A School Crisis Network: A School and Mental Health Cooperative Effort

The School Crisis Network is an organization founded in Charlottesville, Virginia by a group of practitioners in the community, local mental health agencies, and school personnel to address the needs of local school systems during times of crisis. It represents a unique cooperative effort between mental health professions and the school system which offers school psychologists a means to go beyond building limitations by using available community resources to provide support and intervention for staff and students during emergencies. Since its inception over 2 years ago, the Network has provided support to schools in dealing with the immediate aftermath of student suicides, accidents, and the deaths of parents with school-age children. This paper describes the School Crisis Network and the importance and development of the relationship between schools and the communities they serve. A number of major components that have contributed to the success of this model are reviewed, including the routine followed during a crisis situation; the mechanism used to coordinate the school administration, building level staff, and outside volunteers; and the education and training provided by the School Crisis Network. The paper concludes that the School Crisis Network has proved to be effective in providing organizational and professional support to local school systems during times of crisis. (NB)