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S T O P
20
LM Month 2019
The State of Illinois is planning to launch Safe2Help Illinois
early in 2020 as a centerpiece of its school safety efforts.
One of the recommendations of the state’s School Safety
Working Group (SSWG), the Safe2Help initiative will include
a social-media based 24/7 helpline handled by specially
trained analysts as well as a training/education component
for students from preK–12.
According to after-action reports, in virtually every mass
school shooting perpetrated by another student or students
in the past two decades in our country, at least one other
student knew something bad might happen but chose not to
come forward with that information.
The Safe2Help program will offer students a confidential
way in which to report information regarding threats
of school violence, suicide, bullying or other issues.
Legislation will be introduced in the spring session to
ensure that the identity of those sharing information will
remain confidential and to protect that information from
FOIA requests.
Safe2Help Illinois is being developed after a study of similar
programs in Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, and Wyoming.
The nation’s first statewide tip line, Safe2Tell Colorado,
was implemented a few years after the Columbine attacks
and last year received more than 18,000 tips. While school
attacks grab the headlines and were the impetus for the
programs, the No.1 tip received nationally is peer reporting
of suicide threats, with bullying being the second most
prevalent tip.
All established statewide tip lines report that their programs
have been successful in receiving large numbers of tips,
and the administrators who run those programs say that
they believe tragedies have been averted because of
the programs. Anecdotally, Nevada officials reported at
a recent national school safety tip line conference that
the very first day their tip line went live they received
a tip that resulted in a potential school shooting being
disrupted. Local law enforcement, acting upon the tip,
went to a student’s home and found loaded weapons and
documentation regarding a planned school attack.
The overarching goal of Safe2Help is getting students help
before they harm themselves or others. It is not to identify
students for the purpose of suspension, expulsion or arrest
except in the most extreme situations, such as the one Nevada
officials described.
Perhaps not surprising given that the target audience is
composed of teenagers, only about 20 percent of the tips in
other states come via phone calls. The vast majority of tips have
come in by text, the websites associated with the programs or
utilizing the free apps that are part of the programs.
Tips will be handled by specially trained analysts with extensive
training in mental health and public safety embedded in the
Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center (STIC) operated by
Illinois State Police. Although law enforcement involvement will
be behind the scenes, the focus of the program will be providing
students, parents, school officials, and the public the tools they
need to prevent a tragic event. Other state agencies that will
provide primary support for the operation of the program include
the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency (IEMA).
Participation by school districts in Safe2Help Illinois will be
purely voluntary and free of charge. The responsibilities of
school districts that participate include identifying a minimum
of five recipients—including at least one local law enforcement
agency. Once tips are vetted by the analysts, the information will
be sent immediately to the local recipients. The role of the state
analysts then will become following up on the information to see
if local school officials or law enforcement officials need any
assistance from the state and tracking how the situations have
been resolved to monitor regional and statewide trends in order
to determine future prevention priorities for the program.
A tip regarding a potential suicide, for example, would
immediately go to local school officials. The Safe2Help analysts
also would provide a list of local or regional mental health
providers and/or a reference to the national suicide prevention
hotline based upon the needs of those local school officials.
The information needs to be sent to local officials as soon as
possible, but instead of stopping there, the Safe2Help program
will attempt to offer as much help as possible to local officials if
such assistance is needed or requested.
Safe2Help Illinois
Initiative Launches
in January
By Mike Chamness
Chair, Illinois Terrorism Task Force