Lee College CARES Team: Creating a Community of Care
The CARES Team is dedicated to a proactive, coordinated, and planned approach to the identification, prevention, assessment, management, and reduction of interpersonal and behavioral threats to the safety and well-being of Lee College community. The Core Team meets regularly to review referrals brought forward by faculty members, staff members, and students, regarding behaviors of individuals that can be concerning, disruptive, or threatening — behaviors that potentially impede their own or others' ability to function successfully or safely.
The CARES Team Process
- A CARES Team referral is submitted when someone is concerned about a Lee College Student.
Any individual connected with the Lee College community is welcome to submit a CARES Team Referral, or contact a Core Team member directly. Upon submission, the referrer will receive an email receipt confirming the submission of the referral which indicates that the CARES Team is activating a coordinated response.
The CARES Team is committed to supporting the student in need. The CARES team member will share information as appropriate and when it is in the student's best interest. If you are seeking updates regarding the status of the referral, or if you have additional information or a change in level of concern, please contact the chair of the committee, Dr. Rosemary Coffman at rcoffman@lee.edu.
- The CARES Team chair will appoint one of the Core Team as case manager and reaches out to the student of concern.
The assigned case manager will collaborate with the CARES Core Team to provide the best resources and coordinate pathways of support.
- Students are offered the opportunity to meet with the case manager. During this meeting, supportive planning along with recommendations to resources will be provided.
In certain cases, students may be required to meet with a member of the CARES Team if the student is exhibiting higher-level signs of substance abuse, self-harm, or harm to others.
- If no additional concerns from the student, the referral source, or the Core Team are presented, the CARES Referral is closed.
Referrers will receive an email from the CARES Team case manager upon the closing of a referral, and are always encouraged to reach out with further concerns for the student.