On February 27th, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office began a partnership to help potentially traumatized students within the Berryhill School District.

As of February 27th, when a Deputy responds to a call in the Berryhill area where children are present who may be affected by what has occurred, the Deputy will send a “Handle With Care” email notification to the school district. The district will then notify the child’s teacher. A “Handle With Care” notification will allow the teacher to be aware that child may need some additional patience, understanding and potentially even counseling services to cope with what has occurred. In order to protect the privacy of the child and his or her family, NO DETAILS OF THE CHILD’S EXPERIENCE ARE RELAYED TO THE DISTRICT through the “Handle with Care” notification.

TCSO is the third law enforcement agency in Oklahoma to begin a “Handle with Care” program and the first in Northeast Oklahoma. Healthy Minds Policy Initiative has been an integral partner in connecting, informing, and assisting in implementing the Handle with Care program. TCSO’s goal is to see this program expand to other Tulsa County schools, so more children can be helped.