Announcement: SafeVoice

Nevada Department of Education 

Interim SafeVoice Guidance 

March 18, 2020 

Mental health resources listed on the bottom of this article.

SafeVoice will continue to operate 24/7 and has plans in place to operate without interruption throughout the school building closures due to COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus.

Thanks to the consistent response of Nevada’s districts, schools, and law enforcement teams over the past two years, SafeVoice is being used consistently and successfully by concerned students, parents, and teachers. Because of this established trust, it is essential for school teams to continue to respond to school tips, even though students are receiving educational services outside of school buildings. The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) District partnered with district and school SafeVoice liaisons to develop the following expectations, which are effective through at least April 6, 2020.

Ongoing Expectations

  1. School teams are expected to respond to all tips during regular work hours. They are NOT expected to respond 24/7 or after working hours. In the case of after-hours life safety issues, DPS will work with local law enforcement, NDE, and/or Mobile Crisis to ensure coverage.

  2. School teams are not expected to work through regularly scheduled breaks in session like Spring, Winter, and Summer Breaks. The expectation is that school teams will work with NDE to ensure follow up on life safety tips either at the district level via a contracted social worker or other means. Districts will also let DPS know if tips need to be routed differently during scheduled breaks in session.

COVID-19 School Building Closure Expectations

  1. School or district teams are expected to respond to all tips during regular work hours, as usual. Due to school building closures, follow-up and response with students may be completed via phone, tele-health, referral, and/or Mobile Crisis. Because staff may not be physically at school, it is essential to update tips in the P3 platform so that other team members, including staff at DPS and NDE, know that no further action is needed. DPS and NDE will be a second and third level of support helping to ensure that no student, parent, or teacher slips through the cracks while school buildings are closed.

  2. If school and support staff assigned to SafeVoice are not working (in case of sickness or a change in status), districts need to let NDE and DPS know where to route tips and if they are in need additional support responding to tips. For example, in the summer, a rural district contracted social worker was hired for follow-up for several districts. 

  3. The dynamic climate created by COVID-19 is causing anxiety and stress for many community members, including staff, parents, and families. Districts may consider expanding free tele-health services to adults.

Helpful Contacts

DPS, Desiree Mattice

775-301-0961

NDE, Christy McGill

775-400-0144

Mobile Crisis

http://www.knowcrisis.com

Disease Reporting (normal business hours)

775-684-5911

After-Hours EMERGENCY Disease Reporting

775-400-0333

Mental Health Resources