Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services

As a leading partner in LAUSD/RAND/UCLA Trauma Services and Adaptation Center for Schools and Communities, LAUSD Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services (CCIS) is dedicated to restoring and maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for the students and staff of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) after critical incidents on or near a school campus. LAUSD Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services staff provides response and recovery services in collaboration with several District Units; Los Angeles School Police, Local School Districts, and community resources.

LAUSD Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services, led by Dr. Marleen Wong, has been a national leader in developing resources and training materials relating to crisis intervention services for schools.

The four services of CCIS

1) School Site and District Crisis Teams - Bulletin 962.1 (BUL-962.1) LAUSD crisis intervention teams operate within a two-tier system of response in LAUSD. At the school site, “Under the direction of the principal or designee, every school shall establish a crisis team” (Bulletin 962.1). At the second tier, CCIS organizes and trains District Crisis Teams, comprised of approximately 250 multidisciplinary employee volunteers who, in turn, support school site crisis teams. Led by the Local District Operations Coordinators, the Local District Teams and CCIS staff respond to events that overwhelm the resources of the school and provide technical assistance to school-site teams.

2) Threat Assessment and Management Teams – Bulletin 1119.1 (BUL-1119.1) Based on the study of school shootings commissioned by the US Department of Education and the US Secret Service, Threat Assessment Teams (comprised of an administrator, a mental health professional, and School Police, with consultation from the legal department) were initiated in LAUSD in 1996. Since that date, CCIS conducts an annual training for Local District Teams to guide educators through the threat assessment process when confronted by a student or adult who poses a threat to the safety of other students and staff. For information about School Site and District Crisis Teams, Threat Assessment and Management Teams, and/or training, please Contact Barbara Colwell, LCSW or log onto our CCIS WEBSITE at: www.lausd.net; go to the “Offices” section at top of webpage, then click on “Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services” in the alphabetical listings.

3) Disaster/Terrorism Response and Recovery- In the event of a natural disaster or a man-made act of violence or terrorism, CCIS Staff will be active partners in district and community efforts to develop disaster recovery programs for students and staff.

4) LAUSD Trauma Services Adaptation Center (TSAC) for Schools and Communities- LAUSD Trauma Services Adaptation Center (TSAC) for Schools and Communities is a SAMHSA funded partnership with the staffs of LAUSD CCIS, RAND Health, UCLA Health Services Research Center and the UCLA Child Anxiety Program. A member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), the mission of this Center is to improve the quality and effectiveness of trauma-informed crisis intervention services children in schools. The LAUSD TSAC for Schools and Communities works to develop and disseminate effective evidence-based treatments for child trauma in multicultural settings, and to educate school staffs, school mental health professionals and the public about the effects of trauma on children.

For more information and resources relating to these services, please go to the LAUSD CCIS website, click here .