Toolkit with Report Form - Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic ...

Section five
Communication with Family Members
During and immediately after a crisis, staff,
volunteers and clients are likely to have a
very real need to communicate and connect
with their families as soon as possible. This
has very practical implications, but even
more, feeds their need to establish a sense of
safety and security for their loved ones. In the
development of a Critical Incident Response
Plan, determine a safe way for your staff to
contact family members to inform them they
are OK. It is important to maintain control
over how much information is shared – even
with family.
Documentation After an Incident
All staff, volunteers and BOD who were
directly involved in the incident should
prepare a written account of their
involvement as soon as possible and provide
it to the team in charge. In the event law
enforcement or other authorities request
these documents, confidentiality provisions
continue to apply. (Refer to your program’s
confidentiality policy and Protecting
Confidentiality in Section 4: Support from
PCADV Legal Department for more complete
information).
Crisis Intervention
It is important to balance the need to “get
back to business as usual” with the need
to address the emotional state of staff,
residents, clients and volunteers who have
been impacted by the incident. PCADV
does not provide direct crisis response or
critical incident debriefing, but does provide
technical assistance and referrals to others
who have expertise in providing direct
services to communities in crisis (See page 2
for details).
Sources of Technical Assistance
◗ There are many crisis response groups/
agencies across the Commonwealth.
All of the statewide agencies and
organizations that are part of the
Pennsylvania Emergency Management
Response Plan have specified roles for
national or statewide disaster/crisis
response. Many counties have local
crisis response teams that can provide
community assistance in the aftermath of
a natural disaster.
◗ Some critical incident response
agencies/organizations focus on a
specific population involved in a critical
incident.
◗ Critical Incident Stress Management
Teams respond to the needs of first
responders.
◗ School districts and intermediate units
have specially trained staff to respond to
school communities.
“Simple techniques for intervening in
crisis can help survivors regain a sense
of control over their lives and begin
the process of reconstructing a new
life. Much of the crisis intervention rests
[with] creative listening and helping
people develop ideas for how they
will cope with the next few hours or
days of their life in the aftermath of a
traumatic event.”
~ National Organization For
Victim Assistance (NOVA),
The Community Crisis Response
Team Training Manual
page 22
When Crisis Strikes | Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence | 2012