Behavioral Threat Assessment Tabletop Exercise Analysis

1. BEHAVIORAL THREAT ASSESSMENT TABLETOP EXERCISE ANALYSIS OF A 5THGRADE STUDENT

2. THREAT ASSESSMENT TABLETOP EXERCISE Welcome & Introductions SLIDE 2

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES • Players – Represent your role & discuss your planned response to the scenario • Facilitators – Moderate the flow of discussion. Keep the tabletop exercise moving and on-track • Evaluators – Record strengths, note areas of improvement, and capture lessons learned • Observers – Gain insight from the exercise. Refrain from interjecting during the exercise & be respectful SLIDE 3

4. NOTE TO THE FACILITATOR • DELETE THIS SLIDE BEFORE USING THIS TABLETOP EXERCISE WITH YOUR THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAM. • These are the instructions on how to set up this exercise: 1. Determine who the players, facilitators, evaluators, and observers will be during the exercise. 2. Edit/customize slides 9-17 to fit the threat assessment team roles that make sense for your school. Once this is done, print these slides for distribution during the exercise to the appropriate individuals. Also, print the document in the link on slide 18 for use during the After-Action Report section of this exercise. 3. View slides 5-8 with your team to get the exercise started. 4. Distribute slides 9-15 to the appropriate individuals and have them familiarize themselves with their information. At this time, they can answer question 1 individually. 5. Reconvene group discussion, by having the team discuss everything they individually know about the student. Have them answer question 2 together. 6. Display slide 18. The assessment portion will begin, where the team should discuss how to move forward with the student and what resources for referral might be appropriate. Answer question 3. 7. Use any threat assessment documents that you would use to guide this process normally, as it relates to your selected model (CSTAG, NTER, NTAC, etc. ) 8. Complete the After-Action Report document (in the link on slide 18) as a team. 9. Debrief, using the questions in the “what did you discover” slide (19) as a guide. Take this time to reflect on everything you did today and what you can do moving forward. SLIDE 4

5. EXERCISE ITINERARY • Welcome and Introductions • Goal and Purpose • Exercise Set Up and Scenario explained • Phase 1: Familiarize yourself with the student. (Answer question #1 individually) • Phase 2: Share what you know about this student and create a total picture. (Answer question #2 through group discussion) • Phase 3: What ‘s next? (Answer question #3 through group discussion) • After Action Report • What did you Discover? SLIDE 5

6. GOAL AND PURPOSE • The goal of this tabletop exercise is to start/continue conversations with our Threat Assessment Team and provide a real-world scenario that will simulate the information that could/would be available to you in an actual event. SLIDE 6

7. SET UP • Adam is a hypothetical 5thgrade student that attends Your School Name Here • Based on the information you are given – decide the following: 1. Looking at only your information, is Adam a potential threat? 2. Looking at the information the Threat Assessment Team has gathered, is Adam a potential threat? 3. What would be the next steps your team would take? SLIDE 7

8. SCENARIO • Phase 1: Each team member will receive individual information. Read this information separately and determine if a threat assessment is needed. (answer question #1) • Phase 2: Next, each member will share their information with the team. As a team, determine if a threat assessment is needed. (answer question #2) • Phase 3: If an assessment is needed, please make a plan for the next steps. (answer question #3) SLIDE 8

9. SCHOOL INFORMATION •Adam is short-tempered and easily upset in the classroom. •Adam has a history of getting into physical altercations with other students. •Adam alleges he is being bullied in the bathroom by several peers. •Adam’s grades have dropped dramatically in the past month. SLIDE 9

10. MENTAL HEALTH INFORMATION • Adam was referred for counseling after a Children Services referral two years ago. • Adam’s mom refused to participate in the counseling and refuses to give him the associated prescribed medication. • Adam’s mom is on record, when confronted with Adam’s potential suicidal thoughts, as saying “we have guns. If he was really suicidal, he would have killed himself by now.” SLIDE 10

11. FAMILY INFORMATION •There have been several incidents of domestic violence over the past years between Adam’s mom and her boyfriends. •Mom’s new boyfriend recently took Adam target shooting as a bonding experience. •Adam posted a picture to Instagram of him holding a knife to his neck. SLIDE 11

12. LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION • School Resource Officer is currently investigating an incident from last week where Adam allegedly made a threat to a peer who bullies him in the bathroom that he would stab him with a knife. • Adam was picked up one year ago for catching a cat in the neighborhood and killing it. • The Sheriff’s Office has been called to Adam’s house several times for domestic disturbances between his mom and her boyfriend. SLIDE 12

13. FRIEND INFORMATION •Adam showed the friend a model of the school he built using Legos and he positioned the principal, SRO, and teachers on bus duty where they are located each morning. •Adam always wants to “hold” or “shoot” guns at friend’s houses. SLIDE 13

14. BUS DRIVER INFORMATION •Today, the bus driver caught Adam attempting to sell 3 empty shotgun shells to another student while on the way to school. •Adam is often heard discussing hunting with other students while on the bus. •Adam has no bad bus behavior on his record. SLIDE 14

15. SCHOOL NURSE INFORMATION •Adam has shown up to the nurse's office often for cuts on his arms. •Regular complaints of an upset stomach. •Often wears clothes multiple days in a row. SLIDE 15

16. CUSTODIAN INFORMATION •Adam has asked the custodian on multiple occasions questions about the school's doors, locks, and camera system. •Adam has been seen by the custodian in areas of the school off-limits to students during school hours and wandering around the building. SLIDE 16

17. PERSONAL (ONLY ADAM KNOWS) INFORMATION •Adam was molested by a babysitter’s boyfriend when he was 6. •Adam has had thoughts of suicide. •Adam fantasizes of killing his mom’s boyfriend. •Adam has access to unlocked handguns at home. SLIDE 17

18. THE TOTAL PICTURE OF ADAM School Family Law Mental Health School Nurse Custodian Bus Driver Friends Adam Enforcemen t Decline in grades Target shooting Animal cruelty Referral to counseling Shows up often for cuts on arms Asks about door locks and cameras Tried to sell shotgun shells Model of school building Sexual assault victim Bullying victim Domestic Violence Domestic Violence Refusal for counseling & medication Regular complaints of an upset stomach Observed wandering around building Discusses hunting on the bus often Obsession with guns Suicidal thoughts Short- tempered Picture holding knife on Instagram Threatening harm to peers Suicidal thoughts di smissed by family Wears clothes multiple days in a row Has never misbehaved on bus Violent fantasies History of violence Access to guns at home SLIDE 18

19. REFLECTION • The categories across the top represent each of the different individuals/groups that have contact with Adam. Information from one of those entities may not be overly concerning, but once we put the total picture together, a potential threat emerges. SLIDE 19

20. AFTER ACTION REPORT • After Action Improvement Plan Template Note: click the above link and use pages 2-4 for your after action report SLIDE 20

21. WHAT DID YOU DISCOVER? What did you discover during your After-Action Review? ➢ Does any part of your threat assessment process or practices need altered? ➢ ➢ Is additional training warranted to facilitate the proper execution of this process? ➢ ➢ Do we need to look at gathering more resources for educational, training, or referral purposes in the event this actually occurred at our school? ➢ If any of the answers to the above questions are, "yes", identify who will be responsible and the timeline to make the changes identified. SLIDE 21

22. THANK YOU! Please remember that schools must complete a functional, full-scale, and tabletop exercise during the three-year period between resubmission of an annual emergency operation plan, and each type of test can only be used once. SLIDE 22

23. THANK YOU! Sample tabletop exercise tool kits are available on the Ohio School Safety Center Website. Please engage your school safety team when planning your test. After completion, don't forget to document the test and after-action report in OH|ID. Step-by-step instructions for submitting your after- action report can be found here. SLIDE 23