Hillsborough County Public Schools Student Services and Federal Programs
Action Item

DATE: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
TO: School Board Members
FROM: MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent

SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS

Approve the Memorandum of Understanding Between Hillsborough County Public Schools and Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota County Public Schools for the provision of crisis team assistance to meet the mental health needs of staff and students affected by natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes) and other emergency situations. Should one of the participating school districts experience disaster, other school district crisis response team(s) would be deployed, as requested by the affected school district (Student Services and Federal Programs)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

During the 2006-2007 school year nine surrounding school districts have participated in planning and preparing for crisis response following natural disasters and other emergency situations. Four workshops were held with individuals from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and vital factors were determined that would effectively support schools in their mental health needs upon the reopening of schools following a disaster. The Memorandum of Agreement attached was developed to ensure that, upon request, Crisis Response Teams would deploy to an impacted school district in order to provide counseling services including grief counseling, individual/group counseling, classroom/large group presentations, consultation with faculty and administration, parent conferences, and agency referral. The primary function of the responding team would be to help stabilize the immediate situation and to provide emotional relief to any individuals who demonstrate the need. They will also help to identify those individuals who may need more intensive and/or ongoing assistance.

ANNUAL DISTRICT GOAL(S) AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S)

Goal 5 – The district will eliminate the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) achievement gap by a minimum of 10 percentage points as reported by No Child Left Behind.

FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted: Yes)

Reimbursement for expenses would be requested from FEMA for mileage and per diem, as necessary.

EVALUATION

Two sources of evaluation will occur. On an annual basis, the nine participating school districts will meet to review procedures and crisis call outs to determine what changes, if any, are necessary. Following each crisis call out, the deployed team will meet to debrief the crisis response and determine what went well, what did not go well, and what needs to occur differently at the next call out.

SUBMITTED BY:

Nelson H. Luis, General Director
Student Services and Federal Programs
(813) 273-7136
Gwendolyn Luney, Assistant Superintendent
Student Services and Federal Programs
(813) 272-4879
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Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20070424_239 * Section E Item# 2.01