The District Crisis Response team goal is to assist school personnel in meeting the immediate emotional needs of the students, faculty and staff following a crisis event in order to facilitate a return to normalcy. This is essential in order to minimize the negative impact on student learning and mental health. The District Crisis Response is available to schools after an event that impacts groups of students, grade levels or the entire school. This comprehensive approach provides resources for school personnel to address social/emotional issues of individuals following a crisis or traumatic event and explore preventative measures for the future.
The District Crisis Team responds to any traumatic event from a death, accident, natural disaster or incident that creates a disruption to the normal day to day school routine. Results of such events include strong emotional reaction, interference with the ability to cope and a strong physical reaction. The District Crisis Team is composed of experienced School Psychologists, School Social Workers and Mental Health Counselors or Specialists who provide on-call assistance to students, faculty and staff in crisis throughout the Duval County Public Schools.
The School Psychologist for Crisis Response is available to present to organizations in the community on topics related to coping with grief and loss to individuals in the community through the Parent Academy. In addition to responding to school crises, the District Crisis Hotline serves as a resource for schools providing community resources for individual and family grief counseling and other needed services. When needed, the coordinator of crisis response can also connect families who have lost a child to resources for funeral expense assistance.
According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2015, disturbing numbers of Duval County middle and high school students are seriously considering suicide — 1 in 4 middle school students and nearly 1 in 5 high school students. The District Crisis Hotline is available to school personnel when a student is actively threatening to harm themselves or someone else, when a student has wounds that may be self-inflicted or if a student is a danger to themselves.
Community Resources
Florida Association of School Psychologists - Crisis Resources
Grieving Students
National Association of School Psychologists - Managing Traumatoc Events
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - Coping After a Traumatic Event
Talk About 13 Reasons Why
Contact Us
Ellen Menendez, MSW, Registered Clinical Social Work Intern
Specialist for Crisis Response
Duval County Public Schools
Crisis Hotline Available 24/7: 904-390-2535
Fax: 904-348-5737