LINDA MANAUGH 1/10/208:24 AM
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office held their first meeting to talk about a program that would help children dealing with trauma in our school districts. Sheriff Vic Regalado says they met with the Healthy Minds organization Thursday discussing the program called Handle With Care.
The Sheriff says Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of childhood trauma and unfortunately, he says there are studies that point to these children later on partaking in criminal behavior. He says the goal is to be one step ahead and tackle the issue early on.
Oklahoma City and Cleveland County have already tested the program and are seeing its success, according to Regalado.
Regalado says the program establishes a relationship with law enforcement and the schools districts by acknowledging students who may be going through something, whether that be a recent car accident or domestic violence. He says deputies would not reveal any private information but only send the school a notification of the child.
The sheriff’s office told us they plan to move forward with the conversation, talk about the communication and policies with the schools to hopefully get the program running as early as February.
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