Care Team

The Ferris State University Care Team is a multi-disciplinary team of employees from across the campus that meet weekly throughout the fall and spring semesters to review referrals of student behavior that raise significant concern. These concerns typically go beyond what can typically be addressed through traditional classroom and employee management. The goal of the team is to coordinate outreach or intervention to these students.

The team is dedicated to fostering an educational environment for all members of our community through a proactive, objective, supportive, and collaborative approach. The Care Team is dedicated to the prevention, identification, assessment, intervention, management, and coordinated response to student situations that cause concern including those that may pose a wellbeing and/or safety of individuals in our campus community.

Student Behavior of Concern Reporting Form

Ferris State University Care Team Guide

This Team focuses on student behaviors.  Team members are listed below by title.  Additional staff and faculty members such as the Director of Multicultural Student Services, the Directors’ of Student Academic Affairs, Faculty Member(s), the Provost and/or Deans, and the Athletic Director; and others, may be called upon to join to address specific incidents/student concerns.

Typically, employee concerns will be addressed by Human Resources, Labor Relations, and/or General Counsel.

Care Team Core Members’ Contact Information:

Team Goals:

• Contribute to a safe and supportive environment for all members of the University community.
• Identify, assess and intervene with individuals who are struggling or who demonstrate concerning or threatening behavior.
• Provide support and resources to students who are concerned for another individual.

Team Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement awareness and education programs for all members of the University community regarding behavioral assessment. This includes publications and promotional materials designed to create awareness and understanding of the Care Team and what, who, when and how to refer, as well as in-person trainings to develop deeper knowledge on how to identify, support and refer an individual of concern.
• Receive, coordinate and assess referrals received from faculty, staff, students, and others regarding individuals of concern.
• Coordinate interventions and resource assistance for individuals of concern.
• Identify trends of student concerns and work with other departments and committees to mitigate those trends.
• Report the activities of the Care Team annually
• Maintain a current website

Team Membership

The Care Team consists of university faculty and staff with expertise in student affairs, mental and physical health, student conduct, law enforcement/campus safety, etc. Team members are responsible for completing ongoing training, attending meetings, reviewing cases, providing input on threat assessment and possible interventions, assisting with follow-up and intervention based on their membership category. The Care Team has three levels of membership: core, inner circle and outer circle.

Core Members

Core members attend every Care Team meeting (scheduled and emergency) and have full access to the team’s electronic record-keeping database. As core members, they represent their departments and have authority to make independent decisions within their areas of responsibility. If a core member is unable to attend a meeting, they have designated backups who attend in their place. The departments they represent are crucial to the Care Team’s ability to gather information, accurately assess risk, and intervene effectively. All core members are expected to respond to all emergency meeting requests and function as the threat assessment team.

Associate Dean of Student Life

Kavaris Sims (231-591-2684, [email protected])

The Associate Dean of Student Life chairs the team and attends all meetings. The Associate Dean organizes and shares the agenda, performs an initial rating using the NABITA Risk Rubric, ensures team members’ attendance, ensures that a risk level is assigned to each case during meetings, and coordinates the interventions/follow-up for cases. The Associate Dean also ensures appropriate and complete records are maintained in Maxient, the electronic recordkeeping database. The Dean of Student Life serves as back up.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities:

• Brief overview of the referred student (team members should have already read the referral in the electronic recordkeeping database prior to the meeting)
• The referred student’s involvement in, engagement in, or difficulty with student organizations, fraternity and sorority life, student government, etc.
• Any financial aid or payment concerns the referred student has

Director of Student Community Standards

Becca Brumels (231-591-3613, [email protected])

The Director of Student Community Standards attends the team meetings. The director consults on cases involving on- and off-campus conduct violations, criminal charges, and academic disruptions. Conduct records are protected under FERPA and shared with the CARE team by the director of student community standards under the legitimate educational interest clause of FERPA. The Assistant Director of Student Community Standards attends if the Director is unable.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities: 

• Shares referred student’s conduct history including prior charges, findings, sanctions, etc.
• Admissions information including reporting prior criminal or conduct history of the referred student

Director, Department of Public Safety, FSU Department of Public Safety

Gary Green (231-591-5000, [email protected])

The Director of Public Safety attends each meeting. The director serves as a liaison with local and federal law enforcement agencies, consults on CARE team cases that have criminal or law enforcement elements, contributes to the assessment of risk for referrals, and assists with interventions on campus requiring a police presence. If the director is unable to attend, the assistant director attends the meeting.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities: 

• Criminal history
• Law enforcement contact and reports
• Concealed carry permits or registered weapons information
• Social media check, looking for concerning or threatening posts

Director, Personal Counseling Center

Andrew Slater (231-591-5968, [email protected])

The Director of Counseling receives information from the CARE team to inform services delivered in the Personal Counseling Center and to ensure collaborative communication. Additionally, the director consults on issues of mental health, crisis, students in emotional distress and disruptive/dangerous behavior. The Director of Counseling keeps privileged mental health treatment records in the counseling center’s electronic recordkeeping system. These records are protected by state and federal health information privacy laws, and information and information is only shared with the CARE team under certain circumstances where confidentiality is superseded by ethical and legal requirements to report information. These circumstances include suspected: child abuse, suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult, and when there are significant clinical concerns for the safety of the individual or safety of others. Disclosure of this information will be made ad narrowly as possible. Referred students can also sign a release of information giving the director permission to share pertinent information. The Director of Counseling attends the meetings and sends a licensed counselor if unable to attend.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities:

• Check the referred student's/case counseling record or history. Share information with the team if there is a signed release of information in place or, an exception to confidentiality has been met
• Consult on general issues related to mental health, risk assessment, and development of interventions

Director of Housing and Residential Life

Lisa Ortiz (231-591-3759, [email protected])

The Director of Housing and Residential life offers insight into residential life students, after-hours emergencies, and targeted interventions using Resident Advisors (RAs) and Hall Directors (HDs). If the director is unable to attend a meeting, the assistant director should attend. Reports or other useful information should be sent to the chair of the CARE team.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities:

• Housing reports
• Updates from Resident Advisors and or Hall Directors for any contact with the referred student, reports on room condition, connection to or difficulty with roommates and hall-mates, etc.
• Recent or unusual room change or maintenance requests either from the referred student or their roommates

Dean of Student Life

Lina Blair (231-591-2686, [email protected])

The Dean of Student Life attends all meetings.  The Dean consults with the Associate Dean on initial ratings with the NABITA Risk Rubric, makes contact with parents when there’s a critical risk to health and safety, and communicates with executive leadership. The Associate Dean of Student Life serves as the backup.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities

• Any referred student’s history with the Student Life office
• Large community issues: trends on social media, contact from parents, news outlets, etc.
• Communication with the President’s Cabinet/executive leadership
• Conduct-related interim and safety measures

Inner Circle

Inner Circle members should attend every meeting, but when they cannot attend, they do not have a trained backup to attend in their place. Inner circle members represent departments that have frequent contact with students, are likely to be involved in either case updates or interventions for the majority of Care cases and can provide valuable insights to the team. Inner circle members have access to the Maxient, the electronic recordkeeping database for Care Team cases.

Associate Provost

Steve Reifert (231-591-2300, [email protected])

The Associate Provost often serves as the primary contact in working with faculty, department chairs, provosts, and academic advisors. The academic representative also provides information related to the referred student’s academic history and performance as well as insight into the academic experience. If this person is unable to attend a meeting, reports or other useful information should be sent to the CARE team chair.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities:

• Academic transcript and history of the referred student, including any deviations from the student’s traditional performance, withdrawn semesters, academic petitions, etc.
• Information or notes from academic advising
• Updates from current professors, advisors, etc.

Disability and Accessibility Resource Center (DARC, formerly ECDS) Representative

Cindy Smith (231-591-3058, [email protected])

The representative from DARC consults and offers guidance on issues of academic, residential, and other accommodations. If the representative is unable to attend a meeting, reports or other useful information should be sent to the chair of the CARE team. Records in DARC are protected under FERPA and exist in the disability services electronic record system.

Information Sharing and Meeting Participation Responsibilities:

• Update on registration with DARC including accommodations offered and usage of accommodations by referred student
• Consultation related to disability issues and accommodations of referred student

Title IX Coordinator

Jessica Ettell Irvine ([email protected])

The Title IX Coordinator attends when there is a Title IX matter that overlaps in a way that’s useful for both the Title IX coordinator and the Care Team to discuss. Records for Title IX are maintained separately from the Care Team records. Information sharing depends on the circumstances and status of the Title IX case and the coordinator should use discretion in sharing information. The Care Team can assist in assessing risk and in intervention at the direction of the Title IX Coordinator.

Assistant General Counsel

Anthony Norman (231-591-4490, [email protected])

The Assistant General Counsel attends meetings when an issue presents a legal concern for which the General Counsel’s expertise is essential. The representative who attends should maintain a consultative role and support the mission and polices of the CARE team.

Outer Circle

Outer circle members serve the Care team in a consultant capacity. They are invited in for cases that relate to their specific content areas and do not attend meetings regularly. To facilitate awareness of Care team cases and prompt their attendance at the meeting, outer circle members are sent the agenda in advance of the meeting so that they can check the list of names for students that have overlap with their respective departments. They do not have access to the team’s the electronic database but are a common source of referrals to the team given their interactions with students in their departments.

• Veteran Resource Center:
  Military-affiliated and veteran student services staff is available to consult with the Care team when the referred student is affiliated with their office due to current or prior military service. The staff person can determine a student’s military or veteran status, has a deeper understanding of local military-related and veteran resources, and experience with assisting those returning from active duty. They can provide updates on any interactions with their office, use of VA benefits, and potential supports or interventions that may assist.
  
  
• Office of Multicultural Student Services, LGBTQ+ Resource Center, Hispanic/Latino Cultural Center:
  staff members in these areas can serve as helpful sources of support for students they’re already connected to as well as help students navigate systems that may not regularly recognize all aspects of their identities.
  
  
• Athletics:
  Athletics staff, including but not limited to coaches, nutritionists, physical therapists, and administrative staff, can provide information about the referred student’s performance on the athletic team, any concerning behavior or medical issues noticed by athletics staff, and can often serve as helpful sources of support for deploying interventions and resources. They also often have a deeper level of knowledge of a student-athlete’s support system and upbringing which may provide helpful context for observed behaviors.
  
  
• International Education:
  International services staff share information with the CARE team when appropriate and provide collaborative intervention services for students in need. They are often aware of cultural or adjustment issues, international crises, and visa-related matters as well as resources available to support them.
  
  
• Kendall College of Art and Design and Student Success Hub staff:
  Staff at these locations/campuses are usually well connected to the students on these campuses and may have helpful information to share. They also likely have good relationships with the faculty and staff on campus and can help us gather information and make informed decisions about interventions.
  
  
• Bulldog Basic Needs Alliance:
  Members of the BBNA are able to consult with the Care Team when the student is struggling with basic needs insecurities, including food, housing, transportation, childcare, etc.
  
  
• Academic Advisors:
  This group is often a primary touchpoint for students and are responsible for academic case management.
  
  

Care Team Reporting and Meeting Structure/Frequency

Emergencies and acts of violence should immediately be reported to the Ferris State University Department of Public Safety at x5000/231-591-5000/911. Faculty and staff working in off-campus locations (i.e., Kendall College of Arts and Design and Statewide Locations) should report emergencies to local law enforcement/911.

Reports to the Care Team should be made in a timely manner on Navigate or CLICKING HERE. 

Instructions for submitting a referral on Navigate:

• Go to Ferris 360 and login with your Ferris user ID and password.
• Search for and go to “Navigate for Employees”
• Click the "Issue an alert" link, located in the right margin.
• Find the student by searching with their name or ID number.
• Select the “Student Care” option in the dropdown menu
• Add as much relevant information as possible and click "Submit." Our goal is to not make a student continue to tell their story repeatedly.

If the reporter does not know the identity of the student OR if they are not a Ferris Faculty or Staff member, please fill out the online reporting form.

Faculty, staff and others may refer any student demonstrating behaviors of concern to any member of the Care Team. The Care Team is also available for consultation to determine who and how is best to respond given all the information available.

The Care TEAM regularly meets on Tuesdays at 3pm during the fall and spring semesters to address new student behavioral concerns and to provide updates regarding previously reported concerns. Reports to the Care Team should be made promptly and will likely be reviewed within 24 hours of submission. An initial information gathering effort and assessment on the NABITA Risk Rubric will be made and recorded with the case in Maxient. If a report is received and is an immediate concern, the Care TEAM will be called together outside of the regular meeting time. 0

Referrals from the weekend should be submitted by Monday mornings at noon. The agenda for Tuesday afternoon Care meetings will be created and sent to Care Team members on Monday afternoon. It is expected that Care Team members review the cases on the agenda and gather related information in preparation for Tuesday’s Care Team meeting.

Additional community members may be consulted and sit on the Care TEAM meetings as needed to assist with specific behavioral concerns for which their knowledge of the situation and/or expertise is relevant.

Regular team meetings include discussion about prior cases and new cases. For each case, the team will engage in a three-phase process of information gathering, risk rubric analysis and intervention. Members are expected to share information gathered from their respective areas, engage actively and collaboratively in the risk rubric analysis and collectively determine the need for new or continued intervention or case monitoring/closure.

It is a goal of the Care Team to minimize/avoid canceling meetings whenever possible. On weeks there are fewer cases to discuss, the team will dedicate time to ongoing training.

Behaviors of Concern

Because there is no single or combined set of indicators that will always reliably predict an individual’s future behavior, the CARE TEAM does take into consideration odd, suspicious and/or inappropriate behavior that rises beyond a typical classroom or employee management concern. These behaviors of concern may be observed in a variety of mediums including their speech, written words, and/or their actions. Concerns may include:

• Academic Behavior Indicators:
  • Deterioration in quality of work
  • Erratic performance
  • Excessive movements, unusual actions, unprovoked agitation, and/or unusual speech patterns
  • Exaggerated or disproportionate responses to grades/evaluations
• Emotional Indicators:
  • A sense that someone is struggling or that something is wrong
  • Change in mood and/or social functioning
  • Direct statements of loss and/or significant distress, expressions of hopelessness
  • Anger directed at something/someone other than its actual source
  • Discussion, writing or drawings of weapon/bomb collection, use, etc.
  • Angry and aggressive outbursts or other significant behavioral problems
  • Direct or veiled threats of harm to self or others
• Physical Indicators:
  • Deterioration in appearance/hygiene
  • Behavior that creates a disruptive or hostile environment or impacts one’s ability to function appropriately and successfully on campus
  • Noticeable cuts, bruises, burns
  • Disorganized speech, confusion, slurring speech
  • Throwing things, hitting people, etc.
• Other Indicators:
  • Concerns expressed about the same student by multiple peers, faculty, and/or staff
  • Students who are repeatedly behaving in violation of the Student Code of Conduct (including academic integrity violations)
  • Medical transports to a hospital or emergency mental health clinic
  • Students struggling with medical or mental health concerns

Threat Assessment

While there is no single set of behaviors that will reliably predict an individual’s future behavior or risk of harming others, the threat assessment process gathers and evaluates information available including behavioral evidence to make an objective determination of the likelihood and degree of risk of harm to a person’s self or to the campus community. Assessment is designed to distinguish whether there is a threat and the degree of threat for every case reported. Accurate and objective risk assessment helps guide interventions and helps ensure the safety of the individual of concern and all others potentially involved as well as to resolve the conditions that initiated the concerning behavior.

Assessment assists in early identification of situations that may pose a threat to others, creates a baseline of information against which to assess future behavior, and provides a means for implementing interventions to increase the likelihood of a positive and safe resolution.

Assessment Process

A. Information Gathering

1. Once a report has been received by the Care Team, the chair or their backup will perform an initial assessment on the student’s level of risk, often using the NABITA Risk Rubric, and whether or not there is an immediate risk/reason for concern.  If the initial assessment indicates there is an elevated risk (3 on the NaBITA Risk Rubric) or higher, the team will call a meeting to inform and/or manage the situation as soon as possible. If not, the case will be reviewed at the next regularly scheduled Care TEAM meeting. The chair of the Care Team will prioritize cases on the agenda, covering elevated and critical cases first. During the Care Team meeting, the team will apply the NABITA Risk Rubric to every case discussed by the team. Using the information gathered as part of the preliminary assessment and during the data gathering phase of the team meeting, the team will come to a consensus on the current level of risk for the case. Risk level will be reassessed each time the case is discussed at the team meeting and at the time of case closure.

2. The assessment process may include, but is not limited to, any of the following data gathering processes:

• Contact with all available parties with information about the situation
• Meeting with the student alleged to have displayed inappropriate/concerning behavior
• Contact with any identified person who has witnessed inappropriate/concerning behavior
• Contact with a student’s parents or family members
• Review of student’s academic and disciplinary history
• Legal/criminal background check
• Implementation of the NaBITA Risk Rubric and/or other threat assessment tools appropriate to the situation

B. Levels of Risk

To assist in assessing the level of risk a student may pose, the Care TEAM may utilize the NaBITA Risk Rubric or some other appropriate model. Below is a summary of various risk levels and how the University may respond to those risks:

Mild risk (1)

The individual here may be struggling and not doing well. The impact of their difficulty is limited around others, with the occasional report being made to the Care Team out of an abundance of caution and concern rather than any direct behavior or threats. They may be having trouble fitting in, adjusting to college, making friends, or may rub people the wrong way. They alienate others with their thoughts or mannerisms, and there may be minor bullying and conflict. With support and resources, it is likely the individual will be successful adapting and overcoming obstacles. Without support, it is possible they will continue to escalate on the rubric.

Moderate risk (2)

Prior to this stage, conflict with others has been fairly limited. The hallmark of moderate is an increase in conflict with others through aggressive speech, actions, and mannerisms. They may become frustrated and engage in non-verbal behaviors or begin to post things on social media, put up posters around campus, or storm away from conversations. Stress, illness, lack of friends, and support are now becoming an increasing concern. The individual may be tearful, sad, hopeless, anxious, or frustrated. This may be caused by difficulty adjusting, dating stress, failure in class assignments, and/or increasing social isolation. If there is a threat or physical violence such as carelessly pushing someone out of their way while storming off, the violence is typically limited and driven by adrenaline and impulsiveness, rather than any deeper plan to hurt others.

Elevated risk (3)

Behavior at the elevated stage is increasingly disruptive (with multiple incidents) and involves multiple offices such as student conduct, law enforcement, and counseling. The individual may engage in suicidal talk, self-injury, substance intoxication. Threats of violence and ultimatums may be vague but direct or specific but indirect. A fixation and focus on a target often emerge (person, place, or system) and
the individual continues to attack the target’s self-esteem, public image, and/or access to safety and support. Others may feel threatened around this individual, but any threat lacks depth, follow-through, or a narrowing against an individual, office, or community. More serious social, mental health, academic, and adjustment concerns occur, and the individual is in need of more timely support and resources to avoid further escalation. Conditional ultimatums such as “do this or else” may be made to instructors, peers, faculty, and staff.

Critical risk (4)

In this stage, there is a serious risk of suicide, life-threatening self-injury, dangerous risk taking (e.g. driving a motorcycle at top speed at night with the lights off) and/or inability to care for oneself. They may display racing thoughts, high risk substance dependence, intense anger, and/or perceived unfair treatment or grievance that has a major impact on the students’ academic, social, and peer interactions. The individual has clear target for their threats and ultimatums, access to lethal means, and an attack plan to punish those they see as responsible for perceived wrongs. Without immediate intervention (such as law enforcement or psychiatric hospitalization), it is likely violence will occur. There may be leakage about the attack plan (social media posts that say “I’m going to be the next school shooter” or telling a friend to avoid coming to campus on a particular day). There may be stalking behavior and escalating predatory actions prior to violence such as intimidation, telegraphing, and “test-runs” such as causing a disruption to better understand reaction time of emergency response.

C. Intervention Strategies

Based on the behavior displayed, information gathered and the assessment by the Care Team, the team may make any of the following recommendations for intervention. Recommendations may be made in consultation with the appropriate college, department, or administrator before any final action is taken. Below is a list of some of the intervention strategies that the University may use.  Recommendations may differ based on the unique facets of each student’s situation and the assessed level of threat.

• Documentation
• Follow-up with known connections across campus
• Meeting with Care Team member/case manager
• Referral to appropriate community and/or University resources
• Development and implementation of a case management plan
• Parent or Guardian Contact
• Voluntary withdrawal from classes
• Medical withdrawal
• Welfare/Safety Check
• Required assessment such as Nonclinical Assessment of Suicide, the Structured Interview for Violence Risk Assessment or others
• Guidance/support/safety planning for impacted parties
• Referral to Office of Student Community Standards or the Department of Public Safety

Appendix 1: NaBITA Risk Rubric