Bridgewater State University Care Team

Executive Summary
The Bridgewater State University Care Team has contributed to the safety of the campus and the support of students at risk since 2007. The Care Team is one entity in a larger BSU network composed of the Office of Student Conduct, the University Police, the Counseling Center, the Crisis Response Team, Office of Academic Affairs, and the Office of Student Affairs, who together work to address problematic behavior while supporting students success.

Care Team Mission
The work of the Care Team is grounded in a belief that regular, periodic communication among targeted university personnel is necessary to identify students with heightened needs, who are exhibiting recurrent, problematic, or potentially dangerous behaviors. Balancing the privacy rights of individual students and the safety needs of the community, Care Team members serve based on their roles in Academic, and Student Affairs, as set forth in best practice recommendations. Care team members are familiar with HIPAA, FERPA, and the ADA and though certain barriers exist related to the sharing of information, we are ethically bound to review, refer, and respond on behalf of the community, when necessary.

The Care Team Name
Unlike other CARE Teams nationally, the care in BSU Care Team is not an acronym.  When proposed in 2007, the committee was named the Care Team for its fundamental purpose to care for students by offering assistance before situations acutely deteriorate.  Our founding and continuing emphasis is to help those experiencing serious difficulties. 

Care Team Goals and Function
The primary goal of the BSU Care Team is help create and maintain a safe campus environment, conducive to student learning, by identifying potentially dangerous, violent or threatening student behaviors, and by referring these to appropriate departments or authorities for action. Referrals to the Care Team are made through an established reporting scheme*, for situations that are recurrent and remain unresolved at the department, academic college or divisional level.  The Care Team is not a disciplinary body, nor is it a committee for routine classroom management issues. Student issues that reach the Care Team are those behaviors that interfere with academics, research, administrative, student conduct and other university activities.  Names of students forwarded to the Care Team may be referred to on or off-campus resources that may provide additional support, mentoring, treatment, sanctions, assessment or mandated assessments.  Immediate threats and serious mental or medical health issues should be reported directly to the University Police, the Counseling Center or Health Services respectively and are not issues for the Care Team. 

* See Concept Map

 The Care Team meets monthly to:

• collect and consider reports of student behavior that may indicate disturbing or disturbed behavior

• consider reported behaviors that may include of risk to the health and safety of the student or the community

• review campus situations that are concerning  though not criminal or health-related (having not yet risen to the attention of the University Police, Counseling Center, Student Affairs, the Office or Student Conduct, respectively)

•  identify and connect student with supports and services

• pass on criminal, psychological or student conduct violation cases to the University Police, the Counseling Center, and/ or the Office of Student Conduct, respectively

• maintain a secure spreadsheet of names /recommendations of the Care Team

• keep the Vice President for Student Affairs informed

Members of the Committee (by work role)

Senior Director, Health, Counseling and Outreach Education (chair)
Director, Student Conduct (or designee)
Assistant Vice President, Student Affairs  (or designee)
Clinical Director, Counseling Center
Assistant Director, Disability Resources
Director, Residence Life and Housing  (or designee)
Chief, University Police
Director, Academic Achievement Center or (designee)
Director,  International Student Services
President Office, Staff Representative
Administrative Support staff member

Dean or Designee from:

Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics
College of Education and Allied Studies
College of Humanities and Social Science
Ricciardi College of Business
College of Graduate Studies

The Care Team Core Group
For serious issues that arise between Care Team meetings, an ad hoc “Core Group” will review the referred issue.  The Core Group will include the Chair of the CARE TEAM, Chief of Police, the Director of Student Conduct, the Clinical Director of Counseling, the referring party and others as designated by the chair.  A brief verbal report will be made to the Care Team at the next scheduled meeting or the Core group may request a special meeting of the Care Team.

Additional Situational Experts
In addition, to the designated 15 member team, the Care Team may seek the input of other critical information  gathering departments on campus, including but not limited to: the Director of GLTBA Pride Center,  the Director of the Multicultural Affairs,  the Director of Athletics & Recreation, a campus ministry representative, or the referring faculty, staff, resident directors, coach or club/organization advisors

Last Modified: May 13, 2013