Psychosocial evaluation and threat risk assessment is a five-step process of increasing intensity depending on the seriousness of the threatening behavior. This is a dynamic process, and as the investigation progresses you may find your assessment of the seriousness of the threat upgrades or downgrades.
Step One. The process begins with the receipt of a threat by administrative personnel, who then begin to gather relevant information regarding the incident to guide initial and informal risk assessment. If the risk is considered to be sufficiently credible according the criteria on the Threat Assessment Matrix (bottom of linked page) the investigation moves to steps two and three. If the level of threat is considered low, the team should put appropriate interventions in place (such as discussion with the child and parent contact) and document the actions taken.
Step two. In cases where the administrator feels he or she needs more information regarding the threatening behavior to help determine the associated level of risk, a formal threat assessment should be called for. This second step of evaluation is marked by a detailed analysis of the content of the threat and examination of the predisposing and precipitating characteristics associated with it to determine the threat risk. This level of assessment should include personnel in the school with clinical experience and training in threat assessment as well as the student’s parents and teachers or others with knowledge of the student. This is a formal threat-assessment by personnel specifically trained for this task.
Use of the ACUTE is recommended for making a determination of threat-risk at this stage. If the level of threat is considered low, the team should put appropriate interventions in place and document the actions taken. If this step confirms a moderate to high level of risk, then you should proceed to step three.
Step One. The process begins with the receipt of a threat by administrative personnel, who then begin to gather relevant information regarding the incident to guide initial and informal risk assessment. If the risk is considered to be sufficiently credible according the criteria on the Threat Assessment Matrix (bottom of linked page) the investigation moves to steps two and three. If the level of threat is considered low, the team should put appropriate interventions in place (such as discussion with the child and parent contact) and document the actions taken.
Step two. In cases where the administrator feels he or she needs more information regarding the threatening behavior to help determine the associated level of risk, a formal threat assessment should be called for. This second step of evaluation is marked by a detailed analysis of the content of the threat and examination of the predisposing and precipitating characteristics associated with it to determine the threat risk. This level of assessment should include personnel in the school with clinical experience and training in threat assessment as well as the student’s parents and teachers or others with knowledge of the student. This is a formal threat-assessment by personnel specifically trained for this task.
Use of the ACUTE is recommended for making a determination of threat-risk at this stage. If the level of threat is considered low, the team should put appropriate interventions in place and document the actions taken. If this step confirms a moderate to high level of risk, then you should proceed to step three.
Step Three. In step three a psychosocial evaluation is conducted to develop a better understanding of the threatening student’s social and emotional functioning at home and school to both better understand the etiology of the behavior and to identify areas in need of intervention to keep the threat of violence from becoming an act of violence.
Use of the PETRA is recommended in this step. Step Four. The fourth step involves implementing protective interventions which may include discipline as well as therapeutic efforts to prevent threats of violence evolving into acts of violence. For moderate and high-level threats, it is important to consider contact with law enforcement personnel, particularly if arrest or emergency psychiatric placement seems appropriate based on the information gathered in the threat assessment process. Having law enforcement involved at this point may also facilitate parental cooperation and send a clear message that this level of threatening behavior is taken seriously. Step Five. The final step is to document all actions taken and to schedule follow-up to check on the fidelity and efficacy of the interventions that were put in place. The PETRA Summary Form is a good way to document all phases of the threat assessment and school violence mitigation and intervention process. |