Threat Assessment and Management Publications
PCCD-authored publications related to threat assessment can be accessed here, along with those the team have selected as being important in the field in supporting schools establish and operate effective threat management teams and processes.
Threat Assessment Suicide Risk – Policy and Practice Guidance Note (2023)
Authored by practitioner experts in the field of threat assessment and suicide risk screening and assessment, the Threat Assessment & Suicide Risk | Policy and Practices in Pennsylvania guidance note describes how threat assessment teams can work alongside colleagues in the Act 71 (Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention) pathway, to ensure vital information is shared while also providing clarity on the different roles and responsibilities of these teams with regard to the screening and assessment of risk for suicide.
National Institute of Justice – Synthesizing Knowledge on Equity-Based School Safety (2022)
US Secret Service, National Threat Assessment Center – Mass Attacks in Public Spaces (2023)
Note that, while this report deals with mass attacks in a wide range of settings, schools feature prominently and the conclusions reached as to recognition of warning indicators (behaviors, communications, pre-attack events, etc.) and recommendations for all stakeholders involved in public safety including school personnel, are relevant and contribute to the professional development of K12 Threat Assessment Teams.
A Tale of Two Pandemics: Equitable and Trauma-Informed Threat Assessment Processes – By Terri A. Erbacher & Kirby L. Wycoff (2020)
“A Tale of Two Pandemics: Equitable and Trauma-Informed Threat Assessment Processes,” Communiqué, 49(5), 1, 32-35, 2011, National Association of School Psychologists. Copyright 2021 by NASP. Reprinted with permission.
Averting Targeted School Violence – A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools – National Threat Assessment Center, U.S. Secret Service (2021)
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management – Best Practice for K-12 Schools – Executive Summary – National Association of School Psychologists (2021)
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management – Best Practice for K-12 Schools – National Association of School Psychologists (2021)
Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model: An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence – National Threat Assessment Center, U.S. Secret Service (2018)
PCCD – Model K-12 Threat Assessment Procedures and Guidelines (2022)
PCCD – Questions and Answers on K-12 Threat Assessment Procedures and School-based Intervention Teams (December 2019)
Protecting America’s Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence – National Threat Assessment Center, U.S. Secret Service (2019)
Changes to the School Code via Act 55 of 2022 have created new mandatory training requirements for all school staff, including School Safety and Security Coordinators and Threat Assessment Team members. You can view presentation materials and the webinar delivered by PCCD alongside colleagues from the Pennsylvania School Boards Authority and OAG’s Safe 2 Say program. The webinar examines how these changes not only relate to those with direct roles in threat assessment and school safety and security, but also the wider school community including students, parents/families, and community.
Webinar Session – “Act 55 of 2022: Threat Assessment & Safe2Say” (January 2023)
Presentation Slides: “Act 55 of 2022: Threat Assessment & Safe2Say” Webinar
Of course, the listings here are not intended to be exhaustive and will be focused, principally, on applied threat assessment and management practice. A wider ranging listing of threat assessment references can be found at Appendix D of the Model K-12 Threat Assessment Procedures and Guidelines, with listings grouped thematically around: threat assessment in general; school safety and violence prevention; emergency management and response to school violence; confidentiality, privacy and consent.
As the project progresses, technical assistance guidance notes and forms will be developed and accessible from here that deal with high consequence and / or recurrent issues and challenges our threat assessment teams across the Commonwealth deal with.
When these are published, all users who have registered on the site will be alerted automatically.
Responding to a number of requests fielded during the project’s face to face Threat Assessment training sessions around the state, the project has developed a template Threat Assessment Case Management Form.
- CLICK TO DOWNLOAD AS A FULLY EDITABLE MS WORD VERSION
- CLICK TO DOWNLOAD A .PDF VERSION OF THE FORM, WITH EDITABLE TEXT FIELDS AND CHECKBOXES
The Form is intended to provide school entity Threat Assessment Teams with a framework for documenting threat assessment cases that is both based on good practise and has fidelity to the PCCD Model K-12 Threat Assessment Procedures and Guidelines. The Form uses the Process Flowchart also developed by the project to enable Teams to map case progression intuitively.
- CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE PROCESS FLOWCHART AS A FULLY EDITABLE MS POWERPOINT VERSION
- CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COLOR-CODED .PNG FILE VERSION OF THE PROCESS FLOWCHART
- CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COLOR-CODED .PDF VERSION OF THE PROCESS FLOWCHART INTENDED FOR USE ALONGSIDE THE CASE MANAGEMENT FORM
Neither the Form nor the Process Flowchart are intended to be prescriptive but, rather, to provide school entity Threat Assessments Teams with a solid foundation from which they can develop their own forms and processes that reflect their own specific contexts, and are provided here in various, editable formats to support that.