Requesting Technical Assistance

What the project’s Provider Network can assist with:

Developing a school entity’s capability to conduct effective Threat Assessments through:
o Advice and guidance on good practice processes.
o Using scenario-based examples to develop a school entity’s Threat Assessment Team’s ability and confidence in making sound assessments of the level of concern posed by different individuals and situations.
o Advice and guidance on case management strategies applied to different individuals/situations of concern.
o Generalized advice and guidance associated with ongoing cases*.

*What the project’s Provider Network cannot assist with:

The provision of legal advice. The Technical Assistance Provider Network is not designed to replace the requirement that school entity’s seek legal advice in relation to subjects/situations of concern and Threat Assessment, and nothing that the Network provides is to be construed as legal advice.
Making decisions on a school entity’s behalf. The Technical Assistance Provider Network is established to provide advice and guidance that will support school entities’ decision-making associated with Threat Assessment. However, decision-making is the responsibility of the individual school entities.
Advice and guidance associated with decision-making that is time-critical and relates to a Critical/Imminent threat to life or of serious physical or psychological harm (where the subject/situation of concern poses a threat to self or others and the information immediately available to the school entity clearly warrants immediate protective action to be taken and which, to delay by seeking support through the Technical Assistance Provider Network, would escalate that risk of harm to self/others through a delay in protective actions – including notification to law enforcement and/or Child Protective Services as warranted by the immediate facts of the situation).
Receipt or review of sensitive, individual records or other similar information.

To help you understand if we can provide the support you need, the table here provides more detail on the technical assistance domains covered by the project.

Technical Assistance Domain	Commentary	Type of Assistance
Threat Assessment case or issue-specific advice and guidance	Technical assistance focused on a specific issue, challenge or ongoing Threat Assessment case where there is a recognized urgency (by the school entity) to receive expert advice and guidance that is not available through existing state-level initiatives or agencies… …but NOT where this deals with decision-making that is time-critical and relates to a Critical/Imminent threat to life or of serious physical or psychological harm.	Intensive: Assistance that is urgent and linked to a specific issue, challenge or ongoing case. Intensive technical assistance can include requests for more significant and tailored capacity building supports, such as consultations with a specific school entity or group of entities to review current challenges and identify best practice recommendations to address those areas of concern. The Network will respond within 1 working day to initiate the process of coordinating between the requesting school entity and the Network’s Technical Assistance Providers.
Developing Threat Assessment processes	Technical assistance focused on developing contextually fit for purpose processes that are evidence-based good practice and compliant with the Model Procedures & Guidelines developed by PCCD and updated by PCCD/RSM Corp. and SMEs through the project. This Technical assistance will be very practice-focused, helping school entities generate schematics of process flows, forms to document case management, etc. Would include, where requested / relevant reviewing how SAP, MTSS, PBIS, and other supports/services should be integrated so that cases are managed holistically.	Less Intensive: Assistance that is non-urgent, broader in scope and associated with more generalized capacity building. This can include requests and inquires submitted electronically (phone, email) that can be addressed using resources already developed/curated by the Network.
Using Scenarios to Build Capability and Confidence	Technical assistance that uses multiple, realistic scenarios to develop the operational skills used in Threat Assessment (initial determination of level of concern, inquiry, assessment, case management).
Facilitated Learning from High Consequence Cases	Technical assistance for school entities who have managed high consequence cases (Critical/Imminent or High Level of Concern or that were otherwise highly complex/challenging to assess and manage). The Provider delivering this technical assistance acts as facilitator to draw out key learnings and then advise on any corrective actions associated with Threat Assessment moving forward.

To enable us to identify who is best placed to handle your request, and then to coordinate with you, including to determine how the technical assistance can most effectively be delivered, please complete the Technical Assistance Request Form.