Threat assessment and suicide prevention statewide electronic learning and case management platform

Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety (OSS) proposes a project to develop a software platform to place the current Wisconsin School Threat Assessment Protocol (STAP) from a fillable PDF and suicide assessment (SA) into a software platform that will make STAP and suicide assessment digitally available to all schools in Wisconsin.  The digital STAP/SA platform will provide one centralized system for multidisciplinary teams to gather and analyze information that can help identify patterns of behavior and incidents before they escalate.  The software will guide multidisciplinary TA/SA teams as they document and assess threats, and more effectively implement harm reduction plans for at-risk students that are trauma informed, developmentally appropriate, and aligned with the needs of the schools and the students. 

To ensure sustainability and production of a high-quality product, OSS will use a phased approach over the life span of this grant. Phase 1 hires a Threat Assessment Coordinator (TAC) to spearhead the implementation of STAP/SA into a digital format, act as a liaison between OSS and project partners (including a software developer, research and development partner, threat assessment consultant, marketing agency, internal technical assistance and schools), and oversee the project.  The TAC will also develop training material to assist in the introduction of the new digital STAP/SA format.

Phase 2 introduces the beta version of the digital STAP/SA to pilot schools for user testing, collects data with research and development partner, and updates platform with the formal results of the WSTAP validation study.

To ensure equitable access to all schools of the digital STAP/SA, phase 3 will focus on mass marketing and statewide roll out by working in conjunction with our marketing partner, chosen Threat Assessment expert, and pilot schools. OSS will launch a Threat Assessment awareness campaign and produce high quality, in house training videos to allow free access to training of STAP/SA to every school in Wisconsin.

The digitalization of the STAP/SA will fill the gap in the state of Wisconsin by increasing the technology required for a multidisciplinary team to appropriately interact and evaluate students at risk through a proactive approach to school violence prevention.