Last month, we shared that one of the most common reasons families call Families as Allies’ Parent Concern Line (601-608-7525) is because someone at their child’s school has told them they need to get their child a risk assessment. This usually means someone at the school believes the child is doing something that could be dangerous to themselves or others.
We also shared that Families as Allies works with a group of educators, researchers, mental health providers, and families in Mississippi on Project AWARE. Project AWARE helps schools develop informal supports, mental health referrals, and positive school climates so that all children feel safe and can learn.
We want to learn from Mississippi families what happens when a school notifies them that their child needs a risk assessment or that the school believes the child’s behavior may be dangerous.
If your child’s school has told you that your child needs a risk assessment—or that the school believes their behavior might be dangerous to them or someone else—we’d like to hear about your experience. Please take our survey. All of your answers are confidential.
We are still looking for more families to respond, and we encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the survey if this has happened to your child. If you have questions or want help thinking through next steps, you can contact Families as Allies’ parent concern line (601-608-7525). If you’re not sure whether what happened was officially called a “risk assessment,” we still encourage you to complete the survey. In particular, if the school has told you to have your child evaluated by a mental health professional and said your child cannot return to school until you do, that request is often part of what schools refer to as a “risk assessment” process.
We appreciate you taking the time to complete this survey. Your answers will help us work with Project AWARE to develop effective risk assessment policies. We want all children to be safe at school and to get the right kind of support when they need it. We also want families to understand their rights and options if they are told their child needs a risk assessment.
If you have questions about this survey or would like to help develop risk assessment policies, contact Joy Hogge, executive director at Families as Allies, at info@faams.org or call the Main Office at 601-355-0915. We will not share specific survey answers, but the anonymized results will be posted on the Families as Allies website.
