Step 1: Establish a Multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Team

The first step in developing a comprehensive targeted violence prevention plan is to establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team (hereafter referred to as the “Team”) of individuals who will direct, manage, and document the threat assessment process.

The Team will receive reports about concerning students and situations, gather additional information, assess the risk posed to the school community, and develop intervention and management strategies to mitigate any risk of harm.

Some schools may pool their resources and have a single Team that serves an entire district or county, while other districts may choose to have a separate Team for each school.

Teams should include personnel from a variety of disciplines within the school community, including teachers, guidance counselors, coaches, school resource officers, mental health professionals, and school administrators.

The multidisciplinary nature of the Team ensures that varying points of view will be represented and that access to information and resources will be broad.

The Team needs to have a specifically designated leader. This position is usually occupied by a senior administrator within the school.

Teams should establish protocols and procedures that are followed for each assessment, including who will interview the student of concern; who will talk to classmates, teachers, or parents; and who will be responsible for documenting the Team’s efforts.

Established protocols allow for a smoother assessment process as Team members will be aware of their own roles and responsibilities, as well as those of their colleagues.

Team members should meet whenever a concerning student or situation has been brought to their attention, but they should also meet on a regular basis to engage in discussions, role-playing scenarios, and other team-building and learning activities.

This will provide members of the Team with opportunities to work together and learn their individual responsibilities so that when a crisis does arise, the Team will be able to operate more easily as a cohesive unit.

While the information in this guide refers to this group as a Threat Assessment Team, schools can choose an alternative name.

For example, some schools have opted to use the label “Assessment and Care Team” to encourage involvement from those who might be concerned about a student, and to focus on getting a student access to needed resources and supports.

Other schools have chosen to refer to this group as a “Behavioral Intervention Team” to focus on a spectrum of concerning behaviors that a student may be exhibiting.

Finally, some schools have continued to refer to their groups as “Threat Assessment Teams” to highlight the heightened sense of concern about a student who is identified.