What is CARE Team
CARE stands for Campus Assessment Response Evaluation. CARE Team is a collection of WSU staff who are committed to helping ensure students' needs are met in order to promote wellness and academic success. We provide a proactive and supportive multidisciplinary team approach to prevention, assessment and intervention for situations that may interfere with members of campus functioning to their full potential.
Members of CARE Team come from many different areas on campus to help ensure relevant expertise is available for a wide variety of potential concerns. To learn more about CARE Team's members and their positions on campus, click here.
CARE Team is a verified member of the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment, otherwise known as NABITA.
» Click here to learn more about NABITA.
The CARE Team process
You may wonder what happens on our end once you submit a concern. Here is a breakdown of the basic steps:
- When a concern is submitted, the report is entered into a secure database, which pulls in available information from Banner such as date of birth, contact information and area of study. The team members are then notified that a concern has been submitted. The notification contains the student's name and a freshly generated database ID, but does not contain details about the concern.
- One of the team members in the office for the Vice President of Student Affairs assesses the report and turns it into a CARE Team case. The case is then assigned
to a team member as the main point of contact. This assignment may change over the
lifetime of the case if it turns out someone else is better positioned to help the
student. If the report is more relevant to a different team, it will be transferred
to that team. Click here to see the different reporting options available.
- If there are concerns about harm to self or others, the student may be assigned a mandatory mental health assessment, which can be completed at Counseling and Prevention Services OR by signing a release of information that allows
- Once the concern becomes a case, other members of the team are notified. Certain members then add information they may have about the student, such as whether the student is living in on-campus housing, is employed on campus, or has had previous concerns submitted about them.
- The member to whom the case has been assigned will reach out to the student, the reporter, and any other relevant parties to gather information and arrange a conversation with the student. CARE Team members will abide by HIPAA and FERPA in this process.
- The team member will work with the student and any other relevant parties to assess the student's needs and inform the student of options, services, information, processes and resources available to them. When possible and relevant, CARE Team members will be happy to connect the student with people, offices and resources to meet their needs.
- CARE Team will close the student's case in the following situations:
- If the student is connected with resources and has their needs met
- If a lower-risk student expresses they do not need or want CARE Team's help*
- If the student leaves the university
Throughout this process, CARE Team will meet once a week to discuss current cases. CARE Team also attends monthly trainings to promote ongoing development and growing understanding of the issues that students face.
*This does not apply in situations when the student has significant risk factors of harm to self or others.
What CARE Team is not
While the CARE Team can be a great resource and tool for helping students, it can't do everything. There are some services that CARE Team is not equipped to offer.
- Emergency services. CARE Team is happy to reach out to students who have recently experienced a crisis or who seem at-risk of harm to self or others. However, if a student is currently in crisis and in imminent danger of harm to self or others, we advise you to call 911 or call UPD at 316-978-3450. Calling the police does not get anyone in trouble; police provide emergency services.
- Counseling services. Counseling and Prevention Services has representation on the CARE Team, and if students need counseling services we are happy to put them in touch with either CAPS or a community provider. However, the CARE Team does not offer counseling services, and most of its members are not licensed counselors.
- A "Get Out of Jail Free" card. CARE Team is happy to assist students who have run into obstacles to their wellness or academic success. However, we expect students to make an effort to do their part.
Frequently asked questions
Taking the step to submit a concern about someone can evoke mixed feelings. Below are a few common questions people have about this process.
If you need immediate assistance after normal business hours, please contact Wichita State University Police Department at 316-978-3450.
You can submit a concern through the CARE Team reporting page (click here). You can call the office of Student Affairs Assessment and Retention at 316-978-3149 during regular business hours and ask to schedule an appointment. You can also email care@wichita.edu or stop by room 231 in the Rhatigan Student Center.
If you included contact information, when you submit a concern you'll receive an email confirming receipt. Someone from CARE Team may or may not reach out to you to discuss your submission, depending on the case, our ability to reach the student and whether or not we need any additional information.
The CARE Team will address every report that is brought to the committee. However, you may not be privy to the outcome of an investigation based on the factors involved. We appreciate members of our campus taking the time to submit concerns they may have; however, we hope submitters understand that once a case is submitted, that information becomes confidential and we are not at liberty to disclose information about the case without a signed Release of Information from the student.
Although action will depend upon the situation, the CARE Team will intervene in support of the person of concern, as well as campus safety.
You are registering a concern based on an observed behavior (e.g., verbal exchange,
action, etc.), not making a determination. By alerting the appropriate campus representatives,
a safety determination can be made.
As a caring individual, you may desire to reason with or explore the source of the actions of the person in question. However, based on the threat level, this mentoring approach may not be the best course of action. Always assess the risk. Should you have any concern about your safety or the safety of others, your best course of action for the safety of all involved is to access intervention from people who are trained in these areas. Click here for more information about helping a student in distress.
Sometimes we don't have all the information. Let the CARE Team weigh the information and see if gathering more facts is warranted as a response plan is evaluated. It is also possible your information will contribute to other reports about the same student/s or situation.
You are doing the right thing in reporting your concerns in support of individuals' and our campus safety. However, this action may also raise concern for the person involved. The CARE Team takes into account the concerns of the campus, as well as the needs of the student, faculty or staff member about whom concerns are expressed. Whether the overall review of information will adversely affect the person's status as a student or employee will depend on the situation.
If you feel there is an immediate threat, call 911.
To make a referral, use the incident reporting form (click here). You will be asked for basic information about the student, how to contact you (in the event the CARE Team has follow-up questions) and for a description of the incident or behaviors that prompted the referral.
You are the CARE Team's best resource because you are familiar with the student. If you are comfortable doing so, we recommend telling the student that you are concerned and asking if they are okay. Click here for more information about helping a student in distress.
Do you have questions that weren't answered here? Reach out to us at care@wichita.edu.
If you need immediate assistance after normal business hours, please contact Wichita State University Police Department at 316-978-3450.