives an opportunity for those children to get the help they may need. 

“They get those necessary buffering supports, some positive experiences, that allows them to thrive, to heal from whatever they've been through and to really just bounce back better than before,” said Elder. 

If a child or family needs additional support- behavioral health or other support services will be available to them. 

Oklahoma was recently recognized as a top 5 states in implementation of the program. Elder says they are hoping to get consistent policies in place, between schools and law enforcement, to continue pushing this initiative forward. She says they are hoping to get legislation drafted to further instate those policies.