Reason for the Center: Helping Schools Plan for and Respond to Crisis Events
The National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, based at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, was established to help schools plan for and respond to crisis events and the needs of schools and children related to crisis and bereavement.
Recent events, such as the floods on the Gulf Coast, school shootings, ongoing community violence, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and other terrorist events in the United States and throughout the world, remind us that children's safety and well-being is too often challenged by disaster or terrorist events occurring within their schools, their communities or elsewhere within the world.
Children experience other personal crises and losses, such as the death of a family member. Five percent of children will experience the death of a parent by age 16; the vast majority of children will experience the death of someone close to them by the time they finish high school.
When a crisis occurs, schools are viewed by children and families as a place to turn for help and support.
- Children spend the majority of their days in a school setting
- Most children and families see schools as a place that is safe and secure
- School personnel are seen as knowledgeable about how to help children learn and about issues of development, behavior and emotional well-being
- Schools can reach more children in need of services than any other setting, potentially increasing coping and recovery after a crisis or loss
- Schools can monitor children's progress over time
- Schools across the country have increased efforts to address preparedness and response to crisis
School Crisis Response
Schools were not established with the primary goal to provide supportive services to children at times of crisis and loss. Most educators, school administrators and even school mental health professionals have had only limited professional training to equip them to develop and implement an effective school crisis response system and to provide bereavement support to grieving students.
It is not surprising, therefore, that despite the best of intentions, many schools are not adequately prepared to respond to a crisis or loss that may impact their students and staff.
School personnel often underestimate the incidence of bereavement among children and the significant negative impact it can have on learning and development.
Most school professionals, pediatricians and even mental health professionals lack the state-of-the-art knowledge, expertise and experience to provide appropriate crisis and bereavement support, both in the short- and long-term, for children as well as school personnel.
Aim of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement
The National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, in collaboration with school systems, organizations and agencies, aims to advance the learning capacity and mental health of students by preparing our school professionals to deal more effectively with crisis and loss in the lives of our children.
